Louis Orr Obituary, Death – Basketball great and Syracuse Orange alum Louis Orr went away at the age of 64, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. My deepest condolences go out to Orr’s friends and family during this difficult time. Louie Orr was the first player to pledge to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, where Boeheim would go on to become a legendary coach. Orr was a key contributor for the Orange program at Withrow High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he was recognized as a smooth scorer.
He and Roosevelt Bouie created a successful talk show that went 100-18 in its first four seasons, and it is widely considered one of the best of all time. Orr averaged 16.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 57% shooting as a senior on his way to being named an All-American. He concluded his career averaging 12.2 points and 7.6 rebounds. His college career average shooting percentage was 55%. In total, Orr played in 116 games this season, with 87 of those contests being starts.
Indiana Pacers drafted Orr in the first round of the 1980 NBA draft. He spent two years with the Pacers before moving on to the Knicks for four more. Throughout his NBA career, he scored 9.8 points per game on average while grabbing 3.7 boards on average, with an all-time high of 12.7 points per game in 1984–1985. After retiring from professional basketball, Orr flourished as a coach. He got his coaching start at Xavier and then spent three years at Providence.
Starting in the 1996–97 season, he spent four years in Central New York as Boeheim’s assistant coach. While serving as head coach for the first time at Siena in 2000, Orr helped guide the Saints to a share of the MAAC championship. After being named Big East Coach of the Year in 2002–03, Orr would eventually move on from Siena to Seton Hall. His time with the Pirates lasted five full years. Following his time as an assistant at Georgetown, Orr would become the head coach at Bowling Green.