Elijah Olaniyi, a former school basketball participant and Newark, New Jersey, native who hung out with Stony Brook and Miami throughout his collegiate profession, died Thursday following a prolonged battle with mind most cancers, Stony Brook introduced.
He was 26 years outdated.
“We are completely shattered by the news of Elijah’s passing,” Stony Brook stated in an announcement, in response to The Statesman. “Not solely was Elijah a beloved member of our Seawolves household, he was a son, brother and buddy who gave a lot of himself to so many. All through his battle with most cancers, he displayed the identical competitiveness and braveness that he displayed on the basketball courtroom.
“Although Elijah’s brave fight has peacefully come to an end, his legacy and the memories he left behind will endure forever.”
sport for Stony Brook. AP
Olaniyi, after starring at Newark East Facet Excessive Faculty and being recruited as a 6-foot-5 guard, spent three years taking part in at Stony Brook earlier than transferring to affix the Hurricanes’ program.
He then returned to the Seawolves for the 2021-22 marketing campaign.
However he was recognized with a cancerous mind tumor in November 2023, in response to The Statesman in a narrative printed final 12 months, and Olaniyi discovered he really had mind most cancers since his last 12 months at Stony Brook.
Olaniyi underwent three December 2023 surgical procedures in New York Metropolis to take away 95 p.c of the tumor, in response to The Statesman, however in an interview with the outlet, he expressed a willingness to enterprise again into basketball once more if it adopted a full restoration.
Following his last season in 2021-22, he tried to play abroad, however a battle with psychological well being prevented him from discovering alternatives, the outlet added.
He appeared in 98 video games with Stony Brook throughout his 4 seasons with this system and began 68, averaging 12.2 factors per sport — and a career-best 18 through the 2019-20 marketing campaign.
Throughout his lone season with the Hurricanes, he began 18 video games — and appeared in 21 — whereas averaging 10.5 factors per sport, and after his last season with Stony Brook, he educated in Miami with NBA gamers earlier than making an attempt to construct a profession abroad, in response to The Statesman.
