Larry Farmer (basketball) facts for kids
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Farmer as an assistant coach for Western Michigan in 2011
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 31, 1951 |
| Playing career | |
| 1970–1973 | UCLA |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1973–1981 | UCLA (assistant) |
| 1981–1984 | UCLA |
| 1985–1988 | Weber State |
| 1988–1990 | Qadsia Sporting Club |
| 1990–1991 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
| 1992–1997 | Kuwait national team |
| 1997–1998 | Rhode Island (assistant) |
| 1998–2004 | Loyola (IL) |
| 2007–2010 | Hawaii (assistant) |
| 2010–2012 | Western Michigan (assistant) |
| 2013–2018 | Western Michigan (assistant) |
| 2022–present | Woodlands |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2012–2013 | NC State (dir. player dev.) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 166–179 (college) |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA Division I) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
As player:
As head coach:
As assistant coach:
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Larry Farmer (born January 31, 1951) is a famous American basketball coach and former player. He is well-known for his time playing college basketball at UCLA. There, he was part of three national championship teams in the early 1970s. These teams were led by the legendary coach John Wooden.
Farmer also became a head basketball coach for several college teams. These included UCLA from 1981 to 1984, Weber State University from 1985 to 1988, and Loyola University Chicago from 1998 to 2004. In 2018, Larry Farmer was honored by being inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.
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High School Basketball Journey
Larry Farmer played high school basketball at Manual High School in Denver, Colorado. He played there from 1966 to 1969. When he was a sophomore, he almost stopped playing basketball. But he kept going and became a star player.
In his senior year, he helped his team, the Thunderbolts, reach the state championship game. He was named First Team Denver Post All-State. Both the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post also named him First Team All-State, All-Metropolitan, and All-City. In January 2017, Farmer was inducted into the Colorado High School Activities Association's Hall of Fame. This shows how important his high school career was.
College Basketball Success
Larry Farmer played college basketball at UCLA in the early 1970s. He played under the famous coach John Wooden. During this time, he was teammates with Bill Walton. The UCLA Bruins were incredibly successful, winning seven straight NCAA men's titles.
Farmer was a special player because he was the only one who played in every game for the UCLA teams that had an amazing 89 wins and only 1 loss. This is the best winning percentage in NCAA men's basketball history. His time at UCLA was a major part of his basketball story.
Becoming a Coach
After his college career, Larry Farmer was drafted by two professional basketball teams. These were the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Denver Nuggets in the American Basketball Association (ABA). However, he decided not to play professionally in the U.S.
Instead, he returned to UCLA. He became an assistant basketball coach there. He worked under several great coaches, including John Wooden, Gene Bartow, Gary Cunningham, and Larry Brown. He coached as an assistant from 1973 to 1981. For a short time in 1974–75, Farmer played professional basketball for ADB Koblenz in Germany.
In 1979, while he was an assistant coach at UCLA, Larry Farmer even appeared on TV! He was in an episode of The White Shadow. He also had a role in the movie Fast Break, where he played a character named Benton.
Leading the UCLA Bruins
When Larry Brown left UCLA before the 1981–82 season, Larry Farmer was chosen to be the new head coach. He led the University of California, Los Angeles basketball team from 1981 to 1984. During his time as head coach, the team had a strong record of 61 wins and 23 losses.
Coaching at Weber State
In 1985, Farmer took on a new challenge. He became the head coach for Weber State University. He coached the Weber State Wildcats for three seasons, from 1985 to 1988. His record there was 34 wins and 54 losses.
Coaching at Loyola (Chicago)
Larry Farmer later coached at Loyola University Chicago from 1998 to 2004. His first three seasons were a bit tough, with a record of 30 wins and 51 losses. But in 2001, his team really improved. They finished with 17 wins and 13 losses overall, and 9 wins and 7 losses in the Horizon League.
Farmer led the Loyola Ramblers almost to the NCAA Tournament that year. They lost a close game to their rival, the University of Illinois Chicago. Because of his great coaching, Farmer was named Horizon League Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. His team was the only one to beat the top three teams in the Horizon League in the 2001–02 season. They also started the 2001 season with a fantastic 6–0 record in the Horizon League, which was the best start in the school's history.
Other Coaching Experiences
Larry Farmer has coached basketball in many different places and at different levels. He coached professional teams, too. He was the head coach for the Qadsia Sporting Club in Kuwait from 1988 to 1990. He also worked as an assistant coach for the NBA's Golden State Warriors from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1997, he coached the Kuwaiti National Team.
His college coaching experience also includes being an assistant coach at Rhode Island from 1997 to 1998. There, he helped the Rams reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. He also spent three years as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaiʻi from 2007 to 2010.
Farmer was an assistant coach at Western Michigan for two seasons, from 2010 to 2012. In 2012, he worked as the director of player development for men's basketball at North Carolina State. He returned to Western Michigan as an assistant coach for the 2013 season and retired after the 2017–18 season.
