TULSA, Okla. — LaHarry Myers Jr., known to his friends as LJ, was a fearless competitor on the Memorial High School basketball court.
His coach said he was undersized and on paper, even outmatched, but that didn't stop him from becoming one of the best point guards that some say ever played at Memorial.
Anyone who played basketball in 2008 remembers him.
Bobby Allison, Memorial High School assistant basketball coach from 2006-2008, is now the head coach. He had the opportunity to see Myers in action.
"LJ was the pivotal point guard that you couldn't take off the floor in helping us win the 08-state championship. I think he played every single minute of the state tournament," said Allison.
Myers' mother Brenda said her son developed a love for basketball at a very young age, and she relished in his passion for the game.
"My son, when he first started playing basketball, he taught himself the neighborhood streetball. That's when he started playing basketball. Every day that he came home from school, he was playing neighborhood basketball," said Brenda.
From there, he grew as a player eventually leading his team to the 2008 state basketball championship.
"I remember they won the championship that year and we were just so excited," said Brenda.
Both his coach and his mother say he had a bright future, but he didn't end up playing college basketball. He began working and soon learned he was going to be a father, although his family said he died before he could hold his baby girl.
Tulsa police said Myers walked across the street for lunch on a day in 2012. He worked at the H&R Block near 47th and North Peoria.
"He went inside and stood for a little bit in line and didn't order anything and walked outside and was shot by several black males who approached him in the parking lot," said Tulsa Police Lt. Brandon Watkins.
Brenda said she remembers getting that dreadful phone call about her only son.
"By the time we had got there, he had already gone to heaven. It was just so shocking at that time you know. It just hurt at that time," said Brenda.
Investigators don't believe this was a random shooting.
"This wasn't a robbery, and it wasn't just something that went bad, it's clear that he was targeted and shot in the parking lot," said Watkins.
2 News asked Brenda if she thought her son may have gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd.
"He hung around with some good friends because like I said he played AAU basketball and they were his good friends. Later on, you know he probably started hanging out with the ones that weren't so good. Because I used to talk to him all the time you know, you stay focused," she said.
As Tulsa police search for answers in this cold case, Myers' coach and mother grieve the young man who made his mark on the game of basketball.
'It makes life and death real and it's not just something that you see on TV. LJ Myers' life and death were real things that we were all a part of," said Allison.
"I have good days and not so good days, but I just thank God for waking me up and getting me through the day," said Brenda.
if you have any information on the death of LaHarry Myers Jr., you can contact Tulsa Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.
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