UMass Boston

The precursor to the UMass Boston Athletics program was its clubbasketball team in the mid to late 1970s. Larry Higginbottom wasone of the cogs in that team's success and it being a cornerstoneof the varsity athletics program for the University. Many felt thatafter his stellar career at Brookline High School, that he wouldhave a chance to play on scholarship for an NCAA team, but heelected to play for the UMass Boston club team with current UMassBoston Hall of Famer Michael Mitchell and under the direction ofHall of Famer Charlie Titus. He played four seasons from 1975-79and pulled down the most rebounds (797) in the club team'sexistence during his career and netted 1,039 points to cement hisstatus as a ferocious rebounder, who could produce on the offensiveend as well. He made the transition to power forward to help theteam during his final season and despite being undersized at 6'4",he still averaged a double-double of 13.6 points and 10.4 reboundsper game. He provided intangibles to the team aside from hisscoring and rebounding, establishing himself as an excellentdefender. His leadership also proved to be invaluable as the teammoved forward to varsity status. Following his playing career heearned his degree in 1995 from UMass Boston and also served as aleader in the community, working in social services and went on toobtain his masters degree from Simmons College.