Former Cal Standout Friend Dies
Former University of California basketball standout Larry Friend, the captain of coach Pete Newell’s first conference championship team in 1957, died at his Newport Beach home after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 62.
Friend, who owned an investment company, died late Friday, according to Bob Steiner, the director of public relations for California Sports, Inc., and a former sports information director at Cal.
Friend, a forward, attended Fairfax High before going to Cal, where he averaged 18.9 points as a senior.
He played with the New York Knicks for one season after they made him a second-round draft choice in 1957.
Friend is survived by his wife, Darren; three sons, Matt, Nick and Russell, and a daughter, Denise.
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