As roommates during their freshmen seasons at LSU, Andre Stringer and Matt Derenbecker faced a problem common to most first-year college students — there was no food in their house.
Luckily, Derenbecker and his family would quickly stock the refrigierator and pantry, leaving Stringer hesitant on whether to partake in the food.
“Most people would be protective,” Stringer said Sunday night. “Not Matt. He was always ‘Yeah, yeah. Take it. Go ahead.'”
That carefree nature is what Stringer and others remembered most about Derenbecker on Sunday night after learning of his death earlier in the day.
The former LSU forward and two-time Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year died Sunday, the University of New Orleans confirmed in a news release.
Derenbecker, 22, was house sitting for a friend and was found in the pool after he failed to pick up his girlfriend from the airport.
“Matt was a fine, young man who had a positive impact on our men’s basketball program during his enrollment at UNO,” said UNO athletics director Derek Morel in a news release. “We offer our deepest sympathies and support to Matt’s family.”
Although Derenbecker left LSU following the 2011 season, citing the need to sort out “personal matters,” his aura and demeanor wasn’t forgotten by his teammates.
Forward Aaron Dotson, who played alongside Derenbecker in 2010-2011, recalled the many practices where the two duked it out for playing time.
“His shot. That left-handed stroke,” Dotson chuckled. “Me and him battled it out. We definitely competed every single day with each other.”
“He always wanted to have fun. He could turn the lamest situations into something fun. That was just Matt, he was always bubbly. He just had a personality that people wanted be around him.”
Former Tiger Garrett Green agreed, calling Derenbecker an “overall amazing human being.”
“Every single time I see him, I always expected awesome stories,” Green said. “Charismatic, everybody that knew him loved him. Nothing but positive things about him. He’s a hell of a guy, I’ll tell you that much.”
In an interview with Nola.com, Derenbecker’s father, John Derenbecker, said his son had been battling “demons” for some time.
Dotson also referred to some of the demons Derenbreker has been battling through the years.
“I’m pretty sure most people knew about Matt and the demons he was battling off the court,” Dotson said. “As a teammate, I’ve been replaying every situation all day and thinking of what I could have done to help him.”
It was a sentiment shared by other former Tigers on Sunday, most of whom hadn’t yet accepted the untimely reality of Derenbecker’s passing
“I’ve honestly been trying to hold myself together a bit,” Stringer said. “I always get a real relationship with any teammate I have. I wasn’t expecting it at all and I don’t think right now it’s set in.”
“I’m at a loss for words that I lost a teammate, a friend, someone I came into college with. I looked at him [like] someone in my family. I still can’t even believe it. I almost wish I could go back in time and maybe if I were there something different could have happened.”
Derenbecker transferred to Dayton following the 2010-2011 season and again transferred to UNO for the 2013-2014 season. He averaged 10.5 points per game for the Privateers before leaving the team in January to address undisclosed medical issues.
