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The worlds of sports and showbiz collide! Featuring in-depth chats with top athletes, entertainers, and industry insiders - all with a Las Vegas twist.
Announcer 0:00
This is a KU NV studios original program.
Wesley Knight 0:04
The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. You
Music 0:20
go. Nothing can stop me. I'm all the way up. I'm all the way
Music 0:33
up, I'm all the way up. Nothing can stop me, I'm all the way up.
Alexis Levi 0:38
Hello, hello. I'm so excited today I am here with one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. And of course, you know, I'm Alexis Levi with sports and stars here at UNLV and on KU NB, I am so excited to be here. You know, from time to time, I bring people on that are in the sports industry. They're athletes, they're music people, anything sports and star and entertainment related, is what we do here at sports and stars. And today, I'm really excited because I am able to interview somebody very important to me, which is my son, Tyler. Larson, welcome Tyler. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I'm excited to have you. You know, it's a mother's dream that she's able to talk favorably and excitedly about success in her own family, right? And so today, just to let you know, Tyler actually was a pro athlete overseas for seven years. And you know, a lot of times people ask me, Well, how was that? And you know, is it scary and things of that nature. So I thought I would bring my son in here to talk about that. I'd also like, because it's Sunday, to talk about, kind of how God led him to where he's at, and now he's a coach. So I want to talk a little bit first, Tyler about, you know, let everybody know that you're from Vegas, and talk a little bit about that.
Tyler Larson 1:59
Oh, well, yeah. I graduated high school in Las Vegas, played high school basketball at Desert Pines, and then eventually went to junior college in cash for Wyoming, and then went to South Dakota for three years. My first year there, I got hurt. My second year there, I got hurt again, somewhat played like half the season, and then my senior year was able to play very well under Craig Smith, who I worked for at the University of Utah before going overseas.
Alexis Levi 2:25
Well, you know, and you you went so fast through that, but it really was a journey. You know, as you stated in the beginning, you got hurt. I would love for you to tell the people what happened, so that they can understand, because a lot of people get hurt and they decide I'm done, especially in an injury, like what you had. So talk a little bit about,
Tyler Larson 2:45
yeah, yeah, I tore my ACL my first summer at the University of South Dakota, being Division one. It was definitely devastating. But like you said, the show's on a Sunday, and so God got me through it. I couldn't have done it without him. I couldn't have done it without, you know, his guidance and being able to lean on him. And you know that was very rough time in my life where, you know, basketball was taken away from me for the first time in my life. And you know, definitely had to lean on him through that. Honestly, never, play professionally. For sure, I was actually, you know, just trying to get my degree after that, but he had different plans. He blessed me to get healthy and be able to come back better than I was before, and be able to take it to the next level.
Alexis Levi 3:35
Well, yeah, you know, it's funny, because, you know, when most people go through an injury like that. You know, they question a lot of things. They question, why? Maybe I'm not supposed to do this. I even remember having a conversation with you, Tyler, you might not remember this, but you were like, I don't think I can do this. You know, it just was so tough. I mean, you were getting better, and then you got re injured. So, you know, obviously, you know, there was a message, a method to the madness. But the exciting thing that I want to share with my audience is that where there's a will, there's a way, and Tyler kept going, and the amazing thing is, not only did he keep going, like he said, he came back better, and I remember him learning to walk again and all these things, because a lot of people think, oh, an injury, you know, you you put a band aid on it, you wrap it up, you heal a little bit and you come back. But anytime you hear somebody has torn their ACL, their MCL, any devastating accident or injury like that. It is a journey, learning to walk again. I remember that Tyler, and then also I remember when you got to your end of your year, end of your senior year, you also were named number one in rebounds. Talk a little bit about that. Yeah, I was
Tyler Larson 4:51
the shortest person to ever lead the conference in rebounding. I got that number one stat, and I was the first person at my school, which is getting the. South Dakota to ever be named to the first team of the of the conference. So, you know, it was definitely some feats that I was able to accomplish, and I had no it definitely wasn't just me going to the most high he definitely led me through all that, you know, through bad nights, through good nights, through, like you said, when I couldn't walk and had to relearn how to walk, and when I couldn't, you know, bathe myself when I couldn't do anything, he definitely had me in his hands to keep me grounded and to keep me going,
Alexis Levi 5:33
yes, yes. And so let's, let's fast forward, because I know I only have just a little bile, but I want to talk about the journey overseas. A lot of times, people feel if they didn't make it to the NBA or NFL, or any of these, you know, the top leagues, right, that there's no place to go. And I want to change that thought today. I want people to understand that you can go over there, do well, make money, buy a house, do all the things that you would want to do in your life. And we'll talk a little bit about that, and then we'll go into some of the the negatives of going overseas. So tell me about how you got overseas. Like you said, it's
Tyler Larson 6:09
a lot of people look at it as a negative, or, you know, like they didn't make it. They didn't make it to where they wanted to, being in the US and growing up in the US. Obviously, the NBA is, you know, a big deal here. And so to be able to go play European basketball, my whole mindset was like, How can I make it back to the NBA? And, you know, when I went over there, I realized there was a lot more than that that, you know, to become a professional basketball player is something that you dream of your whole life, and when you finally accomplish it, you try to, you know, say, Oh, why didn't make it to NBA or, Oh, well, I didn't do this. And then, you know, when I got over there and I realized how, you know, important you are to the people over there, how important you are to your family here, how you can make a living and take care of your family the same way. You know, your money's tax free, your get a car, you get you get a lot of things, a lot of perks, to be over there, and so, you know, it was definitely a blessing that I didn't realize, and I had to learn about as I went through my years over there. Well, yeah, let's talk
Alexis Levi 7:09
a little bit about that real quick. Now, one of the things I was telling somebody earlier, who was asking me, I was on an interview earlier, and I was talking about, you know, lots of things about sports, and one of the things that people don't realize is that you go over there, but you get a house and a car. So the difference in in being over there and over here, obviously, NBA gives you certain amount of money, right? And you have to buy your things, you know, those things yourself. But over there, they give you a house, they give you a car, and it's usually a pretty nice car. I was over there, and, you know, they've got, you know, a lot of the luxury cars and European cars over there, so Mercedes and people like that are your sponsors. And so I thought that was really cool. And then I also thought, you know, like Tyler saying when he was over there, he didn't realize how important it was. And so for those of you that are thinking of going over there, you really are. The NBA over there, you know, you really are. I mean, from fans to people following you to all kinds of stuff. It's the same as over here, but you're just not at home. You're over in other countries. Talk about some of the places that you went to, Tyler, oh, I started
Tyler Larson 8:13
my career in Latvia, which is Eastern Europe, in Yak pills, which is a small village town that you know, barely anybody spoke English. All the Americans had got cut from my team, so I ended up being the only American with 12 other Latvians. And actually made some lifelong friends doing that year. And then my next year, I went to Hungary. I was there for about two months. Then I got hurt, and I had to deal with some, you know, things that come with the territory of being a professional athlete overseas. Of you know, management wanted me to play through injuries and different things of the sort. And if you don't play through injury, then we're not going to pay you and stuff like that. So I was there for two months, and then I finally got paid out, came home and rehabbed because I strained my groin. And then I went to Lithuania on a two week tryout, and the team wanted me back, but I told my agent that I, you know, wanted to try out somewhere else. I didn't really, you know, like the place that it was at in Lithuania was kind of in the middle of nowhere. I was very cold. And so then I ended up in Riga, Latvia, same country as I was in my rookie year, but the capital Riga, and it was, you know, a great time in my life. We won the bronze medal. I led league in scoring. Very good year for us. And then after that, I went to Belgium, and I was there for half of the year, ended up getting bought out by an Italian team. I was playing very well in Belgium, so I was kind of gaining some traction with different countries and better countries, because overseas, there's tears, so there's like tier one, tier two, tier three. In tier one, you got your, you know, Italy, German. Germany, France, Turkey, Spain, those type of places. Then you know, tier two, you got your Belgium, you got your Serbia, you got your, you know, different places like that. And then you know, tier three, you got your Latvia, and so on, so forth. So I was gaining some traction with those higher tier teams, and then I got bought out, went to Italy and made it to the playoffs next year. Went to Russia.
Alexis Levi 10:26
Yeah, in Russia. I want to stop at Russia. Keep talking, keep talking about Russia, but I want to ask you a
Tyler Larson 10:33
question, yeah, played in Russia for a team called Parma, which is in Perm, about two hour flight from Moscow, about two hour flight from St Petersburg, Russia. And, you know, love my time there. My my fiance at the time. I met her before I went to Russia, and then she ended up coming out there with me. We loved it. Yeah, that, you know, I
Alexis Levi 10:55
remember you all saying that, and I couldn't believe it, because, you know, we here in America believe the news, right? And sometimes the news can skew depending upon what country they're talking about. And I and when I tell people that you were in Russia, and I say and they loved it, they kind of look at me like, wow, really, you know. And so what was it that you loved about it? Just to share that with my audience,
Tyler Larson 11:19
I mean, the food was good, the like you said, you know, when you play overseas, you get housing in a car. We didn't get a car because Russia's driving rules are different, but we did get, you know, full service Ubers and taxis anytime we wanted, yes, and we also had a driver. So that worked out. But the housing was good, the food was really good, the people were very nice. You know, it was, it was just, is a really good place to be, which most of the time you're safe when you go overseas, like you're a basketball player, most of the time you're in a place where there's probably not a me being a minority, there's not a lot of minority people. So when they see they already suspect that you're a part of some, you know, team or some star. And then, and then they know, you know, if you're a basketball player, most of the time, they know who you are. So it was, they treated us good. It was, it was all good there. I mean, the only bad thing was, it snowed every single day. Yeah, they say
Alexis Levi 12:15
it's real cold over there, but it looks beautiful. When I look at the pictures. It looks beautiful. And, you know, of course, Germany was amazing. France, Italy. I mean, all those places are where people want to go, and some of them have never been. And I know that, you know, I had the opportunity as a mom to come over and hang out a little bit, and I loved it. I loved everywhere we went. And so the exciting thing about sports that I've seen through you, because I'm seeing it through your eyes now, is there's so many different twists and turns, and so you're over in Europe, and I don't have time to talk about the bubble, but I know you were in the bubble over there because of covid. But as you come home and your beautiful wife is getting ready to have my wonderful granddaughter, by the way, and so you kind of decide that you don't want to go back. And, you know, the family was in shock, right? We were kind of like, really, and but you made some different moves. Talk about those moves. Talk about what happened with the Golden State Warriors.
Tyler Larson 13:19
Well, before we get to the words, you brought up the bubble, yeah, the bubble was, was, was very interesting. It was in Munich Germany, and we were in a hotel 10 teams for three weeks. You know, we had, obviously chefs and golf simulators and pool tables, and it was very nice setup. But you're stuck in a hotel in Munich Germany for three weeks. And you can ride scooters around the city, but you can't go in any restaurants. You can't go on McDonald's, you can't go in the mall. You can't go anywhere, because you're you're in a bubble. And at that particular time, we were the only sports that were playing in the whole world, which is very interesting, yes, because the whole world has shut down because of covid, Germany had started their basketball league up before the NBA, the NBA was kind of watching how Germany did it to, you know, how they would exactly, and so, you know, being the only sports going during that time. I mean, now we look back and we say, Oh, it was just a time, time period, time period in life. But, you know, at the time, everybody's very uncertain about what covid would do to sports, what covid would do to the world, what is will the world be the same? Yes, you know. And so to be a part of that, and, you know, we took the picture there, so we will remember it forever, and everything like that, to be a part of that was, was an amazing experience. And all the players and coaches involved and organizations involved would say the same thing, yes, and then you and then, so, like you said, fast forward, I decided to retire. You know, I was dealing with some nagging injuries, and then my wife was pregnant, and, you know, I was up in the air. Didn't know if I wanted to go play or, you know, go into my next phase of life, which I wanted to be coaching or. Wanted to be involved with basketball, but wasn't sure. And then I was home for the summer, and I was out on the West Coast, visiting yourself and visiting, you know, family. Yeah, happened to be in the Bay Area during the California classic, which is, I believe, you know, even this year, July, 5 through seven. Yes, happened to be out there my agent, Teddy Archer, contacted me, and he said, Hey, I want to, I want you to go meet this guy. Because he was aware of, you know, the different avenues that I was talking about taking if it was time for me to be done and putting the put the ball down. And he said, Hey, I want you to go meet this guy. He's up there at the chase Center. He works for the Warriors, you know, go meet him. Go say what's up to him and see what happens. And so I just happened to be in San Francisco that day. You know, obviously, California is a very big state. So you know, you can be anywhere at any given time. If somebody says, hey, you know, go meet this guy, you can miss him. Yes, a period of time that takes you to get somewhere that's exactly right, you might hit you might hit traffic. And traffic is bad there. So, you know, there was a multitude of things that could have happened, but they all lined up perfect. I happened to be at a San Francisco Giants game with my wife and my father. We watched the game, and then the Warriors game was right after that baseball game center, it's like, you know, 50 feet away from each other. And we walked over there, met with him, and, you know, had a great conversation. He said, Hey, we're flying out to Vegas for the NBA Summer League. If you happen to be in Vegas, I would love for you to meet with some different people. You know, Ken lake of being one of them, who's the son of Joe, like some other different people that are involved in the hiring process, yes, because Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz warriors and the Golden State Warriors are extremely integrated. So you know, you you interview with the Golden State Warriors, even if you're working for the Santa Cruz warriors, yes, you know, I talked to all them, and, you know, we hit it off. Had great, great conversation, great vibe. And they ended up offering me the position to be an assistant coach for their for the Santa Cruz warriors, along with, you know, kind of being a player development coach for the Warriors and working alongside them. So it was kind of an opportunity that I felt like I couldn't pass up at the time. Oh yeah, and I have no regrets. It was priceless. The priceless, priceless experiences and relationships are built now.
Alexis Levi 17:10
I know my audience doesn't know, but I just this was one of my favorite times when my son call me and you know which one I'm talking about, the day that Steve told you to go work out with Steph, talk a little bit about that.
Tyler Larson 17:25
I mean, yeah, you know, obviously, growing up in the Bay Area, you I'm a Golden State Warriors fan. Through and through, I've always been a Golden State Warriors fan. I was a Kobe Bryant fan, but I've always been a warriors fan, because that's the hometown team. So, you know, seeing what they've done with that organization, and turned it into the powerhouse that it is. Just obviously, you know, being in the room those guys was, was like, you know, taken in. I was trying to be a sponge and just taking everything. And, you know, the first time I got to work out with Steph, or even, you know, rebound for Steph, or just being the, you know, same vicinity and see what he's doing on the court. Was an amazing experience. And you know, what I realized through that is, you know, the reason why the Warriors are who they've been and are who they are to this day is because Steve Kerr is at the helm, and he and but Steph Curry, there's a, there's a partnership there with those two that, you know, they are amazing people. And they just, you know, don't carry egos with them. They, you know, want the best for everybody around them, and it trickles down to everybody. So, you know, just that's that was one of the biggest things that I noticed. So when I was able to be in His presence and work out with him, and the same with Steve, being able to be in His presence and learn from him, and coach his meetings, and, you know, on the floor and so on and so forth. Was just priceless experience, like I said, and just really realized that, you know, there's, it's not a surprise why they've been so successful and why they have championship pedigree.
Alexis Levi 18:52
Yes, yes. I mean, it's been an amazing journey just to watch. I mean, even though you came, like we moved here from the Bay Area, you went to school here and then journeyed around the world. The exciting thing is, one of the people that was on the Warriors GP, Gary Payton, is actually a friend of yours, and you guys met here, and I believe you played on an AAU team together, but I can't remember if that's true or not.
Tyler Larson 19:15
Is that true? Yeah, that's true. Yes, okay. We were teammates. We've known each other for a long time now. We were roommates on the road, and then obviously, we've stayed cool through our whole professional playing career. So the fact that I was coaching with them, actually, when I first took the job, he was in Portland. He had just signed with Portland Trail Blazers. Oh yeah. So you know, we had just missed each other. And so when you heard I was signing with the Warriors, it was like, dang it, I just missed you. And then he ended up coming back mid season. It was kind of like a, almost like a family reunion. Having him there and me being there is kind of a familiarity that, you know, everything kind of
Alexis Levi 19:50
coming full circle exactly, exactly, you know, once again, I'm always throwing God into the mix, because when you when you told me about. At and I told other people like Rick Barry and other people have been in sports forever. They're like, that doesn't happen. That doesn't happen. I don't know how that happened, but it just doesn't happen, just like that. And the exciting thing is, it didn't stop there. You know, Tyler met Craig Smith at University of South Dakota, and ironically, after Tyler left the Warriors, let's talk about what happened after that. And, you know, tell my audience just a little bit about how that came to be.
Tyler Larson 20:30
Okay. Well, I finished the season out with the Warriors right before they went into their playoff series that year. I think it's three years ago against the Sacramento Kings. Step drop 50 in game seven, best series, if anybody can remember that. But yes, leading up to that series, I was part of the scout team. I was deer in Fox in practice, so just playing against, you know, those guys and getting them prepared for what they're about to go against, at least trying to get them prepared for what they're about to go against, because I'm not deer in Fox, but you know, trying to get them ready. And then when they when they traveled, when the playoffs started, I went home and to be with my family, and then I came back for the NBA Summer League to be a player development coach slash video coordinator for them. Did the did the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which was a great experience for me and my family as well. Obviously, growing up in Las Vegas, being at UNLV and Thomas and Mac and just, you know, all the above that went with that was, was a great experience, especially for somebody that's from there, yes. And then, like you said, Craig Smith, who I played for my senior year in college, was the head coach at the University of Utah. Prior to that, he was at Utah State, made the tournament three times, ended up coming to University of Utah trying to do the same thing. And so, you know, he called me. First off, he's a mentor of mine that I'll like. I always called him to ask his advice, to ask for His guidance, to ask what he thought about different things and which way I should go, even when I was deciding to retire. And so, you know, I called him just to let him know about my situation. And you know, the warriors wanted me to come back to join the Golden State Warriors, not the Santa Cruz warriors. And so I had a decision to make, you know, just with different things that you know go on in California and other places, and different opportunities that were being presented to me, and Utah was one of them. And I just felt like Utah was a great place. First off, I believe in everything Coach Smith is about, and was going to do with that team, and did do with that team. And so it seemed like a no brainer to join them. It made sense for my family, being in Utah so very safe. They're very clean there, you know, very opportunistic things for my wife and her and her career and everything. So I made sense to join him, and I did, yes, yes,
Alexis Levi 22:45
yes, yes. And we love Craig. Shout out to Craig, because he's been a family member now since college. You know, we kind of take people in and they become family members, whether they're athletes or people that are in sports or just people that we love. And you know, I encourage other people to do that, because if you hear the I guess you'd say, the thread through this story, it's always been someone else that was supportive, you know, someone else that saw the good and Tyler, somebody else who had a leg up that said, hey, you know, let me make a call for you. And a lot of times when I'm talking to athletes, when I had the Las Vegas stars, and when I'm, you know, dealing with athletes today, they think they're the Lone Ranger and that nothing, nothing matters. You know, if they do good, that's it. But it really is more than that. It's a community. It's a very close community. Everybody knows everybody, pretty much. And the exciting thing, I think for you, Tyler has been, you know, the stair steps that you have taken and the persistence and the patience, because it takes a lot of patience. You don't just become the star overnight. You know, you have to pay your dues. You have to do the hard work. You have to get up and work out. You got to do all the things. And so one last thing I want to talk about is when you went to University of Utah, you know you also had several, I guess you'd say, several athletes that you touched along the way. But then you get to Utah, and now there's this team that wants to do good, wants to go further, and you become the director of player personnel, as well as the assistant coach, talk a little bit about what your journey was in that, in the
Tyler Larson 24:24
award that you got as well. Yeah, my, my title was assistant coach, slash director of player personnel. You know, Assistant Coach, obviously, as everything involving basketball, on the court, off the court, recruiting, you know, offense, defense, scouting, player development, everything, so on and so forth. I was actually introduced by Coach Smith as the director of player development, so I don't know what my job title is, but that's the one that's online and so and then throughout the year, you know, just being put in different situations and being in. To be effective in them as an assistant coach. The other side of that, Director of player personnel, is kind of, you know, an umbrella that a lot of things fall under. Meaning, you know, I was the liaison for campus police and Salt Lake City Police, just in case our players got into anything. I was the liaison between EDI, which is inclusion, diversity and equity, or equity, diversity, inclusion. I was our liaison for community outreach, which, you know, getting our guys out in the community and showing face, and being able to get people to the games and now at n i L, those things become appearances, and so on and so forth. And you spoke on the award that we won as a team in our athletic department at the University of Utah, or something called the Crimson Carpet Awards, where it's kind of like a red carpet event for the university, where the athletic department picks different teams that you know were exceptional in certain areas. And ours happened to be the Community Service Award because we got out in in the community so much and did so much, you know, for you know, elders, kids at middle schools, we actually had Riley stone, which is part of Team Impact. We had him so Team Impact is an organization that partners different college teams, no matter the sport, with different kids who may be going through something early in their life, such as cancer, leukemia, different sort different sort of diseases and so on and so forth. So they partnered us with Riley stone, and that was a big part of our community outreach, because, you know, he was in the locker room with us after the games. He's at practices with us. He was kind of like our new teammate that we welcome, you know, became like a family member, still very close to his family him, you know, and that's a lasting bond that will, that will last forever, between his family and the players and staff that we had and hopefully continuing forward with the new staff that's come in.
Alexis Levi 26:52
Yes, yes, yes. Well, you know, it's not just, like I said, ladies and gentlemen, is not just bouncing the ball. It's not just, you know, running down the court, it's, it's a lifestyle. And I think that's the thing that I wanted to get across to people, mostly today, because it is a lifestyle. It's a commitment. I hate when athletes say, I don't want to be a role model. I don't care. As soon as you step on that court, as soon as you step on a field, you are a role model, because they're going to be looking at you. I mean, even to the point I remember Tyler, and I won't talk too much about this, but I remember Tyler and I being over in, I think we were in, I don't know, were we in Italy, maybe Italy, and we were at the mall, and all of a sudden, I'm looking at my peripheral vision, and there's these kids that are kind of following Germany. Okay, these kids were following us and following us.
Tyler Larson 27:44
Actually, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, you're right. Is
Alexis Levi 27:47
Italy, right? So, yeah, so these kids are following us, and by the time we got to the end of the walkway, there was at least 1015, kids, right? And they had seen Tyler play on TV the night before, and so they spotted him, and they knew and they wanted to talk to him, but they were scared to come up one of the most proudest moments, and I'm going to end my interview with you with this, one of the proudest moments I've had with my son, the athlete, was that he stopped, gave his time, shook their hand, gave autographs, and didn't act as if they were bothering him. I understand our time is valuable. All of us are okay, but, you know, we're here each one teach one. We're here to be a role model. We're here to teach somebody else, motivate somebody else. And through my show, Stars and Stripes, stars and stars and sports. Excuse me, Stars and Stripes, stars and sports. That is what we do. We make sure that we are giving you information that you can take and apply to your job, your life, your lifestyle, your journey. And without further ado, I want to thank you, Tyler, for joining me today. My heart goes out to you and your family, and I look forward to seeing what God's going to do next.
Tyler Larson 29:02
Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. God bless you. God bless everybody. Listening. Be a light, be a blessing and
Alexis Levi 29:11
love you. All right. Love you too. All right. Bye, bye. Thank you. You.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai