Former UNC basketball star York Larese, a first-team All-ACC selection for three straight seasons and second-team All-American as a senior, passed away on February 6, 2016, at age 77. Larese starred on Frank McGuire’s last three Tar Heel teams from 1959-61, averaging 18 points during his varsity career and setting an ACC record by making 21 of 21 free throws against Duke in the 1959 Dixie Classic.
Nicknamed “the Cobra” for his singular style of shooting free throws – he shot the ball, with no pause as soon as the official handed it to him. He was timed taking anywhere from 0.8 to 1.1 seconds to let it fly. One of the best pure shooters in UNC history, he made 86.8 percent from the free throw line in 1959-60, holding the single-season record for 25 years. Though eligible to be drafted after his junior season, he remained at UNC to finish his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.
York Larese. (Photo via Legacy.com)
Larese was drafted by the NBA in the second round (20th overall) and played with the Chicago Packers and the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1961-62 season. On March 2, 1962, in Hershey, PA, he played a role in the historic Wilt Chamberlain 100-point game against the New York Knicks, passing to Wilt for the assist on his 98th point. From there, Larese played several years in the Eastern League. During the summer, Larese held free basketball clinics for kids in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., outside New York City, at The Children’s Village, an organization that supported children and families in the metropolitan New York City area. Larese later served as head coach of the New York Nets in the old American Basketball Association, leading the team to its first playoff series.
Larese then began a long career in sales and marketing with the Converse shoe company. Throughout all these years, Larese always set aside two weeks in the summer to go back to Chapel Hill and work at the UNC Basketball Camp, sharing his knowledge and love of free throw shooting. He was seen often at the pool at Granville Towers, working on his tan and reading a good book. He also worked at the Michael Jordan Fantasy Camp in Las Vegas, where his free throw shooting clinics were a highlight of the camp and always popular with the kids.
A native of Greenwich Village, New York, Larese is survived by his wife, Barbara,Trockman, sons Keith and York Larese, and daughters Kimberly and Karen; stepsons Blaine and Jeffrey Trockman, six grandchildren and two step grandchildren.
Larese’s No. 22 honored jersey hangs in the rafters of the Smith Center.
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