Former Nebraska men’s basketball team captain Larry Florence has passed away at the age of 49 after a decade-long battle with cancer.
Florence played for the Huskers from 1996 to 2000, appearing in 123 games and starting in 104 of them. As a senior in 2000, he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors, averaging 13 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He scored 1,223 career points, ranking 19th in Nebraska program history. During his time with the Huskers, he helped the team reach four postseason appearances, including the 1998 NCAA tournament.
Following his college career, Florence played professional basketball internationally in Argentina, Iceland, Chile, Greece, Mexico, and Peru. After retiring from professional play, he returned to his hometown of Phenix City, Alabama, where he worked as a physical education and health teacher and coached both middle and high school basketball.
At the age of 37, Florence was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that develops in plasma cells. A GoFundMe was set up in 2024 to help cover his medical expenses.
Florence returned to Lincoln in January 2024 for an alumni weekend during the Huskers’ game against Northwestern. In his honor, players wore red headbands with “LFLO” stitched in white lettering during warmups.
Reflecting on his visit, Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said, “To be able to get him back to spend some quality time with his teammates and people that he’s got really good relationships with, I think was great for him. And it was great to see him. Our prayers are with him and his family.”
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