Dwayne Schintzius (born Dwayne Kenneth Schintzius 14 October 1968 in Brandon, Florida, died 15 April 2012) was a former American basketball player. He was a college all-star and an NBA first round draft selection. Off the court, he is known for his performance as a Russian basketball player in the 1996 Whoopi Goldberg-starred comedy film Eddie and for his distinctive mullet haircut, also known as "The Lobster".

Dwayne Schintzius attended Brandon High School, where the 7-foot center was a finalist for Florida's Mr. Basketball award and was named a McDonald's All-American in 1986. That year, he signed to play for the University of Florida Gators basketball team.

At Florida, Schintzius started at center for the Gators beginning early in his freshman season. By the end of Florida's junior campaign (1988–89), he had led the Gators in scoring, rebounding, and free-throw percentage over at least one season each. He also owned the school record for blocked shots; his totals in each of his three full seasons were the top three totals in school history at the time.

Florida had never been invited to the NCAA basketball tournament, but they made the field during each of Schintztius's three full seasons on the team, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in 1987. During his junior year (1988-89), the Gators won its first ever regular season SEC championship. Schintzius was recognized as a first team All-SEC player after that season and was included on multiple All-American lists.

However, Schintzius' college career was marred by disciplinary problems. He occasionally clashed with coach Norm Sloan, including one instance in which he refused to re-enter a contest late in a Gators loss during his sophomore season. He also had minor incidents with opposing players, fans and mascots, and with others off the court.

During his junior season, he allegedly assaulted a person and a car with a tennis racket outside of a Gainesville nightclub. Schintzius was not formally charged, but was nonetheless suspended for four games by Sloan. In the first game after he returned from that suspension, Florida traveled to Memorial Gymnasium to face Vanderbilt in a crucial Southeastern Conference matchup. With two seconds left and down by two points, Florida turned the ball over, seemingly sealing a loss. At that point, someone in the stands threw a tennis ball onto the court, presumably due to Schintzius's recent tennis racket incident. This resulted in a technical foul being called on the home team. Schintzius, who led the Gators in free throw percentage that season, hit both free throws to send the game into overtime. Florida won and eventually captured their first SEC title by one game over Vanderbilt.

Coach Sloan was fired just before Schintzius's senior season of 1989–90 and was replaced on an interim basis by Don DeVoe. Schintzius was not happy with the events and skipped DeVoe's first practice with the team along with fellow star Livingston Chapman. Soon after, he was suspended for alleged involvement in a fraternity house fight. He would never play for the Gators again.

Both DeVoe and Schintzius agree that the player was directed to maintain his playing weight, be more consistent about going to class, and get a haircut. In a statement released January 25, 1990, Schintzius claimed that he had done all these things, but was nonetheless quitting the team due to conflicts with his new coach. The statement read, in part:

No one can argue that Coach Sloan and Coach Towe (Monte Towe, Sloan's assistant) were easy to play for, and to them you had to accept the coach as the absolute authority and their word as final; but that does not mean I must sail under the authority of Captain Ahab. If you can play for Coach Sloan, you can play for almost anyone, almost anyone.

Despite his personal issues, Schintzius was regarded as a good NBA prospect due to his performance on the court. He chosen as the 24th pick of the first round by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1990 NBA Draft. He injured his back during his rookie season and was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Antoine Carr on September 23, 1991. The Kings waived Schintzius during the 1991–92 season, and the New Jersey Nets signed him on October 1, 1992.

Schintzius had several injuries and several surgeries over the next several years as he went from team to team. He spent three seasons with the Nets, a year with the Indiana Pacers, and then a year with the Clippers. After missing the entire 1997–98 season due to injury, he played with the Celtics in 1998–99 before retiring. After several years away from basketball, he played for the USBL's Brevard Blue Ducks in 2003.

Schintzius played Ivan Radovadovitch, a fictional Russian player for the New York Knicks, in the 1996 movie Eddie. Several other actual NBA players were also featured as members of the Knicks and other real NBA teams in the film. He has since appeared in local commercials.

Schintzius testified in the trial of his former New Jersey Nets teammate Jayson Williams that he witnessed Williams killing his own dog with a shotgun.

In November 2009, Schintzius was diagnosed with leukemia. With a bone marrow donation from his brother Travis, he had bone marrow transplant surgery at the Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa on January 12, 2010.

Dwyane Schintzius died on Sunday 15 April 2012 of complications from leukemia. He was 43. According to Schintzius' family, Schintzius suffered respiratory failure Sunday afternoon. He had been hospitalized at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., for complications from a second bone marrow transplant he received from his brother, Travis, in November. Dwayne Schintzius was declared cancer-free after the first transplant in 2010.

More images of Dwayne Schintzius

Click on thumbnail to enlarge.






	Dwayne Schintzius as Ivan Radovadovitch with Whoopi Goldberg.

Internet articles/websites about Dwayne Schintzius

Dwyane Schintzius dies from leukemia at 43 - 16-04-2012
Bay area native, UF star Schintzius dead at 43 - 16-04-2012
Dwayne Schintzius Fighting For His Life Following Bone Marrow Transplant - 18-02-2010
Former Florida Gators basketball star Dwayne Schintzius being treated in Tampa for leukemia - 17-02-2010
Ex-UF star, NBA player Dwayne Schintzius battling cancer - 17-02-2010

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[....some older news snipped....]

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