Florida Alum Schintzius Dies Of Leukemia

Former Florida basketball player Dwayne Schintzius died of complications from leukemia on Sunday afternoon. He was 43 years old.

Schintzius played center for the Gators from 1987-90, before leaving the team for personal reasons during his senior season. In his time on the court, the 7’2″ big man helped lead Florida to it’s first three NCAA tournament appearances and an SEC regular season championship in 1989.

According to the Tampa Bay Online report, Schintzius was surrounded by family members when he died at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. The official cause of death was respiratory failure. Schintzius was suffering from complications of a second bone marrow transplant, according to his younger brother Travis.

Although he may have been known for his exodus eleven games into his senior season, he made quite the difference when he played. Schintzius is sixth on UF’s all-time scoring list with 1,624 points and is the only player in SEC history with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds, 250 assists and 250 blocks.

When the center left the University of Florida, he was drated by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA draft in 1990. The 24th overall pick drifted around with five other teams before ending his nine-year professional career.

Schintzius was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia in 2009 but was declared cancer free in 2010. The cancer returned in early 2012.