Lawrence Moten Dies: Syracuse Basketball Star Was 53 – Blavity
Lawrence Moten, one of Syracuse’s most influential college basketball players in the 1990s and known as “Poetry in Moten,” died Tuesday. He was 53. According to The New York Times, his daughter, Lawrencia Moten, confirmed he died at home in Washington, D.C. A cause of death has not been shared.
“This is a tragic day for the Syracuse basketball family,” former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said in a statement, per The New York Times. “Lawrence’s passing is such a sudden thing — it’s very hard to take. He was one of the most underrated college basketball players of all time. I believe some people took his ability for granted because he made it look so easy. Lawrence was one of our greatest players and one of the best in the history of the Big East Conference.”
Here’s more on his career and how he’s being remembered.
Moten was an influential force in basketball on and off the court
According to CNY Central, Moten played at Syracuse from 1991 to 1995 and averaged more than 19 points a game. After standing out in Syracuse, where he was a three-time first-team All-Big East selection and the 1992 Big East Rookie of the Year, he was a second-round pick of the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1995 NBA Draft. He played two seasons with the team before an eight-game run with the Washington Wizards in 1998.
“I can’t think of anybody that was more positive or who loved Syracuse more than he did,” Adrian Autry, who played with Moten for three seasons at Syracuse and is now head coach of the university’s men’s basketball program, said in a statement, according to The New York Times. “He was one of the greatest to put on the uniform. It’s a big loss. I was able to play alongside him for three years and watch him do some amazing things. I was fortunate to spend time with him on and off the court.”
In 2018, Syracuse retired Moten’s No. 21 jersey during a pregame ceremony at the JMA Wireless Dome.
“His accolades as Syracuse’s all-time leading scorer and holding the Big East scoring record for 25 years speak for themselves, but his style of play is what energized the Dome,” John Wildhack, director of athletics at Syracuse, said of Moten, ABC 7 reported. “He was a fixture around the program long after his playing career, always with a smile on his face.”
After retiring from playing basketball, Moten stayed close to the game, serving as vice president of player development for the now-defunct Maryland Nighthawks, The New York Times reported. Later, he head-coached the Rochester Razorsharks of the Premier Basketball League. He eventually joined Gallaudet University as an assistant coach, where he worked with deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes in Washington, D.C.
More recently, in June, Moten was named general manager of boys and girls basketball at Digital Pioneers Academy, a charter school in Southeast Washington, D.C.
Those close to Moten remember him as a ‘kind man’
Those close to Morten remember him as a star on the court and a “kind man” off the court.
“At the end of the day, you’d look at the stat sheet and he’d have the leading score,” Mike Theiss, general manager of Manny’s, a store in Syracuse that sells Syracuse University activewear and sportswear, told CNY Central.
Roosevelt Bouie Jr., a friend of Moten and a former Syracuse University basketball player, said Moten was like a family member to him.
“We had a real easy relationship,” he told CNY Central. “We always had a big hug every time we saw each other. It was just like a family member really.”
The post Lawrence Moten Dies: Syracuse Basketball Star Was 53 appeared first on Blavity.
Source link
#Lawrence #Moten #Dies #Syracuse #Basketball #Star #Blavity
powered by Auto Youtube Summarize