Micheal Ojo, 27, Nigerian-born basketball player and former Florida center has died of a heart attack at a hospital in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, according to Red Star Belgrade, his former team.
Red Star Belgrade, in a statement on Thursday August 7, 2020, said Ojo, a coronavirus survivor, collapsed during training in Serbia.
He was taken to the hospital in Belgrade where he died as doctors could not revive him.
Speaking about his death, Red Star in a statement said, “The sudden and shocking death has deeply shaken everyone in the club.”
In his basketball professional career, Ojo averaged 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds playing in the ABA league, while with Red Star, he averaged 4.1 points and 3 rebounds in the EuroLeague.
Ojo signed with Red Star Belgrade, the regional Adriatic League champions, in 2018, a year after he moved to Europe in 2017 and started his professional basketball career with FMP. He was popular with several Red Star fans.
Ojo played college basketball in Florida. He reportedly used to spend approximately $15,000 on his 21-sized shoe and Nike just to get his fit. He is 7-feet-1-inch tall.
The professional basketball player was a graduate of international affairs from Florida State University.
He was reported to have once said that he owed his family his degree.
Ojo’s profile with FSView reads, “My degree is something I owe my family. I promised my people, because they know American culture can change anybody to anything, so I promised them just that I would be the same person I am and get my degree.
“I won’t let anything distract me from school, my degree is something I promised my people and I will get it.”
