EP97: THE MAKING (and re-making) OF LARRY JOHNSON PART 6: The UNLV YEARS

In this fun and insightful episode of "Becoming UnDone," host Toby Brooks takes an in-depth look at the college career of basketball legend Larry Johnson. As we reach part six of our nine-part docuseries, "The Making and Remaking of Larry Johnson," Brooks captures not just the milestones, but the spirit and resilience of a player who overcame significant hurdles to rise to fame.

Larry Johnson's path from the Dixon Circle housing projects of Dallas to NCAA stardom at UNLV is nothing short of inspirational. This episode highlights Johnson's time at Odessa College, where he shone under coach Dennis Helms, and his subsequent rise to prominence at UNLV despite the backdrop of controversy and sanctions. Brooks dives into statistics and key moments, recounting the explosive playing style that made the 1990 Championship game against Duke an unforgettable clash of cultures. With personal reflections and riveting recounts, this episode is a beacon for anyone looking to draw motivation from a true sports icon.

Key Takeaways:

• Larry Johnson's Early Years: Larry Johnson came from challenging beginnings in the Dixon Circle housing projects of Dallas and overcame academic hurdles to play at Odessa College.
• Success at Odessa College: Under Coach Dennis Helms, Larry became the only player in history to win back-to-back NJCAA Division One Player of the Year awards, posting record-breaking numbers.
• UNLV Dominance: Despite NCAA sanctions and media scrutiny, Johnson led the UNLV Running Rebels to a dominating NCAA Championship win against Duke in 1990, followed by an undefeated regular season in 1990-91.
• Inspiration and Resilience: Johnson's relentless work ethic and personal perseverance have become a source of inspiration, extending beyond athletics into the lives of those who follow his journey.
• Future Episodes: Toby Brooks teases upcoming interviews with Larry Johnson’s agent, George Bass, and perhaps Johnson himself, marking a climactic end to this compelling docuseries.

Notable Quotes:

1. "Under Helms' leadership, Larry attended study tables regularly, focusing on his grades, and over time, the problems that had plagued his admittance to SMU as a high school senior weren't a problem anymore." - Toby Brooks
2. "Despite the obstacles, the Rebels opened the year as a preseason number one... ultimately finishing the season with an impressive 35 and 5 record." - Toby Brooks
3. "In every episode prior in this series, I've been fairly light on the details and heavy on the story. But today, today is different for two reasons." - Toby Brooks
4. "While it would be wrong of me to say I grew up in the same circumstances as Larry... I grew up with needs too." - Toby Brooks
5. "It's been said you should never meet your heroes because inevitably their humanity will let you down and disappoint you. And while that very well may be the case, I will say simply by the example of his sheer power of will of excellence on the floor and resilience in the face of adversity, a hero like Larry was exactly what I needed." - Toby Brooks

Transcript

0:00:04 - (Toby Brooks): This is becoming undone. Welcome back, my friend. This week we continue the inspiring story of NBA and NCAA legend Larry Johnson with part six of our docuseries, the making and remaking of Larry Johnson now to recap, in part one, we checked in with former Charlotte Hornets VP of public relations Harold Kaufman, who shared his stories of the cultural phenomenon that was Larry Johnson in Charlotte beginning in 1991. 

0:00:56 - (Toby Brooks): In part two, we connected with Larry's high school coach, former Dallas Skyline head coach JD Mayo, and reflected back on LJ's upbringing in the Dixon Circle housing projects south of Dallas and Larry's decorated high school career. In part three, we took a detour of sorts when I had the chance to discuss the social impacts of black superstar athletes like Larry and Allen Iverson with my good friend doctor Kwame M. Brown. 

0:01:19 - (Toby Brooks): Then in part four, I managed to track down Larry's first college coach, Odessa College's Dennis Helmsenhe. And in part five, I found the only remaining staff member at UNLV who worked with those running Rebels basketball teams. Larry played on assistant equipment manager Larry Chin. So whats next, you might ask? Well, this week we tapped the brakes, so to speak. Take an in depth look at the incredible college career Larry managed to put together on his path to NBA stardom. 

0:01:46 - (Toby Brooks): And we also catch our breath as we prepare for the final stretch, the last three episodes that are coming up that I'm positive you won't want to miss. After the issues at SMU, Larry found himself at Odessa College, an NJCAA program that was a far cry from a blue blood d one school. However, it doesn't take a real deep dive to see what might have appeared to the outside world as disappointment or a detour turned out to be the perfect destination. 

0:02:13 - (Toby Brooks): While coach Dennis Helms demanded much from his prized recruit on the floor and in the locker room, it could be argued that some of his greatest impact came in the classroom. Under Helms leadership, Larry attended study table regularly. He focused on his grades, and over time, the problems that had plagued his admittance to SMU as a high school senior, they weren't a problem anymore as a college sophomore ready to transfer to the big stage of the NCAA for his junior season. 

0:02:39 - (Toby Brooks): But make no mistake, Larry grew as a player under Helms, too. His freshman year, he averaged 22.3 points per game on his way to being named NJCAA Division one player of the year in 1988. He followed that up in 1989 with an even more impressive 29 points per game on his way to his second consecutive NJCAA Player of the year award and to this day, he remains the only player in history to hold that distinction of back to back honors. 

0:03:09 - (Toby Brooks): When Larry arrived in Las Vegas, it was a program embroiled in controversy, and honestly, in comparison to what goes on in today's NCAA, those alleged offenses and violations that occurred under head coach Jerry Tarkinian's leadership were kind of trivial things like unpaid minibar tabs in hotel rooms and a coach who paid for a candy bar for a recruit whose flight got delayed had resulted in heavy scrutiny and arguably heavy sanctions. 

0:03:34 - (Toby Brooks): The 8889 Rebels team had been highly competitive, going 29 eight overall and winning the Big West Conference with a 16 two record in league play. Familiar names like Anderson Hunt, Stacey Augment, George Ackles and Greg Anthony headlined a young group. They had no seniors who were on their way to a second round loss to Seton hall at the NCAA tournament just a couple seasons prior, the team had made a run to the Final Four in 1987. 

0:04:01 - (Toby Brooks): That 88 89 team was very good. They finished the year at number 15 in the AP poll, but they needed one more piece in order to compete for a title, and that's when Larry came to town. The season proved to be a challenge for many reasons, with the NCAA mandating various players sit out in some games due to those alleged violations. The media frequently portrayed Tarkanian as a cheater and his team as quote unquote, thugs and hoodlums in typical early nineties fashion. Because they were, after all, young, black and successful. 

0:04:34 - (Toby Brooks): Despite the obstacles, the Rebels opened the year as a preseason number one. Few stumbles early on to Kansas and Oklahoma dropped them to number 14. But they found their groove as the season wore on, ultimately repeating as Big west champions, a title they actually shared with New Mexico State that year and finishing the season with an impressive 35 and five record. They didn't just beat the Duke Blue Devils in Denver on April 2, 1990, in the championship game, they destroyed them 103 to 73 in one of the most convincing title trouncings in history. 

0:05:08 - (Toby Brooks): It was an era before Las Vegas had pro sports, and those hometown running Rebels were the biggest and brightest stars in Sin City. Larry proved to be as advertised, routinely leading the team in scoring, rebounding or both on the way to a gaudy 20.6 points, 11.4 boards and 1.4 blocks per game. Those Rebels rolled into the 1990 NCAA tournament on the heels of an impressive streak, winning 15 of their last 16 games, which included a walloping of the Big west tournament field, where they won three games in three days by an average of 22.3 points. 

0:05:45 - (Toby Brooks): That convincing output continued in the NCAA tournament, where they grabbed the number one seed and proceeded to pound Arkansas Little Rock by 30 points in the first round. And then a hard fought 76 to 65 victory over Ohio State claimed them a spot in the Sweet 16 after arguably their toughest game of the tournament, a two point win against a gritty ball State squad to go to the Elite Eight, the Rebels put up 131 points in a 30 point victory over a Loyola Marymount team playing in honor of their fallen teammate, Hank gathers in the Final Four. 

0:06:19 - (Toby Brooks): UNLV disposed of Georgia Tech before beating the Mike Scheschewski coach Duke Blue Devils in what has been described as a clash of cultures. On one side you had Duke private, rich, elite, mostly white, disciplined, focused on attention to details with a coach who came from West Point and all the virtue and duty that comes with that at the helm. On the other side, you had the rebels up tempo, full of swagger, lots of dunks, threes, nearly all black, with a coach whod be called a cheater and had come from Long Beach State prior to UNLV. 

0:06:56 - (Toby Brooks): I remember the whole thing pretty vividly. I loved UNLV. Their brand of basketball was explosive, athletic and fun. Meanwhile, even as a teenager, I remember being able to see through those thinly veiled and sometimes downright overtly racist things said about those UNLV teams. It made me love them all the more in my hopes that they could rise above that noise and become champions anyway, which they did. 

0:07:23 - (Toby Brooks): The team followed that championship season up with what is arguably an even more difficult feat, an undefeated regular season record in 90 91. Sadly, they would fall just short of their goal of a back to back title, where a defiant Duke team came back and pulled off a narrow 79 to 77 upset win to spoil the party and cement their well earned place in my mind as the most hated team in the history of sport. 

0:07:51 - (Toby Brooks): Along the way, Larry captured back to back national player of the year honors, marking five straight seasons where he had won such an award, high school in 87, Juco in 88 in 89 and NCAA in 90 and 91. We will later learn that his success didn't end there and those accolades would continue even after he made it to the NBA. But here's the deal. In every episode prior in this series, I've been fairly light on the details and heavy on story. 

0:08:23 - (Toby Brooks): I've told you everything from when I got my first starter jacket to the most epic pep rally brawl I've ever seen. And along the way, I've promised you repeatedly that it all had to do with Larry Johnson, and that I'd link it up for you somehow. Soon and proud of today, I've always brought on a guest to share his recollections about that season of life and where Larry had impacted it. But today, today is different for two reasons. 

0:08:49 - (Toby Brooks): First, as I've gotten closer and closer to the source and actually interviewing the man himself, it's become a bit more challenging each time to lock in a guest who's willing to talk more on that in a minute. But beyond that, this whole process, wrapping up its second month, consuming much of my thought bandwidth for weeks at a time, has helped me connect with some pretty awesome memories, and some undoubtedly awesome people. 

0:09:14 - (Toby Brooks): Many of those former UNLV players learned the hard way to avoid the media types. After all, if some closeted racist reporter was just going to come at you with a microphone stuck in your face, talking about rules violations and NCAA sanctions claiming your program and your coach was dirty all the time, you'd probably learn to distance yourself, too. In my conversations with multiple guests, I routinely got the feeling that it was going to be an uphill battle getting the likes of Stacey Augment, Anderson Hunt, or eventually Larry Johnson to come on the show. 

0:09:45 - (Toby Brooks): But here's where I hope I can inspire you, my friend. This project has been swimming around between my ears for years. It was a story that I felt compelled to chase down and eventually tell. But aside from telling you that I liked Charlotte Hornets colors and logos on my starter jacket, I really havent answered the question as to why I gravitated to Larry Johnson as an impressionable teen in the first place. 

0:10:09 - (Toby Brooks): And to be honest, when I started this process, im not sure I could have told you. But heres what ive discovered about myself. While it would be wrong of me to say I grew up in the same circumstances as Larry, in his Dixon circle housing projects apartment in a single parent home, I grew up with needs too. My dad was in the picture, but more often than not he wasnt around. My family struggled to make ends meet, sometimes for years at a time. 

0:10:35 - (Toby Brooks): The thought of going to even a four year school at all, let alone a prestigious school like SMU, Duke, or oddly enough, where I work now at Baylor, would have been an absolute joke for Larry. He saw his way out through basketball. He was the best. He created opportunities for himself, and he carved a path toward his dreams through hard work, grit, and will. By the time I really discovered him as a junior at UNLV in 1988, I was in junior high. 

0:11:04 - (Toby Brooks): I remember hearing about this incredible superstar had made it to UNLV after two years in JuCo, I read the Sports Illustrated articles that described his upbringing in Dallas. And as weird as it is for me to admit it, I was inspired to find my lane too. It wouldn't be at Odessa, I lived in Illinois, but it would be at a community college. And no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't be basketball. My quote unquote basketball career, which for the record grossly overstates its significance, wasn't going anywhere. 

0:11:36 - (Toby Brooks): But it was in sports medicine. When confronted with an obstacle, Larry found a way over, around or through and I'd do the same. Its been said you should never meet your heroes because inevitably their humanity will let you down and disappoint you. And while that very well may be the case, I will say simply by the example of his sheer power of will of excellence on the floor and resilience in the face of adversity, a hero like Larry was exactly what I needed in order to chase down some pretty big dreams of my own. 

0:12:09 - (Toby Brooks): The sentiment gave me the courage I needed to be a first generation college student. Five degrees later, I think I figured that one out. It gave me the will and the guts to move across the country more than once, chasing down a dream of working in pro sports. And truth be told, most recently, that same lesson gave me the belief in myself that I could launch and grow a show like this intended to help others do the same. 

0:12:33 - (Toby Brooks): If you haven't figured it out by now, this show is becoming undone, where high achievers can turn setbacks into comebacks. And each week I do my best to guide you through the art of transforming an unfinished goal into unstoppable growth. One inspiring story at a time. And after a months long, deep, sometimes uncomfortable look inside. I can tell you that that sentiment started right here with number four in the UNLV jersey, Larry Johnson. 

0:13:21 - (Toby Brooks): Next time on the becoming undone docuseries, the making and remaking of Larry Johnson. I hope I don't jinx it here, but I got an email today that I'm pretty stoked about. I reached out once again to Larry's longtime agent, George Bass, making one final hail mary plea to see if I could get him and LJ on for an interview. I got a response less than an hour later. Let me read it to you in its entirety. 

0:13:48 - (Toby Brooks): George says, I will do it. When do you want LJ? I can set it up for you. Period. So, yeah, that happened to hopefully in the next three weeks, as we close out parts seven, eight, and nine, we'll get to hear from George converse exec Roger Morningstar, who I'm still trying to connect with, and the man himself, Larry Johnson. Once again this week, I am personally inviting the listener who made it this far. 

0:14:27 - (Toby Brooks): My loyal friend and fellow high achiever, you, I want you to sign up for my free email newsletter. I don't like that word newsletter. It sounds boring. Free email community Update. I don't know. I've got to come up with a cool name for it. But regardless, it'll go out every Sunday beginning in September. Go to undonepodcast CK Paydeh page that's page and sign up. It's totally free, always will be, and it's something that I hope will bring you value as you become part of the Becoming undone community. 

0:15:01 - (Toby Brooks): In other big news, our new YouTube page is a hit. Thanks for checking it out. Trying something new there this week as well. Thanks for leaving comments and liking the videos. There you can find interviews and clips from a lot of the recent shows. Go to YouTube.com and check it out. And also coming soon, I've got some more exciting news to share about a free app I'm developing and a new Facebook community too. 

0:15:28 - (Toby Brooks): Lord willing, I'll meet you again next Thursday. Becoming Undone is a nitripe creative production written and produced by me, Toby Brooks. Tell a friend about the show and follow along on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn at Becoming undone Pod and follow me at Tobyj Brooks on X Instagram and TikTok. Check out my link tree at linktr ee tobyjbrooks. Listen, subscribe and leave me a review at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. 

0:15:56 - (Toby Brooks): Until next time. Keep getting better.