Saddened to have confirmation that former Nebraska Cornhusker basketball player Fred Hare passed away some time ago (10/2/14). We'd lost touch several years ago, and we (myself and his family) just learned of his passing this week. 
   Fred has held many of the all-time Nebraska high school scoring records over the years from a career that started in the early 1960s at Omaha Tech, where he was named an All-American. He was at the center of a true high school basketball dynasty, and was named the 1963 Nebraska High School Athlete of The Year.
   Fred went on to play for the University of Nebraska in a college career that may have been highlighted by his over the head, backwards, buzzer beating winning shot vs. #1 ranked Michigan who were led by the legendary Cazzie Russell. 
   He left college early and went on to tryout with several professional teams, and played throughout Canada and Mexico professionally for many years.  
   My friend was in the first induction class of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame, as well as the Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame. He was also voted in the top 100 of the Nebraska's greatest athletes of all time.
   I first became friends with Fred around 1991 (?), and over the years he lived a pretty nomadic life, in which I'd lose contact with him from time to time, but he always seemed to eventually reach out me to update me on his whereabouts. During that time, I was able to interview him about his life and career extensively, developed and ran his personal website, and even began writing his autobiography with him. The projects always seem to come to a halt for one reason or another, but the friendship never did. He loved talking about the past, which I also greatly enjoyed, and he continued to send me his "writings" sporadically in hopes he could one day get his book done... and maybe one day, with the help of his kids he loved so much, I'll be able to finish what he started.
   Both his basketball career and his personal life were/are so very interesting -- full of up's and down's, so many triumphs and so many tragedies. In more recent years, he battled a lot of serious health issues, and was sadly seperated from his family and friends. I know for a fact he loved God, and God loved him. Always a Nebraskan, he passed away in Denton, TX on Oct 2, 2014. 
   Over the year's they called him "The Best Of The Best." Some called him "Fabulous Fred Hare." In Mexico, he was known as "El Tigre." I agree with all points. 
   Many thanks to Freddie, Jr. (who I first met almost 25 years ago when he was just a little kid) for letting Stu Pospisil (Omaha World Herald) know, who in turn reached out to me with this sad news. I'm so sad his family, who he loved so much and talked about all the time, didn't know his whereabout in the years up to his death. I last talked with him probably in 2011 or so. So tragic.
   The Omaha World Herald is scheduled to have a memorial article published this coming Sunday. As Fred would always say to me each time I'd let him know there was a news story or something in the paper about him: "Hey, save me a clipping!"