Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Kevin Lawrence completes final jumper
– hundreds pay last respects to ball player
By Edison Jefford
The atmosphere was sombre and mood melancholy as even the sun conspired to create an overwhelming sense of grief and loss refusing to show its face yesterday when the lifeless body of Kevin Lawrence was finally laid to rest.
DEEP IN SORROW!!! Members of the Ravens Basketball Club and the late Kevin Lawrence’s team-mates pay their final respect to the former national forward yesterday at the St. James-The-Less Church on David Street, Kitty.
Hundreds of mourners, who represented a wide cross-section of society, paid their respects first at the Sandy’s Funeral Home and then at the St James-The-Less Church to the life of the former Ravens basketball star, who died on March 27.
Friends from the basketball community, University of Guyana, corporate society among a host of others quietly gathered at both venues under an overcast skyline for the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the late Lawrence.
The remembrance that dominated most circles was the unending ability of Lawrence to at least dominate, if not control, subjects relating to basketball. He lived for the sport, and as many recalled, Lawrence was an exceptional conversationalist.
Out-talking the past Saint Stanislaus College and University of Guyana student was by no means an easy task. He had a shrewd knowledge of not only basketball related issues, but also local politics that made him a well-known character.
As his close friend and team-mate with the Ravens, Sereiah Clarke recalled, there will be an enormous void left in the team following the demise of Lawrence, who has been at the helm of the Ravens’ offence as leading scorer for three years.
His illustrious career started with the Globe Trotters when he left Saints, playing two and three positions (shooting forward). Lawrence’s recognition and success, however, was an uphill climb on that team and as such, he left for another. His coach then was Bernard Daniels, who also worked with the developing player at both the junior national Under-17 and Under-19 levels. “That was not enough for him. He had to move on. That was how he was,” Clarke remembered.
Lawrence played for Eagles following his departure from Globe Trotters around 1997. It was with that club that his reputation as a lethal sharp-shooter started to grow, but he was still not comfortable with his game and left for Emperors.
The Chris Douglas owned Emperors provided a home for Lawrence for five years before his phenomenal success after being called to a national senior ‘B’ team and then ‘A’ team made him a commodity for premier championship clubs.
Ravens made the first pitch and secured Lawrence in 2005-it marked the turning point for Ravens in local basketball after they went on to build what is now a local dynasty. ‘Rome was not built in a day’ and neither was Ravens nor Lawrence.
There was a national snub in his career in 2007 when he was not short-listed for the three international events that was held that year. It made Lawrence an offensive beast, if there was any defensive lapse on him, he was going to drill the shot.
He told Kaieteur Sport just days before his tragic accident en route to Suriname that this year is going to be the greatest of his career. Lawrence had the right to make that claim as he certainly had the statistics to support the ambition.
With the national senior basketball trials already in motion with 10 players required from Linden and 10 from Georgetown, Lawrence had the stats to place him among those who would have been called from the Ravens basketball club.
In fact, looking more closely at his recent performances, Lawrence would have probably made the final senior national team this year, three years after he was ignored. This is the perfect story of a hero, who was cut down in his prime.
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