By Tom Nugent Raised by a Single Mom in Small- Town Missouri, He Landed on the Campus of UNL in the Fall of 1995
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Living the Dream Tyronn Jamar Lue struggled early. By Tom Nugent Raised by a single mom in small- town Missouri, he landed on the campus of UNL in the fall of 1995. He was barely 18, and he was totally uncertain about his future. But he also had a huge asset going for him. He’d already taught himself (with the help of a few outstanding coaches) how to shoot a basketball with unerring accuracy. After settling into his dorm room on the UNL campus, the wide-eyed youth from Mexico, Missouri, unpacked his bags and headed for the gym. What followed during the next 20 years was a classic American success story ... the story of an intensely single-minded young man who took advantage of a university scholarship and eventually became one of this country’s most accomplished professional athletes. 32 WINTER 2016 Living the Dream Lue with Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Dave Blatt, during last year’s championship series. ESPN photo NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 33 t was an evening he would never 36 points (24 of them in the second forget. half), and the Huskers had won the The uskersH were going nose to ballgame by 15 points, 80-65. nose with a powerful University of Amazing? Count on it. As the IVirginia basketball team, and they were final stat sheet made clear, Lue had in deep trouble. connected on 12 of 19 shots from the During a lackluster first half at the floor and converted 11 of 12 free throw Special Events Arena in Honolulu (this opportunities (while also dishing out was a key game in the 1997 Rainbow 7 assists). In the process, he’d single- Classic), Tyronn Lue (pronounced as in handedly dragged his team to a rousing “Loo”) and his University of Nebraska victory. It was destined to be the highest- teammates had looked totally out of scoring single game in Lue’s college sync. Again and again, they had been career ... and it left very little doubt that forcing their shots and rushing through he belonged in the NU Basketball Hall their offensive sets and fumbling away of Fame. one scoring opportunity after the next. He was inducted in 2013 – and you’ll It was just plain nasty. At the half-time find his red-and-white No. 10 jersey break, the frustrated cagers from Lincoln there today ... along with the jerseys trailed UVA 35-28, and the mood in of such other UNL All-America and the locker room was deeply somber. All-Conference luminaries as Herschell Unless somebody stepped up and took Turner (1959), Carl McPipe (1978), command, the UNL club was headed for Dave Hoppen (1986) and Erick a stinging defeat. Strickland (1996). And then it happened. A winner! Ask the soft-spoken and Less than a minute into the second usually low-key Tyronn Lue – who frame, the Cornhusker point guard – a then went on to an outstanding 11-year hard-charging six-footer with a heat- professional career in which he helped seeking jump shot – suddenly caught the Los Angeles Lakers win two NBA fire. Like a beam of light racing along championships (2000, 2001) – if he the surface of a shattered mirror, the remembers Honolulu, and he’ll light up darting round-ball wizard appeared to be brighter than Madison Square Garden everywhere at once. for a night game. UNL gave me everything I could have ever asked for. They gave me the fan support, the academic support, “the coaching support – they had my back, 100 percent.” Now Lue dribbles into the corner, goes “Sure, I remember it very well,” left, a spin move, as he shakes-and-bakes said the 38-year-old All-America toward the foul line ... and now he puts Honorable Mention (1998) the other up a running one-hander – he scores! day in Cleveland, where he now serves Lue dishes off, give and go, now he as associate head coach for the Cleveland gets the ball back – pulls up, lets fly – Cavaliers. “That game was pretty bingo, he hit it again! special, for several reasons. That was the He went on like that for nearly most points I ever scored in a game at 20 minutes ... during a dazzling Nebraska – and when it happened, the performance that left the Honolulu great [basketball legend] Jerry West was crowd of more than 10,000 roaring in sitting at courtside. their seats and leaping to their feet at “He was sitting with some other NBA times to salute what turned out to be scouts, right under the basket, and when one of the greatest performances in the I made a shot at one point, I looked over history of the Rainbow Classic. there and he gave me the thumbs up. Photos courtesy Nebraska Communications Office When the horn finally sounded, the And that was one of the biggest moments cat-quick point guard had knocked down of my entire life.” 34 WINTER 2016 It was also the start of an 11-year run But in the end they’re just people like (1998-2009) as a quicker-than-light everybody else, and coaching them is all ball-handler for half a dozen teams in the about maintaining respect and honesty National Basketball Association ... followed on both sides of the relationship. And the by a six-year assistant-coaching career in same is true of LeBron. He does a great which the hardwood-savvy floor leader job of respecting my knowledge of the has gained a glittering national reputation game and my position as the associate as both a canny strategist and an astute head coach.” manager of the volatile personalities and Of course, LeBron James isn’t the only jumbo-sized egos that dominate the world NBA mover-and-shaker who greatly of pro basketball today. admires and respects Tyronn Lue for his Example: As a high-ranking member coaching prowess. of the Cleveland Cavaliers brain trust These days, in fact, the high-flying (under the famously cerebral CC head Lue is reportedly so much in demand A lot of people coach David Blatt), Associate Coach Lue as a coach that he’s currently enjoying don’t realize it, but is charged with the daily task of helping the benefits of a $6 million, multi-year to manage the legendary LeBron James contract – and seems certain to become a LeBron is actually very – arguably the most skilled basketball head coach within the next few years. player in this history of the sport ... Listening to Lue discuss the social “down to earth and very and also a mercurial and sometimes aspects of pro coaching the other day in controversial figure who’s capable of Cleveland (the discussion took place during open-minded. He respects blowing his very large top at the slightest a morning “shoot-around” practice before everyone, from the players provocation. that night’s game against the New York Mention LeBron’s name, however, and Knicks), it was easy to remember that he’d to the janitor.” the calmly laid-back Lue will send you majored in sociology during his three years a smile of perfect equanimity ... while (1995-98) as an undergraduate at UNL. Lue on coaching Lebron James readily admitting that “coaching in the NBA is all about managing personalities and egos, definitely.” Then, with a thoughtful frown: “It’s about managing personalities more than about Xs and Os.” But then the supremely diplomatic Lue goes on to point out that LeBron James isn’t really the kind of full- court enfant terrible that he’s often made out to be. “A lot of people don’t realize it,” he said carefully, “but LeBron is actually very down to earth and very open-minded. He respects everyone, from the players to the janitor. “It’s true that he’s a larger- than-life figure. But I’m used to playing with and coaching these kinds of superstars. I’ve spent a lot of time around guys like [mega-star scorer] Michael Jordan and Shaq [legendary all- star center Shaquille O’Neal] ... and they all have that same kind of presence. “When they walk into a ESPN photo room, the room brightens up. NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 35 ‘No Dream Could Be Better’ Than or drink, Lue was dedicated to perfecting Tyronn Lue’s Life Today his jump shot while also doing his best Whenever Ty Lue looks back on to keep up his GPA. And he was smart his three years at UNL, one name in enough to listen to the endlessly insistent particular comes floating back to him. Dennis Leblanc. Dennis Leblanc. “He helped me to see how important “Dennis was my academic adviser getting an education really is,” said the [supplied by the UNL Athletic Cavs associate head coach today, “and Department],” said the two-time NBA his lessons sank in. Although I left UNL champ, “and I owe him a great deal. after my junior year [he was NBA- Playing intercollegiate basketball while drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the studying for a degree isn’t easy, and I first round in 1998], I later went back went through some tough stretches and finished up my sociology degree where I was missing class a little bit. online. Getting my BA was just about “But Dennis stayed on me. He would the hardest thing I ever did – and I’m call my room, call the dorm ... and he’d very glad today that I got it done.” even meet me at my classes sometimes But the story isn’t over yet. to make sure I got there.