Former FSU basketball player Michael Ojo dies of heart attack during training, aged 27
Former Florida State center Michael Ojo has died after collapsing during training in Serbia, his former team Red Star Belgrade say.
Former Florida State center Michael Ojo has died after collapsing during training in Serbia, his former team Red Star Belgrade say.
The Florida State men’s basketball program lost one of its recent fan favorites Friday morning.
Michael Ojo, a former center for the Seminoles from 2012 through 2017, passed away Friday morning at 27. Initial reports, according to Eurohoops.net, indicate he suffered a heart attack during a practice for Partizan, a professional basketball in Belgrade, Serbia.
Ojo is most well remembered for his 7-foot-1, over 300-pound frame which stood out in a crowd and his size 21 shoes that had to be custom-made by Nike.
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But to those who had conversations with him, they were struck by his gentle giant nature and his strong sense of humor.
Sam Lunt, former FSU associate director of sports medicine for men’s basketball, said his family is “crushed” by the news.
“I am devastated,” said Lunt, who retired from FSU in 2017 after 33 years at the school.
“I used to bring him to the house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Loved that guy.”
Ojo is one of Leonard Hamilton’s more recent examples of discovering a player with minimal basketball background and turning him into quite the basketball player.
He wasn’t introduced to basketball until a few years before he enrolled at FSU. He was discovered while playing soccer in Lagos, Nigeria and after some introduction to basketball moved to the United States to play at Tennessee Temple Academy in Chattanooga.
