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Oh my god, this is awful. I met Michael for coffee in Belgrade in February. We had a wonderful conversation about his life, his family, basketball and his one-of-a-kind shoes. https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1291714688464695296
Ojo, at 7-1, 300 (or so), was just a massive human being — and one of the friendliest people I’ve come across. He had lived in Belgrade for a few years and loved it, and he was learning Serbian, which is not easy. He spoke it to the server when we were together.
Ojo also had incredibly large and unique feet that required Nike to *create an entirely new last* to design his sneakers when he was at FSU. His feet were so extraordinary that Nike’s shoe engineers still have the last on display for tours of their lab.
Nike determined that his feet were size 20, one with 7E(!) width and the other with 9E. Usually 4E is the widest shoe a company makes. The guys who worked on his shoes said Ojo sent a handwritten thank you note to them for their help. He hadn’t worn shoes that fit him in a decade
When Michael and I were leaving our meeting, the server asked him how tall he was, when he stopped growing, and what size shoe he wears. Her son was 15 and already 6-9. Ojo laughed and said 7-1. He didn’t stop growing until college. And my shoes? “Well, that’s complicated.”
There’s so much more to him than shoes. Really awful news to hear he has passed. RIP, Michael Ojo, a fascinating, wonderful guy and a good basketball player.
