Happy September! After a long summer of no college basketball we are thrilled to begin our 2016-17 season preview interview series with an early birthday gift for Morgan State assistant coach Larry Stewart (born on 9/21). As a player at Coppin State he led his team to the 1990 NCAA tourney, the 1st in school history. After signing with the Washington Bullets in 1991 he became the 1st undrafted player to ever make the NBA All-Rookie team. He comes from a basketball family: his brother Stephen was an assistant coach at Delaware and his brother Lynard played pro basketball overseas. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Stewart about averaging a double-double as a college star and why he got into coaching.
You did not play basketball until the 11th grade because your mother felt it would interfere with church: how did it feel to finally get to play? Not having both parents at home made it tough at first but after moving in with my dad I was finally allowed to play.
You and future NBA teammate Doug Overton (the new head coach at D-2 Liberty University) led Dobbins Tech to the 1987 Philadelphia public league semifinals 2 years after Hank Gathers/Bo Kimble led the school to its 1st-ever city title in 1985: how close did you come to winning it all, and what was it like to follow in those giant footsteps? It was tough to follow in their footsteps because they were 2 very talented players. If I remember correctly South Philly High won it all that year after winning it the previous year behind Public League POY Lionel Simmons.
You began your college career on the bench because you were ineligible, but you ended up averaging 20 PPG/11.6 RPG for your career at Coppin State: how were you able to get back onto the court, and did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? I did not have any academic problems: I was just a redshirt because Prop 48 had come out in 1986 and I was unable to qualify with my SAT scores. I did not realize how good I was at the time. I got my passion to play the game by working out all summer with guys like Hank and John Hardnett. Coach Hardnett (who worked in the Sonny Hill League) taught me the mental approach to the game while Hank taught me the importance of playing hard.
On 12//12/89 you had a 70-63 upset win over Maryland in Cole Field House, which was the last non-conference game that the Terps lost at Cole until it closed in 2002: how were you able to pull off the upset, and where does that rank among the biggest wins of your career? That was the biggest win of my career. Nobody knew about us at the time and some people would even joke around by calling us “Choppin’ State”! We were not afraid to play anyone and we knew that if we all did our jobs then we had a chance to beat anyone.
What are your memories of the 1990 NCAA tourney, the 1st tourney appearance in school history (you had 19 PTS/12 REB in a loss to #2-seed Syracuse, who was led by Derrick Coleman’s 14 PTS/12 REB)? I remember they cheated us: I am just joking! My partner Reggie Isaac just got cold in the 2nd half, which really hurt us. I think we could have won if we had played well in the 2nd half but Syracuse had 4-5 future NBA guys on their roster.
As a senior you averaged 13.4 RPG, which was #3 in the nation: how were you able to dominate on the boards, and what is the secret to being a great rebounder? The secret is to attack the ball: you cannot just let it sit up there and wait for it to come to you. It is also important to get good positioning and box out your opponent. I just wanted to duplicate what Hank and Lionel were doing at their own schools.
You won the McClendon Award (given to the top player at a historically black college) and were twice named MEAC POY: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? The McClendon Award was a great honor: they flew me down to Atlanta to accept the award, which was a great experience.
After college you went undrafted by the NBA, but after signing as a rookie free agent with Washington you became the 1st undrafted player to ever be named NBA All-Rookie: how did you feel when you learned you were not drafted, and how were you able to beat out guys like Kenny Anderson/Dale Davis to make All-Rookie? I never thought that I was going to play in the NBA after not being drafted but I loved the game and just tried to play hard. Coming from a small school it never even crossed my mind that I would get drafted. The Bullets’ coach was Wes Unseld, who had come out to Baltimore a couple of times to see me play. They had a lot of injuries that year so I got a lot of playing time.
In 1992 you were rumored to have appeared in a Wreckx-N-Effect video: is this rumor true, and if so, how on earth did it come about? That is true! A good friend of mine from Philly was real close to Teddy Riley, who was the group’s manager. They were doing a video down in Virginia Beach and I just lucked out by getting to be in the video: it was not planned from the start for me to be in it.
In 1993 you had surgery to fix a fracture in your right foot over the summer…only to break it again that fall: how frustrating was it to break the same foot right after having surgery to repair it, and how big a factor did injuries play in your career? It was a big blow. I sat out until I got well so breaking it again was very depressing because it wiped me out for the year. I was coming off of a good season and had hoped to play alongside rookie Tom Gugliotta. That was the only injury of my career so I consider myself very blessed.
In 1994 you were shot in the neck and stabbed in the thigh by 4 men during a break-in at your home: how close did you come to dying, and how did it end up changing your life? I came very close to dying: there is always a chance of grave danger whenever a gun is around. It was just 1 of those situations that I learned a lot from: you have to be careful who you hang out with, keep your circle of friends small, etc.
Next spring marks the 20th anniversary of your alma mater upsetting #2-seed South Carolina in the 1997 NCAA tourney despite being a 30-PT underdog: did you really pick them to win in your March Madness entry that year, and what was your reaction like when they won? I will never forget that day. I was playing for Seattle and we were in Atlanta for a game. I remember someone coming over to tell me that Coppin State had won. Of course I picked them to win: I went there myself!!
After retiring from the NBA you spent a decade playing professionally in Spain/Greece/France: what did you learn from these experiences, and how did they compare to the NBA? Playing in the NBA first helped me have a good career in Europe. They have some great talent abroad and I played in some of the countries with the best leagues.
Your brother Stephen was a 2-time MEAC POY who helped lead Coppin State to the 1993 NCAA tourney, while your brother Lynard was the 2004 British Basketball League Finals MVP: is it a coincidence that you had such an athletic family, or do you credit at least some of your success to genetics? Some of it is genetics: my dad and mom played a bunch of sports when they were young and both of them are tall. Part of it is also hard work. As the oldest child I think my brothers sort of took after me after seeing my success.
In 2006 you went back to Coppin State to complete your liberal arts degree, and you currently serve as an assistant coach at Morgan State: why did you decide to go back and get your degree, and what do you hope to do in the future? I wanted to get my degree but was always a few classes short. As time went on, taking classes online made it a lot easier then sitting in a summer school classroom for several hours a day. I know how important it is to have your degree. I plan on being in the coaching business for a long time. I played professionally for almost 20 years so I think I have a lot that I can give back to younger players.
