Former Robert Morris men’s basketball star and longtime NBA player Earl “The Twirl” Cureton passed away Sunday, the Detroit Pistons and University of Detroit Mercy announced.
Cureton, 66, died Sunday morning after reportedly collapsing at his Farmington Hills home, according to Tony Paul of the Detroit News.
The sudden news comes just 24 hours after he was on the ESPN+ broadcast serving as the color commentator with Dan Hasty between his two former schools in Detroit Mercy and Robert Morris.
A 1991 inductee of the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame, Cureton played two seasons with the Colonials, including the first year as a Division I program in 1976-77.
During his second season with the Colonials, Cureton scored 446 points and grabbed a single-season record 274 rebounds. His 17.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game that season still stands as the only Colonial to ever average a double-double.
Following his time at Robert Morris, Cureton went on to play two seasons with Detroit Mercy. In 1979, he helped the Titans reach the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 11.7 points and nine rebounds his junior year and scored 19.9 points and 9.1 rebounds as a senior. His No. 24 is retired by the school.
Cureton was then selected with the 58th pick in the third round of the NBA Draft in 1979 by the Philadelphia 76ers. He also played for the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets.
He won two NBA titles with the 76ers in 1983 and the Rockets in 1994. In his 17-year career, he totaled 5.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest as a power forward.
Following his playing career, the Detroit native, returned to the Pistons as a Community Ambassador. He also began working with the Detroit Mercy broadcasts in the early 2010s to provide color commentary.