Richard Robert Yonakor (October 3, 1958 – March 3, 2022) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played one season for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). Yonakor, a 6'9" forward/

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

from Euclid, Ohio, played collegiately at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

from 1976 to 1980 where he averaged 5.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for his career. He played in the 1977 NCAA championship game in North Carolina's loss to Marquette, was a part of 5 assorted ACC Championships, and is remembered in the basketball world for the beginning of the chant, "Air Ball," a chant often used today by fans when an opposing player takes a shot that misses the rim altogether. Despite his modest college statistics, Yonakor was drafted in the third round of the

1980 NBA Draft The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selecti ...

by the

. After playing a season in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

for Bartolini Brindisi, Yonakor made his NBA debut on March 8, 1982. He appeared in 10 games, averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in his only NBA season. He also played in the Continental Basketball Association for the Rochester Zeniths and

Montana Golden Nuggets The Montana Golden Nuggets are a former Continental Basketball Association team that played from 1980 to 1983. They played their home games at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. Montana reached the CBA finals in 1981 and 1983, with George Kar ...

. Rich was the son of football player

John Yonakor John Joseph "Jumbo" Yonakor (August 4, 1921 – April 18, 2001) was an American football defensive and offensive end in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, New York Yanks, ...

. He passed away on March 3, 2022.Tar Heel Times - Announcing the passing of Rich Yonakor, May 18, 2022
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References

External links

Italian League profile
1958 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players American people of Lithuanian descent Basketball players from Ohio Centers (basketball) Montana Golden Nuggets players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players People from Euclid, Ohio Power forwards (basketball) Rochester Zeniths players San Antonio Spurs draft picks San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Cuyahoga County, Ohio {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub