BROOKLYN — Brooklyn native Larry Moreno has always dreamed of making it on ESPN’s Sportscenter. His wish came true last month, but not in the way he expected.
It wasn’t for a nailing a game-winning shot. Instead, his viral video of a creative half court shot in an empty gym appeard on the highlight show. Life has never been the same since, he said.
“The fact that I got a notification to my phone and it made a sound and read it — said Division I player amazing trick shots, or whatever the caption was,” Moreno said. “I didn’t know how to feel honestly.”
The St. Francis Brooklyn sophomore’s long distance heaves off buildings and through the legs during the pandemic have transformed him into a trick shot king. In addition to ESPN, he’s been featured on several popular social media platforms and his Instagram followers, which include Drake, are now at 39,000.
Many of these shots from more than 100 feet away look impossible, especially when wearing gloves and a mask. Moreno thinks the difficulty level on a scale of 10 is a six.
“There are shots that look difficult, but I kind of always had a strong arm and can reach the rim. I don’t always make shots on my first try,” explained Moreno.
Not only are these dazzling tosses somewhat easy for Moreno, but he typically comes up with the creative ideas on the fly.
Just don’t expect to see any of them in a St. Francis game.
“Someone asked me ‘do you want to be known as a trick shot artist or a great division one player,'” Moreno said.
“Me, I really don’t care how you look at me. Once I do go back to playing, most likely I’m going to get back to the level where I was at in high school so I feel like people are going to see I can play basketball regardless.”
