Lawrence Moten, Syracuse University’s all-time leading men’s basketball scorer, was found dead at his home in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30, 2025. He was 53 years old.
His daughter, Lawrencia Moten, confirmed the news to Syracuse.com. Syracuse University athletic officials also confirmed his death, with multiple staff members learning of it from various contacts. A cause of death was not immediately clear.
Moten, a 6-foot-5 guard and forward known as “Poetry in Moten” for his smooth playing style, scored 2,334 career points during his four seasons with the Orange from 1991 to 1995. That total remains the program’s all-time scoring record. He averaged 19.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game across 121 career games, scoring in double figures in 118 of those contests. He is the only player in Syracuse history to reach at least 500 points in four consecutive seasons.
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Moten attended Archbishop Carroll High School before spending a prep year at New Hampton School in New Hampshire to meet academic requirements. He joined Syracuse in 1991 and made an immediate impact as a freshman, becoming the first Syracuse freshman to score 500 points in a season. He was named Big East Rookie of the Year and earned Third Team All-Big East honors while averaging 18.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in 1991-92. The Orange won the Big East Tournament Championship that season by beating Georgetown 56-54 in the final.
As a sophomore, Moten averaged 17.9 points and 4.8 rebounds and became the third Syracuse player to reach 1,000 career points in less than two seasons. He earned First Team All-Big East recognition. The Orange program faced NCAA sanctions during his tenure, serving a one-year postseason ban, but Syracuse returned to the NCAA Tournament in 1993-94 with a 23-7 record that included two postseason wins. Moten averaged a career-best 21.5 points that season after scoring in double digits in all 30 contests.
He finished his Syracuse career with third-team All-American recognition from the Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1995. He received First Team All-Big East laurels for the third straight year and broke the school’s career scoring record previously held by Derrick Coleman. At the end of his college career, Moten also led the Big East in career scoring with 1,405 points. His Big East scoring record stood for 25 years until Marquette’s Markus Howard passed him in February 2020. When Howard broke the record, Moten said, “Records are made to be broken.”
Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, who recruited and coached Moten, said he was “one of the most underrated college basketball players of all time.” Boeheim noted that people took his ability for granted because he made it look so easy, and that Moten was one of Syracuse’s greatest players and one of the best in Big East Conference history.
Adrian Autry, who was a teammate with Moten for three seasons at Syracuse and succeeded Boeheim as head coach in 2023, expressed his grief over the loss. Autry said he couldn’t think of “anybody that was more positive” or who loved Syracuse more than Moten. He added that Moten was one of the greatest to wear the uniform and that it was a significant loss. Autry said he was able to play alongside him for three years and watch him do amazing things, and was fortunate to spend time with him on and off the court.
Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack called Moten a Syracuse icon. Wildhack said Moten’s accolades as the program’s all-time leading scorer and holding the Big East scoring record for 25 years speak for themselves, but his “style of play is what energized the Dome.” He added that Moten was a fixture around the program long after his playing career, always with a smile on his face.
The Vancouver Grizzlies selected Moten in the second round of the 1995 NBA Draft with the 36th overall pick, making him the second draft pick in franchise history behind Bryant Reeves. He appeared in 111 games across two seasons with the Grizzlies before leaving the NBA in 1997 when the team declined to re-sign him. After playing in Greece and the minor leagues, Moten returned to the NBA in February 1998, signing two ten-day contracts with the Washington Wizards and appearing in eight games.
Across his three NBA seasons, Moten averaged 6.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. After leaving the NBA, he continued playing professionally in Spain and Venezuela. He also played in the Continental Basketball Association and American Basketball Association through 2006, earning two ABA All-Star selections in 2005 and 2006 with the Maryland Nighthawks.
After his playing career ended, Moten transitioned into coaching and youth development. He became vice president of player development for the ABA’s Maryland Nighthawks and later became head coach of the Rochester Razorsharks in the Premier Basketball League. He led the Razorsharks to a championship title with a 17-1 record in 2014. The following year, he accepted a position as assistant coach at Gallaudet University, a Division III school in Washington, D.C., for students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Moten began working at Clary Middle School in Syracuse, N.Y., in 2019, mentoring young students in the Syracuse City School District. In June 2025, he returned to his hometown to serve as general manager for the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at Digital Pioneers Academy, a public charter school in Washington, D.C. He had only started the position in July.
During the 1999-2000 season, Moten was one of 25 players honored with placement on the Syracuse All-Century Team. Syracuse University retired his No. 21 jersey in a pregame ceremony on March 3, 2018, at the Carrier Dome, making him one of a select few Syracuse players to have their jersey hung in the Dome’s rafters.
Moten is survived by his wife, Noelene, and their two daughters, Lawrencia and Leilani. Lawrencia Moten is a color and play-by-play commentator for college sports games at HBCU Go and a sideline reporter at Liberty University.