NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark.– In nearly 90 degree weather, a Sunday tradition played out Tuesday afternoon in North Little Rock.
“He was a legend here around the court,” Cedric Bunn said.
The honorary basketball game was held for 36-year-old KJ Lawrence.
“KJ was so good at basketball so that’s why he was able to touch a whole lot of people,” Bunn said.
For Bunn, Lawrence was more than a teammate but a mentor coaching both on and off the court.
“Just as a little kid at the Boys and Girls Club up to here he was always just pushing us to be better,” Bunn said.
The former North Little Rock High School standout and Louisiana Lafayette basketball player died Monday after a medical call in the Pulaski County jail two weeks ago.
In an initial report, deputies say Lawrence was having a seizure, that he became combative and was later pepper sprayed and places in a restraint chair before the was taken to UAMS.
“Everybody is still in shock,” Johnny Rice, North Little Rock High School basketball coach, said.
Rice says Lawrence’s care for his city and kids was evident and his legacy will play out both on and off the court.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and the City of North Little Rock loves them and he’ll never be forgotten,” Rice said.
