Former Knicks, Syracuse F Louis Orr Passes at 64

Orr coached several local college teams and was serving on the staff of former New York Knicks teammate Patrick Ewing at Georgetown.

Former New York Knicks forward Louis Orr has passed away at the age of 64. His death was first reported by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, who referred to Orr as "a wonderful man who was taken from us all too soon."

Orr played six seasons with the Knicks (1982-88), averaging 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in that span. He joined the Knicks through an October 1982 trade with the Indiana Pacers and partook in three postseason visits. His most notable moment as a Knick was likely his unlikely heroics in January 1987, when his buzzer-beating bank over Larry Bird served as the winning margin of a 111-109 upset win over the defending champion Boston Celtics.

Who remembers Louis Orr's bank shot winner vs. the Celtics???

On his birthday, we bring back this clutch moment @TheGarden 🚨 pic.twitter.com/oIYDUhUmZ3

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 7, 2021

At the time of his passing, Orr was serving as an assistant coach on the staff of former Knicks teammate Patrick Ewing at Georgetown University. The two collaborated on the eighth-place Hoyas' improbable run at the 2021 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden, upsetting Marquette, Villanova, Seton Hall, and Creighton en route to its first conference title since 2007. 

Orr was no stranger to Big East basketball, having risen to fame at Syracuse University. Uniting with Roosevelt Bouie and first-year head coach Jim Boeheim, Orr helped guide the Orange to the first-ever Big East regular season title in his senior season in 1980.

Following his eight-year playing career, Orr entered coaching, quickly earning assistant stints at Xavier, Providence, and his alma mater Syracuse. His first head coaching opportunity came at Siena in 2000-01, where he immediately guided the Saints to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title. That earned the attention of Seton Hall, where he'd spend five seasons (2001-06) at the helm of the Pirates. Orr won the Big East's Coach of the Year award in 2003 when he guided the Pirates to 21 wins and their first NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament appearance in four years.

Orr's final coaching experience came at Bowling Green, where his most successful season was his 2008-09 showing: the Falcons won the Mid-American Conference regular season title and Orr earned another conference's Coach of the Year award. 

Orr is survived by his wife Yvette their two children Monica and Chauncey. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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