Larry Florence returns to Columbus for summer basketball camp

L arry K. Florence, a former professional basketball player from Phenix City, made his comeback this week at his Columbus summer basketball camp after a 2 1/2 year battle with cancer.

Florence, who started the basketball camp in 2012, stopped hosting it in 2014 because of his cancer treatment. He has multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells, and symptoms include back and bone pain.

Despite his weekly treatments, Florence decided to come back to his summer camp, which started Monday and is open to children between 6-16.

“I felt it was the time for me to start it back up, because we are losing so many youth to the streets,” he said of the four-day camp. “I want to try, in my way, to help that out.”

John Harris Sr., a grandfather of two children who are participating in the camp, thinks the camp could teach kids about leadership, knowledge of the game and discipline.

“It’s a long summer,” he said. “It gives them the opportunity to look forward to things and make some great memories.”

Phenix City Mayor Eddie Lowe echoed Harris’ sentiment. He said most children will not play in college or professionally, but he hopes the discipline they learn at the camp could be applied to anything they do in life.

“We want to encourage them, to raise their expectation,” he said, “that their dreams can be accomplished through discipline.”

Florence said he uses basketball to help him deal with cancer, and that he tries to stay on his routine as he did before he got sick. Despite the decrease in intensity in his practice, he feels himself getting stronger.

“With basketball, you have to push yourself,” he said. “You have to believe that you can be great.”

Florence said he looks at his battle with cancer the same way.

“I know if I can go through four years of college basketball, I can fight this battle,” he said.

Florence was a standout player at Central High (1991-95). He went on to Nebraska and then the International Basketball League in Greece, Iceland, Italy, Argentina and Chile.

The annual Youth Summer Basketball Camp is located at the gym at St. Luke Ministry Center and ends Thursday.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Larry Florence returns to Columbus for summer basketball camp."