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Larry Johnson happy to be back in the fold at UNLV
‘Grandmama’ hopes to be more of a presence around Lon Kruger’s program in coming years
Sam Morris
Former Rebels great Larry Johnson, who led UNLV to the 1990 NCAA title, waves to the crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center on Friday night at FirstLook 2009. Johnson addressed the current team in the locker room before the event, and said he wants to be more visible around his old stomping grounds.
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 | 2:15 a.m.
UNLV Basketball: First Look
Rebels fans got their first taste of the 2009-10 UNLV basketball season at First Look, an intrasquad scrimmage, Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
1989-90 UNLV Hoops Highlights
Larry Johnson Converse Commercial
From left, former Rebels Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony and Larry Johnson celebrate with coach Jerry Tarkanian in New York City at the 1991 NBA Draft, when all three were selected in the first round. Players from UNLV's glory days, such as these three, have been welcomed back warmly around the program in recent years since coach Lon Kruger took over.
Almost 20 years later, Larry Johnson can still steal the spotlight at the Thomas & Mack Center with his mere presence alone.
The former UNLV great and 10-year NBA veteran made an appearance at his old stomping grounds on Friday night for FirstLook 2009, which served as the first official practice for the 2009-10 Rebels in front of a crowd of about 2,000 fans.
He entered the arena about 15 minutes before the show got under way and headed up the tunnel toward the UNLV locker room, where he surprised the squad and addressed the group.
"We had no clue," senior guard Steve Jones said. "Coach walked in the room, and then all of a sudden, we saw this shadow of a man look up, and it's Larry Johnson. When I was little — because I'm 'old' — when I was like 5, he was one of my heroes.
"For him to come in and talk to us, take time out of his day, that's great. That's a legend."
Johnson then was introduced onto the floor by coach Lon Kruger moments after he met with the team, making those 2,000 fans sounds like a crowd of five times that. Dressed sharp in a pair of fresh jeans an a white pearl-snap shirt, he waved, then offered a few words.
After sitting behind the UNLV bench for about 15 minutes, chatting with the likes of assistant coach Lew Hill and sophomore forward Chace Stanback while taking in some practice action, he took off for the night.
Though the trip down memory lane was brief, it was chilling for Johnson, who wants to be more involved from here on out with his alma mater. He's been welcomed back in recent years, and was last seen by UNLV faithful sitting in the stands when the Rebels played in the 2008 NCAA tournament first and second rounds in Omaha, Neb.
"I left in '92, and when we first left, me and that crew, it took at least eight to 10 years before I even came back to UNLV," said Johnson, who averaged 21.6 points per game in his two seasons at UNLV. "Since I've been coming back, since Lon Kruger's been the coach, it's an eerie feeling coming into the parking lot, walking through the tunnel. I'm 40 years old, but it's still a great feeling to walk through the tunnel, walk through this arena and just know what I did when I was here.
"Then I talk to the young guys, and I see the fire and motivation in their eyes, and I remember those days. It's a great feeling."
Facing a group of young men who he could tell would listen, Johnson said he told them what it was like to be a member of college basketball's most trendy program back in the late 1980s and early 90s.
He also told them that, even almost two full decades later, the current players would receive the same fame and star treatment around town if the program reaches anywhere near that level again.
"We'd go to the movies, the mall, or to put gas in our cars and it was, 'Hey, hey, hey, you guys gonna win? You guys gonna do it again?'" he recalled. "Everywhere you went in this town, it was about UNLV basketball. I don't want to say you carried a weight, because to me it was a great thing.
"I see that in those guys, and I tried to reiterate to those guys what it would feel like to have a winning, successful season here in Vegas."
Now 40 years old with a hint of gray in his facial hair showing that age, Johnson splits time between his homes in Dallas and Las Vegas.
Despite pulling in more than $73 million in NBA salary alone over the course of his 10-year NBA career spent with the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks — and surely plenty more from endorsements, such as his deal with Converse which spawned the 'Grandmama' nickname — he's far from retired. Instead, he's heading up his own beverage company.
Johnson also makes trips up to Detroit to see his 18-year-old son, Larry Johnson Jr., play roundball. In fact, he's even been in Kruger's ear, hoping to get the UNLV staff to take a serious look.
"If he comes here, you'll see me here all the time," Johnson said.
The fact that Johnson and fellow members of Jerry Tarkanian's elite clubs from that generation have been present more and more in recent years is a testament to the effort Kruger and his staff have made to draw them back.
For a long time, that relationship between those alums and the school was pretty much non-existent.
But if UNLV has changed its tune with the current regime, Johnson said, more will make the same efforts that he is to be seen and bridge both the past and the present.
"I think that with everybody now, like myself, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, they reach out for the previous players and want previous players to come back," Johnson said. "Everything that's in the past is in the past.
"I think of everything now, helping to build back up this program."
Ryan Greene can be reached at ryan.greene@lasvegassun.com or 702-948-7844.
Discussion: 8 comments so far…
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We need more players like LJ!
If we had superstars like LJ maybe I wouldn't be Sufferin' Succotash!
Robert that's the nicest thing I have ever heard you say. Are you feeling okay today?
Coach Kruger not only did the right thing but made a very shrewd decision to reach out to the former Rebel players. All of us that root for the Rebels love those former players and what they accomplished. The more they are involved the better the program will be. When do we get to see Gerald Paddio????
Larry Johnson Jr....NO BRAINER Kruger!!! With all the recruits we've wasted scholarships on over the years, even if LJ Jr. isn't his dad, HE IS the son of the best player we've every had....AND we've really blown it with former players' kids in the past (Taurean Green for example)...this needs to get done!!!
Long overdue process of getting the program to embrace it's heritage. Meaning we ignore the pathetic efforts between Coach and our Coach K.
"Meaning we ignore the pathetic efforts between Coach and our Coach K".
What are you talking about, Louis_G?
hahaha. I remember LJ had a scandal with a mid-term paper he was accused of writing himself.
I'm mainly refering to Massimino and Bayno. When I say "Coach" I mean Coach Tarkanian.