Michael Olalekan Ojo (January 5, 1993 – August 7, 2020) was a Nigerian-American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. After competing in

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the Florida State Seminoles, he played professionally for three seasons with Serbian clubs FMP and

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional Association football, foot ...

. Ojo died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 27.

Early life

Born in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, Ojo is the son of Olayinminu Ojo. Ojo attended Tennessee Temple Academy in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. In 2012, he earned All-American Honors as a senior from the National Association of Christian Athletes and named to the All-Tournament Team at the National Association of Christian Athletes Tournament. As a senior, he averaged 15.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game.

College career

Ojo attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. He selected Florida State over

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

and the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

. He played four seasons of

for the Florida State Seminoles under

Leonard Hamilton James Leonard Hamilton (born August 4, 1948) is an American basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach at Florida State University. He is a former head coach at Oklahoma State University, the University of Miami, and for the Nat ...

, from 2012 to 2017. He missed the 2015–16 season but remained enrolled at the school as a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

. Afterward, as a senior, Ojo averaged 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Professional career

FMP (2017–2018)

On August 17, 2017, Ojo signed a multi-year contract with Serbian club FMP. Ojo made his ABA League debut on September 19, recording 8 points and 2 rebounds, in a 74–67 loss to

Cedevita Cedevita d.o.o. is a Croatian company which produces a wide range of teas, instant drinks, and dietetic products. A notable owner of the company was the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva d.d. Since 2001 Cedevita has been part of the Atlantic ...

. On October 20, he recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds in a 91–76 win over

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

. On March 3, 2018, he scored 19 points and recorded 9 rebounds in an 86–81 loss to Petrol Olimpija. Ojo averaged 11.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks over 21 games with FMP in the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mace ...

. He also appeared in the 2018 Serbian SuperLeague season. On May 3, 2018, he scored season-high 21 points and recorded season-high 17 rebounds in an 87–82 win over Partizan NIS. Ojo averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds over 14 games in the SuperLeague.

Crvena zvezda (2018–2020)

On July 18, 2018, Ojo inked a two-year deal with another Serbian club,

. In the beginning of the season, he won 2018 ABA League Supercup with Crvena zvezda. In the 2018–19 season, his first with the club, he averaged 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds over 16 EuroCup games. He won the

in the same season, as well as

Serbian League The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League. History 1992–1995 In the summer of ...

championship. During the 2019–20 season, Ojo appeared in 22 EuroLeague games with Crvena zvezda, averaging 4.1 points and 3 rebounds per game. On March 9, 2020, against FMP, Ojo recorded 10 points and 2 rebounds in what would be his final game. The season was temporarily suspended three days later and canceled definitely in May 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in all competitions the Zvezda has played. During two seasons he played with Crvena zvezda, Ojo appeared in 108 games in domestic, regional and European competitions.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

''Source'' , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 3 , , 11.4 , , .622 , , .000 , , .761 , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 4.1 , , 5.0

EuroCup

''Source'' , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 2 , , 15:09 , , .707 , , .000 , , .647 , , 4.5 , , .4 , , .5 , , 0.9 , , 6.5 , , 10.4

College

''Source'' , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;",

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, 27 , , 9 , , 5.0 , , .292 , , .000 , , .364 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .3 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 14 , , 11.9, , .547 , , .000 , , .426 , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , .7 , , 2.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 21 , , 8.8 , , .529 , , .000 , , .386 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .2 , , .5 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan=11, '' Redshirt season'' , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 34 , , 12.2 , , .564 , , .000 , , .806 , , 3.2 , , .2 , , .3 , , .9 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 131 , , 78 , , 9.8 , , .525 , , .000 , , .569 , , 2.5 , , .2 , , .2 , , .6 , , 2.7

Personal life

Ojo wore a

shoe size A shoe size is an indication of the fitting size of a shoe for a person. There are a number of different shoe-size systems used worldwide. While all shoe sizes use a number to indicate the length of the shoe, they differ in exactly what they me ...

21 (US sizing systems).

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

invested in a US$15,000 machine to create a shoe to properly fit Ojo.

Death

On August 7, 2020, he unexpectedly died from a

during training in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, Serbia, at the age of 27. He was conducting an individual training session at the

Partizan Stadium The Partizan Stadium (Serbian language, Serbian: Стадион Партизанa / ''Stadion Partizana'') is a association football, football and track-and-field Multi-purpose stadium, stadium in Autokomanda, Belgrade, Serbia. The home ground of ...

when he collapsed. Crvena zvezda requested an investigation from the authorities regarding his death. Reportedly, he did not have a training permit because he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in July. A

moment of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of ...

was held before all 7DAYS EuroCup and Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games in Round 1 of the 2020–21 season in his memory, as well as the late

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

team doctor Roman Abzhelilov. The same was held in the

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bioMichael Ojo
at aba-liga.com
Michael Ojo
at euroleague.net

at sports-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ojo, Michael 1993 births 2020 deaths ABA League players African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Serbia American men's basketball players Basketball League of Serbia players Centers (basketball) Florida State Seminoles men's basketball players KK Crvena zvezda players KK FMP players Naturalized citizens of the United States Nigerian emigrants to the United States Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Serbia Nigerian men's basketball players Sportspeople from Lagos 21st-century African-American sportspeople Accidental deaths in Serbia