Yinka Dare
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 10, 1972 Kano, Nigeria |
| Died | January 9, 2004 (aged 31) Englewood, New Jersey |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Listed height | 7 ft 1.5 in (2.17 m) |
| Listed weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
Milford Academy (New Berlin, New York) |
| College | George Washington (1992–1994) |
| NBA draft | 1994 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14th overall |
| Selected by the New Jersey Nets | |
| Playing career | 1994–2003 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 11, 33 |
| Career history | |
| 1994–1998 | New Jersey Nets |
| 1998–1999 | New Jersey Shorecats |
| 1999–2000 | Fort Wayne Fury |
| 2003 | Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 233 (2.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 281 (2.6 rpg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Yinka Dare (October 10, 1972 – January 9, 2004) was a Nigerian professional basketball player. A 7'1 1/2" (217 cm), 265 pound (120.2 kg) center, he played four seasons in the National Basketball Association. In 2004, Dare died at age 31 after suffering a heart attack.
Born in Kano, Dare was discovered by Nigerian-born lawyer Lloyd Ukwu during a visit to Lagos in 1991. While Ukwu was driving, he noticed a very tall man sitting on a bench eating a bowl of food. When he asked him how tall he was, Dare said he didn't know.
Dare had previously spent most of his free time playing tennis, but soon picked up basketball for the first time.
Already in the United States, Dare played one season at Milford Academy High, a prep school in Connecticut. Subsequently, he played college basketball for George Washington University, where he excelled as a player under coach Mike Jarvis, also helping revive the basketball program. As a freshman in 1992–93, he led the Colonials to the NCAA Tournament round of 16 ('The Sweet 16'), the furthest they had ever advanced.
The next year, Dare led the team to the second round of the tournament. He finished his college career averaging 13.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game; additionally, after just two seasons, he had become the Colonials' all-time leader in blocked shots, averaging more than two per game.
Dare was selected in the first-round (14th overall) of the 1994 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets, agreeing to a six-year, $9 million guaranteed contract. In the NBA, he would appear in 110 games in four seasons, all with the Nets; in his rookie campaign, he played for three minutes before getting injured (torn ACL) and missing the rest of the season.
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