Whilst the casual fan will not, ardent NBA fans from “back in the day” will know the name Alan Ogg. He gathered a popular following in his short time in the league, particularly with his first team, the Miami Heat. Standing at 7’2″, he was a specialist shot-blocker, who spent three seasons in the NBA (two with Miami, before splitting his third between the Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Bullets).
Ogg passed away on November 1, 2009 due to complications related to a staphylococcal infection. The big man had long-standing heart problems. Staph infections, including MRSA, are a cause that Grant Hill has been working to bring publicity to.
The Heat had a moment of silence before their game against Chicago to remember Ogg. He was best known for his collegiate ball with the UAE Blazers, where he is still the all-time leading shot blocker with 2.2 per game. He also played professionally in Germany, China, Columbia, the Phillipines, Puerto Rico and Paraguay before calling it quits in 2001.
From the Birmingham News:
Gene Bartow recruited Alan Ogg to play basketball at UAB. However, according to Bartow, it’s not basketball that necessarily made the 7-foot-2 Ogg stand out throughout his life.
“He was just such a good person,” Bartow said. “He was a very good player, but he was even a better person. Everybody liked Alan. I’ve seen him fairly often over the years and he stayed the same great guy he was in college.”
Barry Bearden, the basketball coach at The Altamont School, was Mr. Ogg’s teammate at UAB for four seasons.
“The UAB basketball family has lost its gentle giant,” Bearden said. “He had a nice, smooth little voice and was always so nice to people. He was so easy to hang around with kind of like a comfortable old shoe.”
“He just enjoyed the simpler things in life,” Bearden said. “He was just a real gentle giant to anyone who knew him.”
Mr. Ogg is survived by his wife, Nita, stepdaughter, Deelana Foshee Borden (Barry), grandchildren, Lexi, Alena, Barron and Alyssa and two uncles, David (Deborah) Vines and Mike (Phyllis) Vines.
