About Larry Johnson
Larry Demetric Johnson (born March 14, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for ten seasons as a power forward with the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks. An NCAA champion and two-time NBA All-Star, Johnson is a member of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame. Johnson won a version of national player of the year at the high school, junior college, and NCAA Division I levels. == High school career == Johnson played at Skyline High School in Dallas, Texas. As a senior, Johnson was named Texas Mr. Basketball, a consensus All-American and was named Mr. Basketball USA. Johnson took part in the 1987 McDonald's All-American Boys Game that included such players as Dennis Scott, Marcus Liberty, Mark Macon, and fellow Texas prep star LaBradford Smith to name a few. == College career == === Odessa (1987–1989) === Johnson originally made a verbal commitment to play for Dave Bliss at Southern Methodist University, but he instead enrolled at Odessa College in Texas following a dispute with the SMU administration about the legitimacy of one of his SAT scores. He played the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons at Odessa, averaging 22.3 points per game as a freshman and over 29 points per game his sophomore year, becoming the first and, to date, only player ever to win the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 Player of the Year award both years played. There were even some basketball analysts who believed Johnson could have been a first round selection in the 1989 NBA draft (even a possible NBA lottery selection) if he had declared for early entry.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.