Byron K. Larkin (born December 12, 1965)1989-90 CBA Official Guide and Register, page 281 is a retired American basketball player who had spent six seasons playing professionally abroad, although he is best known for his collegiate career at Xavier University between 1984–85 and 1987–88. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Larkin starred at Moeller High School in both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and basketball. Even though he was an All-American in football, Larkin chose to play basketball in college for his hometown's Xavier Musketeers.

College

In just his second collegiate game as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, he scored 13 points in only 19 minutes off the bench to lead his team to a three-point win over Pittsburgh. By his seventh game, his head coach ( Bob Staak) began to use him as a starter, which was the first of a since-broken school record 115 consecutive starts. Over the span of Larkin's four-year career, Xavier won three Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament championships (which he was the MVP of each time), two MCC regular season titles, three NCAA tournament appearances, and Xavier's first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 1988. No other player in MCC (now called the Horizon League) history has been named the Tournament MVP three times. Larkin graduated in 1988 as the most decorated player in Xavier University history. His 2,696 points are the school record and still rank amongst the all-time NCAA Division I career scoring leaders. He was twice named the MCC Player of the Year, first as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

in 1986 and then as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1988, and he was the first Xavier player to be named to a postseason All-America team. Larkin was also a three-time First Team All-Conference performer and led the Musketeers in scoring for all four years. Different major national media sources such as '' Sports Illustrated'', '' The Sporting News'', ''Basketball Weekly'' and '' Basketball Times'' all featured him at various times, and later he became the first player in school history to have his jersey number (#23) formally retired. Larkin was later inducted into Xavier University's Athletics Hall of Fame. After his junior season in 1986–87, Larkin was named as the first alternate for both guard positions for Team USA's squad that competed in the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

, which were held in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana.

Professional career and later life

Despite a lauded career at Xavier University, Larkin was never drafted by any National Basketball Association (NBA) team. He worked out for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, Milwaukee Bucks and New Jersey Nets, but due to his size () and inability to adapt to the NBA

three-point line A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

, teams did not show enough interest and he was passed up. After a brief stint with the Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

, Larkin spent the next five years playing professionally in Venezuela for Guaiqueríes de Nueva Esparta, where in two of them he led his league in scoring. He then split his sixth and final professional season between teams in Germany and Hong Kong. Discussing his expatriate basketball experience, Larkin said, "I loved playing abroad. I would have preferred to play in the NBA, obviously, but I guess the knock on me was I was a little small for my position as a 6-foot-3 two guard. I was told I needed to change and play point guard to make it in the league, and I'm not a point. I'm a two guard. I was OK being a point guard, but I really stood out being a two guard...I didn't put my best foot forward trying to make it in the NBA. But playing overseas, I led Venezuela in scoring two of the five years I was there and won a lot of games. Even the owner of my team came back for my wedding (in Cincinnati) and wanted me to be a naturalized citizen, but five years was enough for me." Today, Larkin serves as the color commentator for the Xavier men's basketball team's radio broadcasts. He is a financial adviser by day, a job which he has been doing since 1992. He was enshrined in the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2022 as part of the 2021 induction class.

Personal life

Byron Larkin is the brother of

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

baseball player Barry Larkin, who played the shortstop position for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He is also the brother of Stephen Larkin, another former Major League Baseball player, and the uncle of Shane Larkin, a professional basketball player. The Larkin brothers were all raised Catholic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Byron 1965 births Living people African-American Catholics All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Hong Kong American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball players from Cincinnati Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets players Point guards Shooting guards Xavier Musketeers men's basketball players