Etan Thomas Mourns Syracuse Legend’s Death With Emotional Tribute

It is difficult to say goodbye to a man who defined an era. Lawrence Moten, Syracuse University’s all-time leading scorer in men’s basketball, passed away this week at 53. Known for rolling his socks all the way up to his calves as an Orangeman, you probably wouldn’t find anyone else as humble as Moten was. His death has left the Syracuse community stunned, but following the unfortunate news came an outpouring of love and remembrance.

Etan Thomas dedicated a special episode of his podcast, The Etan and Devo Show, to Moten, his former teammate. He wrote on Instagram, “On this special edition of The Etan and Devo Show, we did a tribute episode to Lawrence Moten… We talked about how amazing of a player he was at Syracuse, how gifted of a scorer he was, one of the best ever in the Big East, but more importantly, we talked about Lawrence Moten the person. His love for his daughters, his positive spirit, his laid back demeanor, how much he appreciated the love he got from the Syracuse community.”

Lovingly remembered as Poetry in Moten, every fan from that era has, and will continue to have a great deal of respect for the hoopster.

“We’re talking one time on the train going up there, and we just talking. We see different people coming by, and, you know, everybody say ”Cuse in the house’. They still say that yell out loud at the train station, and it’s just a lot of ‘Cuse love, and he always really appreciated it, like it would make him light up. Like he would just have that big smile and just say, ‘Yeah, love going back.’ So, I mean he loved ‘Cuse man, and ‘Cuse loved him, so he’s definitely gonna be missed. Yeah. Yeah, man,” Etan Thomas said on the tribute episode of his podcast.

Lawrence Moten was a smooth and efficient scorer. Jim Boeheim, his coach during those unforgettable four Syracuse seasons, described him as an overlooked great in college basketball, saying, “Lawrence’s passing is such a sudden thing… He was one of the most underrated college basketball players of all time.”

Adrian Autrey, former teammate and current Syracuse head coach, shared his own perspective. “For me, Lawrence was not only a teammate but a friend. I can’t think of anybody that was more positive or who loved Syracuse more than he did,” he said.

Long after his playing days, Lawrence Moten was known and respected for returning to the program to mentor young players and attend games, always a positive presence on the courtside. He continued to lace up his sneakers for charity games to benefit underserved communities. That’s what makes this loss hit so hard. Syracuse didn’t just lose a legend, but a crucial part of its heartbeat.

Athletic Director John Wildhack put it plainly: “Lawrence Moten was a Syracuse icon. He was a fixture around the program long after his playing career.” Thomas ended his post on a similar note: “Rest In Peace Poetry 🙏🏾🍊,” with many fans echoing the sentiment.

When Lawrence Moten first stepped onto the court for Syracuse in 1991, few could’ve predicted how he would change the program’s future. Fast forward to his exit four years later, he left the school as not just its all-time leading scorer, but the entire Big East’s, a record that stood for decades! Twenty-five years later, when Marquette’s Markus Howard broke the record in 2020, Moten was in attendance to take part in the ceremony to mark the occasion.

Moten remains the only player in Big East history to score over 500 points in four consecutive seasons. He scored in double figures in 118 of 121 games. He finished his career with 2,334 career points, earning three First-Team All-Big East honors. His scoring touch and consistency were the centerpiece of Syracuse’s success in the early 1990s, leading the team to multiple deep NCAA tournament runs and cementing his name among the greatest Orangemen of all time.

After his time in college, he continued his hoops career with the Vancouver Grizzlies in the NBA, later going overseas. Yet, he remains an iconic part of the Syracuse folklore with his #21 jersey hanging in the rafters.

As we at EssentiallySports scrolled through social media to gauge the Fan’s Perspective, we found this tear-jerking comment that we’d like to end this tribute story with.

“If you are a college basketball fan of a certain age, whether you were a Syracuse fan or not, you probably enjoyed watching Lawrence Moten play. An all-time great in Cuse and Big East history, and now gone way too soon.”