Lawrence Funderburke’s image has undergone a startling transformation in the last 16 years.
Just a few days ago before signing with the Bulls, the 34-year-old NBA veteran said, “I know how important it is to be a professional and just do your job.”
Contrast that with what happened after Funderburke led his high school team in Columbus, Ohio, to a state championship in 1988. The next season, Funderburke was tossed off the Wehrle High team eight games into his senior season.
Wehrle coach Chuck Kemper explained at the time, “He has basically set a pattern of negative behavior concerning basketball. He’s also pretty much kept the team in turmoil.”
Still, the 6-foot 9-inch Funderburke remained a hot commodity among recruiters.
Thinking he needed discipline, Funderburke decided to play for college basketball’s ultimate disciplinarian–Indiana’s Bob Knight.
That relationship lasted six games. In one of those, his 16 points and 10 rebounds led the Hoosiers to a 71-69 victory over a Kentucky team being rebuilt by Rick Pitino.
Soon after that game in December 1989, Funderburke was tossed out of an Indiana practice. He’d had enough of Knight.
Three years after leaving, Funderburke told the Tribune’s Skip Myslenski: “I felt the situation was inevitable, just a matter of time when I would leave. I definitely apologize to coach Knight for leaving the way I did. But then I didn’t think it was fair the way I got kicked out of practice.”
Funderburke enrolled at St. Catharine College in Kentucky, where he never played. He went back to Indiana–not to play, but to complete some course work.
His life took a significant turn when he decided to make a homecoming of sorts. In three seasons at Ohio State, he averaged 14.7 points and graduated magna cum laude in business finance.
Funderburke was the 51st player taken in the 1994 draft (by Sacramento), played in Europe, then joined the Kings for five seasons starting in 1997.
Now Funderburke is a Bull–a long way from those problems at Wehrle and Indiana.