ST. LOUIS (AP) - Hundreds of well-wishers turn out in St. Louis to honor Saint Louis University men's basketball coach Rick Majerus.

The university hosted a memorial service Friday for Majerus, who died Dec. 1 of heart failure. He was 64.

Majerus coached for 25 years. He was 517-216 at Marquette, Ball State, Utah and SLU, where he spent the last five seasons.

Players sat at the front of the service. Those who spoke recalled a coach who was passionate and exacting, sometimes funny, always caring.

A mixture of students, faculty and well-wishers from the St. Louis community mixed in the crowd inside a practice gym. Dozens of plays drawn up by Majerus, scribbled in marker on white paper, encircled the small arena.

A funeral Mass is Saturday in his hometown of Milwaukee.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Associated Press