Yinka Dare Dead at 32; Was Nets' Top Pick

AP, via New York Post ^ | 1.11.2004

[NYC GOP Chick]

How tragic. :(

Now I feel bad because I used to refer to him as Stinka Dare...

[GreatOne]

Too bad. Yinka was in a long line of flops at the center position. If I remember correctly, he came out early, but shouldn't have.

[Gerasimov]

32 Years old ... WOWZERS.

(Taking my pulse) Time to lay off the cheeseburgers.

[Mr. Mojo]

Fellow Nigerian (and future Hall of Famer) Hakeen Olajuwon also has an arrhythmia condition, as do a few other NBA players.

RIP, Yinka

[NYC GOP Chick]

He wouldn't have been ready after 4, 5, 6 or more years of college. He had the NBA height, but not the NBA talent.

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[NYC GOP Chick]

Unless you're preternaturally tall and have a heart condition or anything like that, you're probably not at a major risk.

[NYC GOP Chick]

I believe that many of the ones at the taller end of the spectrum are high risk for Marfan's Syndrome.

Back in 1986, volleyball player Flo Hyman died during a match. I'm pretty sure that some basketball players have died from it, but I'm blanking on names right now...

[WackyKat]

Certain very tall people have a recognized syndrome that makes them vulnerable to a fatal arrythmia

[NYC GOP Chick]

Reggie Lewis collapsed during a post-season game in 1993, and died a few months later, I think during a pick-up game. I don't think he had Marfan's, but he did seem to have a heart condition.

[lmr]

My Cousin died of arrythmia, he was only 29 and only 5'9". He was riding a motorbike at the time, at a local lake in the springtime.

[GreatOne]

You're probably right. I used to play center while in grade school and high school, and I'm really disappointed in the lack of quality big men in the NBA. Ralph Sampson started this crap of trying to be a 7 foot "3" and not play inside. Nowadays, if you have a lick of talent, you either don't go to college or leave early, well before developed. I look at Joel Pryzbilla, from Minnesota, as a prime example. Left after sophomore year because of a conflict with his coach. Isn't doing squat now, and will be done soon. Hopefully there'll be a new generation coming up who realize that it's just as lucrative for them to learn to play with their back to the basket as it is on the wing.

[GreatOne]

So, is this something that gets you no matter what you're doing; it's not stress-related?

[NYC GOP Chick]

Hopefully there'll be a new generation coming up who realize that it's just as lucrative for them to learn to play with their back to the basket as it is on the wing.

Fat chance! Won't happen as long as SportsCenter and Inside the NBA show all the flashy dunks and 3-pointers from *waaaay* out there on the highlight shows, the fundamentals won't flourish.

I don't have the stats in front of me, but over the years, I'm willing to bet that overall assist averages keep going down, down, down.

And as long as $tern keeps trying to manipulate the rules to favor higher scoring (thinking that's what attracts fans), defense will matter less and less.

[Finalapproach29er]

Centers take the longest to develop. Better to get one via free agency.

[montag813]

Fellow Nigerian (and future Hall of Famer) Hakeen Olajuwon also has an arrhythmia condition, as do a few other NBA players

Because most of them are pituitary freaks. It is a ridiculous "sport" filled with freaks. Real men (and women) prefer the NFL.

[lelio]

It is a ridiculous "sport" filled with freaks. Real men (and women) prefer the NFL.

6'5" 350# linemen aren't freaks? Both sports have their extremes.

[Tall_Texan]

And as long as $tern keeps trying to manipulate the rules to favor higher scoring (thinking that's what attracts fans), defense will matter less and less.

If that's what Stern is trying to do, he's an abject failure. NBA scores are falling lower and lower. Many NBA teams have set franchise records for low scoring in the past few years. The only ones left with lower record totals are the teams that were playing back when the "set shot" was used before the "jump shot" became popular.

[lmr]

I am not sure... What is arrythmia? It is an irregular heart beat. Some are born with it, I guess. Most don't have problems with it, but some hearts just lose their rhythym and it can be fatal, even in the healthiest of individuals.