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Former Husker Team Captain, 1,000-Point Scorer Larry Florence Passes Away

A four-year starter and the 22nd Husker to score 1,000 points in a career, Larry Florence fought blood cancer for a decade before passing away Saturday.

Kaleb Henry

Former Husker and 2000 team captain Larry Florence.
Former Husker and 2000 team captain Larry Florence. / Nebraska Athletics via @HuskerMBB on X
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A Nebrasketball legend is gone.

Larry Florence passed away Saturday after a decade-long fight against myeloma, an aggressive type of blood cancer. He was 49 years old.

Former Nebraska basketball player Larry Florence passed away at the age of 49.
Former Nebraska basketball player Larry Florence passed away at the age of 49. / @jaisteadman/X

Florence was a four-year starter in Lincoln. Every year, he helped the Cornhuskers to a postseason tournament. Those teams included a berth in the 1998 NCAA Tournament and the 1996 NIT Championship.

In his final season with the Big Red, Florence earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. A captain of the team that season, he became the 22nd Husker to surpass 1,000 career points.

His 105 career starts were second in school history to Dave Hoppen's 111 at the time.

A native of Phenix City, Alabama, Florence was inducted into the Central High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2024. While at Central, he averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds per game his senior season.

“The guys that came before me paved the way, made me excited and wanting to be into sports,” Florence told the Ledger-Enquirer last year. “I’ve got a lot of honors at the University of Nebraska, of course, but this one is closer to my heart because that helped me do what I did at Nebraska.”

After Nebraska, Florence broke his ankle before working out with multiple NBA teams. Instead of a domestic career, he played for eight years in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Ireland, Iceland, Greece and Paraguay.

Florence was back in Lincoln last year.

“Going back there and seeing the people and the kids come up and say, ‘You used to be my granddad’s favorite player,’ or, ‘You helped me as a kid,’ or to have a kid bring me my jersey from 20-something years ago, that started making me stronger mentally and started making me push myself a little harder,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer.

The 1999 Husker Power Male Athlete of the Year was Nebraska men's basketball's three-time Lifter of the Year (1998-00).

Florence remains etched in the Nebraska record books. His 1,223 points are 19th on the all-time scoring chart. He is also tied for 10th in career steals, fifth in career games started, and ninth in career field goal attempts.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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