Larry Florence Season 1996-97

Florence's Career Honors
Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (2000)
Nebraska Team Captain (2000)
Husker Power Male Athlete of the Year (1999)
Three-time Men's Basketball Lifter of the Year (1998-2000)
Member of four postseason tournament teams, including the 1998 NCAA Tournament team and 1996 NIT Champions

Florence's Career Highs
Points: 27, vs. Western Carolina, 12/3/99
Rebounds: 11, vs. Colorado, 2/5/97
Assists: 8, vs. Pacific, 1/4/2000
Steals: 6, vs. Creighton, 12/9/98
Blocked Shots: 4, vs. Eastern Illinois, 11/23/99

Senior (1999-00)
Larry Florence finished his Nebraska career as a career leader in several Husker categories and in his senior season, became just the 22nd Husker to surpass 1,000 career points.

Florence was a four-year starter for the Huskers and finished his career as Nebraska's 14th-leading scorer with 1,223 points. Florence made 105 career starts to rank second to only Dave Hoppen (111) on that career chart and Florence's 123 appearances in a Nebraska uniform ranks in a tie for seventh in school history.

In his senior season, Florence was the only Husker to start all 30 games and led Nebraska in scoring at 13.0 points per game. He led the Huskers in scoring 11 times in 1999-2000 and scored 15 or more points 14 times on the year, including a career-high 27 points against Western Carolina. Florence finished fourth for the Huskers in rebounding as a senior at 5.4 per game, led Nebraska in steals with 44 and ranked second in assists with 80. For his efforts as a senior, Florence was an honorable-mention All-Big 12 selection by the league's coaches.

The Phenix City, Ala., native was a team captain for his senior season. Throughout his career, Florence was regarded as one of the Huskers' top defenders and was also one of the team's hardest workers on and off the court. His dedication was rewarded during the spring of 1999, when he was named the Husker Power Male Athlete of the Year. Florence was selected for the award from a group of finalists which included a student-athlete from each of Nebraska's sports.

In his five-year Nebraska career, Florence was affiliated with four postseason tournament teams, including Nebraska's 1998 NCAA Tournament team. He was also a starter for the Huskers' 1997 and 1999 NIT teams and was a team member, but did not play during Nebraska's 1996 season, which ended with an NIT Championship. Florence graduated from UNL in August of 2000.

Junior (1998-99)
Florence completed his third season in the Huskers starting lineup in 1998-99...Florence was in the starting lineup in 27 of 33 games and finished as the third-leading scorer, averaging 10.3 points and was also third on the team in rebounding at 4.1 boards per game...one of NU's top defenders, Florence was often assigned to the opponent's top perimeter scorer...twice scored a career-high 21 points, both in impressive Husker victories, first against previously unbeaten Creighton in Lincoln, then in NU's 96-81 triumph at No. 25 Oklahoma, when he connected on 8-11 from the floor and knocked down his only 3-pointer of the year...he had 16 double-figure scoring games on the season, including eight in Big 12 play, when he upped his scoring average to 10.8 points per game, second on the team to Venson Hamilton...led Nebraska in scoring seven times in the season's final 25 games and reached double digits in 10 of the last 16 games, including the season's final five contests...scored 15 or more points eight times, leading NU to a 5-3 record in those games...came up big in Nebraska's regular-season sweep of Kansas, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds against the Jayhawks in Lincoln and pouring in 17 points and adding six rebounds in a 64-59 Husker victory at KU's Allen Fieldhouse...averaged 16.0 points and hit 15-24 from the floor in Nebraska's two NIT games...posted his second career double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds against Colgate...had five or more rebounds on 10 occasions in 1998-99, with the Huskers posting a 7-3 mark in those contests...tied his career high with five assists vs. Missouri and finished the season with 53 total assists to rank fifth on the team...had eight games with three or more assists...had a career-high six steals against Creighton and finished the year with 42 steals, which ranked third on the team...Florence led Nebraska with a .508 field-goal percentage...in Husker victories he connected on better than 52 percent of his field goals...he finished the year strong, knocking down 55 percent in the season's final eight games...finished second on the team in free throw shooting, hitting 73.7 percent from the free throw line, 15 percent better than in 1997-98...before the 1998-99 season, Florence took time out of his summer to play on a People-to-People all-star team that traveled to Greece.

Sophomore (1997-98)
Florence started 19 of the 30 games he played in during the 1997-98 season...he began the year as the Huskers' sixth man, but started 18 of the season's final 20 contests...Florence did not start Nebraska's two Big 12 Tournament games because of a sprained ankle...averaged 8.9 points per game and was Nebraska's fourth-leading scorer on the season...reached double figures 10 times, with a season-high 20 points against Vanderbilt in the Rainbow Classic...reached double digits in four of his first six games after re-entering the starting lineup and averaged 11.8 points per game in that stretch...averaged 9.1 points per game in Big 12 action, with six games in double figures...had a career-high nine field goals on 13 attempts at Missouri when he scored 19 points, his second-highest total of the season and a season-best in a conference game...also played a career-high 37 minutes in that game...in league play also reached double figures at Oklahoma State (10), vs. Colorado (12), at Texas (16), at Texas A&M (15), and vs. Baylor (10)...averaged better than 10 points per game after returning to the starting lineup in late December...a 44 percent shooter for the season, Florence hit 50 percent on the season's last 10 games...hit his first 3-pointer of the season and second of his career by just beating the first-half buzzer vs. Oklahoma, helping Nebraska to a crucial 53-43 conference win...struggled from the free throw line in 1998, hitting just 59 percent after connecting on 71 percent of his attempts in 1996-97...averaged 3.7 rebounds per game, the fifth-highest average for the Huskers and grabbed a season-high nine boards at Texas A&M...narrowly missed his second career double-double at A&M with nine rebounds and 15 points...had nine games with five or more rebounds...matches his career high with five assists against New Orleans and finished the season with 32 assists to rank sixth for Nebraska...had three steals against Baylor and Missouri in back-to-back February games in Lincoln and finished the season with 32 steals to rank fifth for the Huskers...on the defensive end, Florence continued to be one of Nebraska's stoppers throughout the season...was a key part of the defensive effort that limited Texas Tech's Cory Carr, the Big 12's leading scorer to a 4-13 shooting effort last season...for the season, Florence averaged 22.5 minutes per game.

Freshman (1996-97)
Florence earned a starting job at the beginning of the season and was Nebraska's starting small forward for 29 of the 30 games he played in during the 1996-97 season...finished the season averaging 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game...improved his totals in Big 12 play, averaging 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest...had 11 double-figure scoring games in his first year as a Husker, including six in conference play...was third on the team in assists with 52 and finished as NU's second-best foul shooter at 71 percent...extremely efficient from the line in Big 12 play, hitting 76 percent of his foul shots...was just outside the 1op 10 in the league in foul shooting in conference games...reached double figures four times in non-conference play...had a stretch of four consecutive double-figure scoring games early in the Big 12 season...had possibly his most complete game against Texas A&M with 16 points and eight rebounds...Florence recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against No. 15 Colorado in Lincoln...dished out a career-high five assists in Nebraska's come-from-behind win over Oklahoma State in Lincoln...averaged 5.0 points per contest in Nebraska's 3 NIT games...Florence was often used as the Huskers' defensive stopper...in two meetings with Texas, Florence limited the Longhorn All-Big 12 guard Reggie Freeman to just 5-30 shooting...after missing NU's first game with Iowa State because of injury, Florence was assigned to Cyclone forward Kenny Pratt in Ames...Florence limited Pratt to six points, 16 fewer than he scored in the first meeting in Lincoln...the defensive effort helped Nebraska upset the seventh-ranked Cyclones in overtime...also limited Creighton's Rodney Buford, an 18-point per game scorer, to 5-19 field goal shooting in Nebraska's victory.

Florence's Career Stats

Season	G-GS	Min.	FG-FGA	Pct.	3FG-FGA	Pct.	FT-FTA	Pct.	Reb-Avg	A	Blk	Stl	Pts-Avg
1996-97	30-29	679	92-240	.383	1-7	.143	41-58	.707	113-3.8	52	14	19	226-7.5
1997-98	30-19	676	115-259	.444	1-5	.200	37-63	.587	110-3.7	32	10	32	268-8.9
1998-99	33-27	869	133-262	.508	1-4	.250	73-99	.737	135-4.1	53	11	42	340-10.3
1999-00	30-30	899	159-389	.401	8-32	.250	69-105	.657	161-5.4	80	18	44	389-13.0
Career	123-105	3123	499-1150	.434	11-48	.229	220-325	.677	519-4.2	217	52	137	1223-9.9