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Wednesday, May 30 'Zo will listen to doctors when deciding future Associated Press MIAMI – To coax his diseased kidneys into shape for next season, Alonzo Mourning plans an offseason regimen that includes rigorous workouts, daily therapy and a strict menu. Mourning "Beet juice, parsley, carrots and a little celery," he said. Submitting to such a diet shows how badly Mourning wants to play next season, but no one knows whether it will be possible. The Miami Heat center was diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis last October, missed the first 69 games of the season and returned for the final 16, including a humbling first-round playoff sweep by the Charlotte Hornets. The disease is in remission, but Mourning could eventually require a kidney transplant. Doctors will decide late this summer whether he's healthy enough to suit up for the start of the 2001-02 season. "If they tell me I can't come back, I'll listen to them," Mourning said Monday. "My body might be like, `Hey, I can't do it anymore.' Until then, you're going to hear from me that I will be back." Coach Pat Riley said he'll make offseason personnel decisions with the assumption Mourning can play next season. "He's more or less in the hands of God with his medication and how he feels," Riley said. "It puts a cloud over him and puts a cloud over the team too. We just have to deal with it." Even if Mourning plays next season, it may be unrealistic to expect he can regain his All-Star form. His minutes were limited after he returned in March, and he looked lethargic against the Hornets. "I might have come back too soon," he said. "I wanted to be the same old Zo, and I wasn't. I was far from it." The Heat went 42-27 without Mourning. They were just 8-8 after his return. "It was a great thing to have him come back," point guard Tim Hardaway said. "But I think everybody was worried about his health instead of worrying about Zo as a player. That probably hurt us and hurt him and hurt the coaching staff. We wanted to make sure he was all right instead of playing. That's how I feel as a friend. I was scared for him, to tell you the truth." Mourning was taking 14 pills a day, but the disease prohibited him from using routine anti-inflammatory medication to ease soreness. That made the comeback more taxing, and compounds the challenge of returning for an 82-game season. But three days after the Heat were eliminated by Charlotte, Mourning was surprisingly chipper and optimistic about his uncertain future. "Just sitting around the past couple of days doesn't feel right," he said. "I've got to do something. I've got to jump up and down. My wife says, `Just rest.' I say, `I'm going to have plenty of time to do that later.' "I'm a 31-year-young man – I don't like to say `old.' I still have a lot to offer. It's a matter of training my body back to that stage where I feel confident in it." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

ALSO SEE Riley says he deserves more heat from Miami's failures AUDIO/VIDEO  Alonzo Mourning believes he may have come back too early. wav: 214 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6