Johnson finally puts cap on UNLV career

During his final season at UNLV, as Larry Johnson headed toward a career in the NBA, he was planning for life beyond basketball.

"One of my goals is to get my degree, get my education. I'm trying to please my family, keep my mom happy, make sure she's proud of me," Johnson said in February 1991.

On Friday morning, Johnson wore a cap and gown as he accepted his Bachelor of Arts in social science studies at UNLV's winter commencement ceremony. He received a loud ovation from the crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center, where about 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students were honored.

"It's a long time coming," Johnson said.

Two of his seven children were in attendance. His mother, Dortha Johnson, died more than a year ago.

"I know she would be proud," Johnson said. "I think about my mom every day since she passed.

"My mom was always on me and asking, 'Are you ever going to go back and get that degree?' I was so close when I was here. I always knew that once I got settled, I was going to come back and do it."

Johnson, 38, starred for the Rebels from 1989 to 1991. Many regard him as the greatest player in school history.

A 6-foot-7-inch forward, he led UNLV to the 1990 national championship, and in 1991 he was named college basketball's top player and was the NBA's No. 1 overall draft pick.

Johnson played for the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks before chronic back problems forced him into retirement in 2001.

The Rebels went 69-6 in Johnson's two seasons on the court. In the classroom, he made the dean's list his first semester as a senior and was close to finishing his requirements for graduation when he started his NBA career.

To finish his studies, Johnson said he took correspondence courses online for two years but also traveled from his home in Dallas to the Las Vegas campus about three times a month for the past year.

He said he wanted to earn his degree to be a role model for his children and because he plans to be a teacher and basketball coach at the middle school level in Dallas.

"That's how I can make the biggest impact on kids," Johnson said. "That's mostly what I remember when I was coming up, my junior high and high school coaches."

His former coach at UNLV, Jerry Tarkanian, often urged him to complete college. In the early 1990s, Las Vegas casino executive Jimmy Newman reportedly contributed more than $450,000 for use in returning student-athletes to the university to finish their degrees.

"Periodically, when I would talk to Coach, he would say, 'You know Jimmy Newman put that money up, you ought to go take advantage,' " Johnson said. "That team that I played on -- all under the Jimmy Newman foundation -- we could come back and get our degree."

Johnson said his kids, who range in age from 8 to 15, pushed him even more than Tarkanian did.

"Every now and then my two oldest children will give me a shot and say, 'When are you going to graduate?' They can't do that anymore," Johnson said.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.