Fans and former players are paying tribute to Billy Hungrecker, the Worthing Bears legend who has died after suffering a heart attack in the United States.

Hungrecker, originally from New Jersey, starred in the 1980s and was player/ coach of the side which won the championship with an unbeaten record in 1988. He scored a club record 73 points in a play-off win over Plymouth that year.

He remained in England after retiring as a player and, with infectious enthusiasm for the game, helped several young Sussex players secure college spots in the USA.

Hungrecker was living in Las Vegas, where he had played college basketball, at time of his death.

Former Bears colleague Neil Regan said: “Billy was a competitor and a winner but was also good fun to be around.”

Hungrecker based his professional career on three-point shooting. He once told The Argus: “I was working in a factory in New Jersey. All of a sudden they brought the three-point line into basketball and my eyes lit up. I wanted them to bring in a four-point line as well!”

Ex-Bear Ray Beiber said: “I was a fringe player but Billy always treated me with respect as a team-mate and a friend.”