Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball legend Larry Florence succumbs to decade-long fight with cancer

The Nebraska Cornhuskers and college basketball world got sad news on Saturday as Nebraska legend Larry Florence passed away after a decade-long fight with cancer. He had been fighting an aggressive type of blood cancer and was 49 years old at the time of his passing.

Florence was a four-year starter for the Cornhuskers during his tenure with the team from 1997 to 2000. In that time, he was part of one NCAA tournament appearance in 1998. Florence's 105 career starts are second in program history, behind only Dave Hoppen's 111. He ranks 17th in career points with 1233.

"Take it back to Larry Florence (97-00). Four-year starter who ranks 17th in pts with 1,233."

In April 2024, Florence spoke with the Ledger-Enquirer about his fight with cancer. He spoke about the importance of people, and men specifically, not needing to be so manly all the time. He emphasized the importance of getting regular checkups from the doctor.

"You understand as a human being, God wants us to work together and help each other, but sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and be like, ‘No,’ turn your phone off and just relax," Florence said. "I want people to really concentrate on, especially men in general, to not be so manly. Get your checkups. Get your blood work done."

Nebraska Florence Larry Florence once credited basketball with saving his life

Before his fight with cancer, Larry Florence's purpose in life was to be a great basketball player. In the same conversation with the Ledger-Enquirer in April 2024, he spoke about how basketball gave him a sense of purpose and saved his life.

"It saved my life because it gave me a sense of purpose," Florence said. "Once you figure out that you’re pretty good at it, now you got to work at it. It gave me a sense of pride to be doing something that other people want to come and watch you do.

"If I didn’t have basketball, I could have been out in these streets doing nonsense, whether it was drinking alcohol every day or doing drugs. It was really difficult in the hood, as far as guys selling drugs or breaking into people’s homes or stealing cars."

An outpouring of support for Florence has come from Nebraska Cornhuskers fans and other members of the college basketball community since his passing. While it is a sad moment, it is always heartwarming to see the sporting community come together in moments like these.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Alexander O'Reilly