Jack Givens Remembers That Larry Johnson Was Even Faster Than John Wall

Vicky Graff Photo

Guard Larry Johnson was one of the pioneers who helped break the color barrier for University of Kentucky basketball when he came from Union County to play for coach Joe B. Hall and helped the Cats win the 1976 NIT when he had 16 points and eight assists in the title game and reach the 1977 Elite Eight before losing to North Carolina. He was also part of UK’s 1975 Final Four team.

The 6-3 guard scored 850 points in 112 games and also had over 300 assists before becoming a second round pick in the 1977 NBA draft. He was best known as a lockdown defender but he had 16 points coming off the bench in a win over Notre Dame and hit a game-winning shot at Vanderbilt in 1976 along with hitting the game-winner in the NIT semifinal in 1976.

After Johnson signed with Kentucky, two other Union County African-American players — Dwane Casey and Fred Cowan — also came to Kentucky.

Johnson passed away this week at age 70 and former teammate Jack “Goose” Givens shared an emotional tribute to Johnson during an appearance on “The Leach Report” with Tom Leach Thursday morning. He said even after players finished their careers at UK, “everybody went to Larry for that big smile he has always had” on his face.

“I learned a lot from Larry back in the day, and the first thing I learned from him, maybe the most important thing I learned from Larry, was you have to bring it every play. He never had an off possession whether I’m talking practice or in the game. He put the same energy in on the offensive end of the floor, and especially on the defensive end of the floor because you talk about a stopper. He was a stopper,” Givens said.

However, this next statement might tell you just how athletic Larry Johnson was.

“I know a lot of people when you talk about guys (going) from one end of the floor to the other with the ball in his hands. John Wall was one of those names that always comes up. Larry Johnson was quicker from one end of the floor to the other than John Wall,” Givens said.

“He was a great, great basketball player, but I truly mean this —  he was an even better person. As we got older, he became a much better friend and reliable friend for all of us when we just needed a smile and needed somebody to talk to. Joe Hall tapped into that pipeline in the 70’s from Union County High School.

“The great thing about it is that up until Larry’s last breath, those guys were still very tight. They had that connection from being in that area, and it never, never faded.”

Leach actually compared Johnson to Lamont Butler, the point guard on UK’s team last season, and Givens thought that was a fair comparison.

“Larry was a lot quicker,” Givens said. “Larry was really thick across the upper body, his shoulders and he was a lot longer in his reach (than Butler).

Givens still remembers the play Johnson made against Providence in the 1976 NIT semifinal to get UK to the title game. Kentucky was down one point when Johnson went the length of the court to score.

“That was maybe the defining moment for Larry when it comes to his career in Kentucky. As I mentioned, he was lightning fast from one end to the other. He got into the middle of their defense, and got to the free throw line area, and he wanted it,” Givens said.

“It was designed to pass the ball to me. They cut me off, but Larry pulled up and took that jumper, and it was all bottom. That was a huge, huge play when it comes to keeping us alive and us winning the NIT that year. But there were so many plays like that he made.”