Wiedmer: Former UTC basketball player Larry Stewart the perfect example of student-athlete

They all were there to share in former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball player Larry Stewart's big moment this past weekend - the whole Stewart clan. His father Larry and mother Ida made the 11-hour drive from Chicago's South Side. So did his wife Angela, their daughter Lauren and twin sons Andrew and Elijah. Brother Chad also was in attendance.

And Stewart receiving the Joe Morrison Award during this year's UTC Athletics Hall of Fame festivities was certainly an honor richly deserved, given all the years he has run the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox Youth Foundation.

But family may also be the biggest reason, if not the only reason, Stewart was physically capable of being in the Scenic City after suffering a stroke in his Chicago home on Dec. 13.

"I normally watch TV by myself when I get home from work, just me and the dog watching sports downstairs," Stewart said. "But that night we decided to have a family night. We were all watching 'Black-ish' (the ABC sitcom)."

Stewart said he was soon overcome by a severe headache. His left side began to grow numb. Because his wife has worked in the health care industry, she immediately called for an ambulance.

"With a stroke, time is everything," Stewart said Sunday as the family prepared for the long drive back to the Windy City. "If I'd been by myself watching sports instead of sharing time with my family, who knows what might have happened."

His whole life is a lesson on what can happen when you mix effort, talent, charm and high character. He was lightly recruited until he caught the eye of former Mocs assistant Tic Price and former player James Hunter at a summer camp in Georgia.

"My mother and I drove down for a visit," he recalled of his UTC recruiting experience. "I committed that weekend."

Stewart earned a scholarship but redshirted as a freshman in the 1987-88 season while UTC earned its way into the NCAA tournament. The Mocs lost in the first round to No. 1-seeded and eventual runner-up Oklahoma at Atlanta's Omni.

He became an important member of the team thereafter, a high-energy guy with higher hops, an infectious smile and a nose for the basketball.

"Larry was just a model student-athlete," former Mocs coach Mack McCarthy said by phone Sunday night. "Whatever his role was, he did it with enthusiasm and to the best of his ability. And he was a spectacular athlete."

That spectacular athleticism and dedication to fitness and good health has opened professional doors and experiences to him that 99.9 percent of us can only dream about. He was once a personal trainer for Oprah Winfrey. Whenever the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, returns to his Chicago home, Stewart helps coordinates pick-up games with the help of former Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former Oregon State basketball coach Craig Robinson, who is also Obama's brother-in-law.

"If you're on his team, you definitely don't want him to lose," Stewart said of Obama. "And if you're on the other team, you don't want to hurt him. He's a lefty and he can shoot it. He can play."

Stewart said five hours of rehab a day have him 90 percent back to being able to play in those high-falutin' pick-up contests. Recalling McCarthy's rigorous practices, he said, "If I hadn't played for Mack, the rehab would have been a lot harder."

But it wasn't just those practices that aided his recovery. So many former Mocs - Hunter, Brandon Born, Derrick Kirce, Shane Neal, Keith Nelson, Bart Redden, Patrick Shepphard and LeVert Threats, to name but eight - reached out to him. Obama sent a get-well message through a friend. McCarthy and Price checked in often.

"That's meant so much," Stewart said. "That's helped so much."

Those 16-year-old twin sons of his just might help the Mocs down the road. Currently juniors at Kenwood Academy (their sister is a senior) in the Hyde Park neighborhood - "Right down the street from Obama's house," Stewart said - Andrew and Elijah are drawing interest from mid-major programs such as Northern Illinois and Lamar, where Price coaches.

"They're getting some looks," Stewart said. "They got a good look at UTC this weekend. (UTC coach) Lamont Paris and I have known each other a long time. He's a great coach. He's also a clean-cut guy. Good morals. I know my wife was thoroughly impressed with everything. My family really loved the city."

Moreover, the twins have often played against Maurice Commander, who's also from the Chicago area and signed with the Mocs last autumn. Kenwood lost to Commander's high school this past week.

"He's a good player," Stewart said. "He'll help the program."

There is the family you're born to and the larger family of friends and associates and community to embrace throughout your life. For Stewart, being recognized by his college family for the Joe Morrison Award - given in honor of the former Mocs football coach to a former athlete or coach for notable accomplishments and life experiences - was more than a little special, especially after the stroke.

"I was very flattered, very thankful, very humble," Stewart said. "Even with all that transpired, I wanted to make sure I was here, that I could thank everyone from the university that had meant so much to me when I was here. Just to see Chancellor (Fred) Obear and Susan Cardwell and so many others meant so much to me."

It is clear he'll always call Chicago's South Side home. But Chattanooga remains his home away from home.

"I'll always bleed black and gray and red and black," he said, referring to White Sox and Bulls colors. "But I'll also always bleed blue and gold."

What else would you expect from a model student-athlete?

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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