Lari Arthur Ketner (February 1, 1977 – October 10, 2014) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A , forward/

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, Ketner played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

, and was selected by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

with the 49th overall pick (second round) of the 1999 NBA draft.

Career

Ketner played in two

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) seasons for three teams: Chicago Bulls ( 1999-2000), Cleveland Cavaliers (1999–2000) and Indiana Pacers ( 2000-01). He averaged 1.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.1 assists. After his brief NBA career, Lari tried a few minor league basketball teams. He played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the

Fort Wayne Fury The Fort Wayne Fury was a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1991 through the cessation of the CBA on February 8, 2001. History The team played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayn ...

and

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

. On January 1, 2005 while standing outside of a nightclub talking to associates, Lari was shot eight times by an unknown person, ultimately ending his basketball career. Lari later followed his passion of working with disadvantaged children by working at several group homes in his hometown of Philadelphia.

Personal life

On August 28, 2013, at 36 years old, Ketner was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. After being diagnosed with cancer, Ketner completed the three courses needed to receive his bachelor's degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst. He completed his final course in August 2014 and received his degree. Lari was married to Aquarius Ketner and was the father of three children and stepfather of two. He resided in Indianapolis, Indiana. He died on October 10, 2014, in

Avon, Indiana Avon is a town in Washington Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 21,474 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. History The first settlement at Avon was made around 1830. The fi ...

, from colon cancer at age 37.

References

External links

Profile
basketball-reference.com

UMassHoops.com * ttp://www.nba.com/playerfile/lari_ketner Profile NBA.com
Profile
sportsillustrated.cnn.com 1977 births 2014 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Chicago Bulls players Cleveland Cavaliers players Deaths from cancer in Indiana Deaths from colorectal cancer Fort Wayne Fury players Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Indiana Pacers players Power forwards (basketball) UMass Minutemen basketball players {{1970s-US-basketball-bio-stub