For those basketball players fortunate enough to be blessed with enough athletic talent to play at the collegiate level, college is about two things: getting an education and playing the sport they love.
But for a lot of those players, getting that education can take a backseat to basketball because of the committment required, the level of competition and the fact that they are going to school for free to play basketball.
School, then, becomes a chore. Instead of being the primary focus as it is for non-athletes, classwork is only done because ignoring it costs the player his eligibility.
That was the mindset of Idaho State senior forward Rolando Little when he arrived in Pocatello. He didn’t enjoy doing schoolwork, so it simply wasn’t important to him. He just wanted to do what he enjoyed, which meant playing basketball at Missouri State-West Plains and Southern Arkansas junior colleges.
“I had to do some growing up as a person,” Little said. “I had to get my priorities straight and think about what’s important in life, not just what’s important at the moment. It wasn’t something I couldn’t do, it was something I didn’t like, so I didn’t want to do it.”
But when he completed his time at the junior college level, he learned that his grades were not high enough to allow him to play Division I college basketball. So he decided that it was time for him to do what he had ignored for so long. He had to get to work.
CHANGING THE CULTURE
College basketball coaches mostly fall into two groups on the subject of academics. The first group is comprised of coaches who believe they were hired to win basketball games, not graduate players. These men will make sure their players are eligible so they can win, but not usually do more than that.
The second group sees winning games as extremely important, but feels the same way about academics. The coaches who make up this group not only keep their players eligible, they make sure their players leave their campuses with a degree.
Idaho State coach Joe O’Brien and his staff fall into the latter category.
“As a staff, if you look at the previous three years, we graduate our players,” Idaho State assistant coach Geoff Alexander said. “We hold all of our guys accountable.”
It was with that philosophy that the Bengals’ staff elected to overlook Little’s past struggles and give him a chance. Alexander said that while recruiting Little, the coaches got to know his family and thought that if they put him in their structured environment, his academic deficiencies would become a thing of the past.
Because Little was ineligible to participate in any basketball-related activities, the only thing the coaches could discuss with him was his classwork. So Alexander did exactly that as often as he could.
“We’d meet two or three times a week and go over everything,” Alexander said. “We’d always try to plan his week or next couple of weeks out. So we’d prioritize and make sure everything was getting done.”
For Little, who had never been held accountable for his academic performance in college, it made all the difference in the world. At junior college, he’d essentially been on his own academically.
He doesn’t see that as an acceptable excuse for his past struggles, believing now that he should have done the work without help. Having Alexander and the other coaches around to help him, however, made all the difference in the world.
So did the presence of a friend. Little hails from Memphis, Tenn., and attended the same high school as Bengals senior guard Amorrow Morgan. It was Morgan’s presence that brought Little to Idaho State.
“I didn’t have the grades coming out of junior college to get a scholarship to a Division I school,” Little said. “But I knew I was still going to go to school. So I figured if I can’t play my year after junior college, I might as well be somewhere with a friend. (Having) Amorrow here was a big part.”
DEEP DESIRE
But as much as Little enjoyed being reunited with Morgan and the other Memphis natives who played for the Idaho State basketball team, he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to join them as a teammate, and the only way to do that was to improve his grades.
Without doing that, Little was limited to watching the Bengals and wishing that he could be out there with them. He wasn’t even allowed to join them on the practice court. If he wanted to play basketball, he had to do it on his own.
“That was the hardest part,” Little said. “You can never really get the full extent of what you need to be doing if you’re not really with someone. It helps when you have your teammates and coaches pushing you. I couldn’t participate in anything, so it was tough.”
It was Little’s first time in many years that he hadn’t been on an organized basketball team, and he didn’t like the new experience. To change that in time for his senior season, however, he had to complete two years’ worth of classwork in one year.
A monumental task, to be sure. But the way Little saw it, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t accomplish. After all, he was the son of David and Daisy Little.
“They were super poor growing up,” said Rolando Little, whose father played college basketball at what is now Missouri State. “They were from the country in Arkansas. But they always told themselves that’s not going to be the life they’re going to live. So they just worked hard and never gave up until they got to the point where they needed to be.”
Little said that he inherited that from both of his parents.
“When I’m in a tough situation, not just for basketball, but for the things that happen in life in general, the way I handle those situations is something I love about myself,” Little said. “I won’t give up. That’s one of my strengths.”
He put that strength to good use. School was all he had in Pocatello with basketball temporarily taken away from him, so he put all of his focus into getting his work done.
Morgan, who describes Little as a funny and laid-back guy most of the time, saw his friend’s more serious side dominate his personality throughout the year. Morgan said that when necessary, Little will turn very serious and intensify his focus, which is exactly what happened in his quest to return to the game he loved.
“A lot of times it seemed like his head was spinning,” Morgan said. “It seems like he was always busy and stressed out. But he ended up getting it all accomplished, and he’s on track to graduate this May.
“I’m proud of him,” Morgan added. “It was stressful and it was a long road, but he got it done. I think he’s a strong person.”
Little had to be, because he had one more hurdle to overcome.
PLAYING WITH HEART
It was hard enough for Little to work himself back into playing shape after a full year without the benefit of even practicing with his team. But in December, he was dealt another setback. Over the Christmas break, Little went for a jog and ended up collapsing at the end of it.
His heart was revealed as the cause, and the Bengals immediately had cardiologists begin examining him to determine the problem.
Little didn’t see it as a catastrophe, just as another roadblock that he’d be able to deal with because of his inner strength. His biggest worry was possible regret. While Little waited for the doctors to make a determination on his future, he thought about Idaho State’s most recent game at Oregon.
Little wasn’t happy with how he played against the Ducks, and he hated the idea that it might have been the last game of his basketball career.
“It’s now or never, really,” he said. “It really hit me when I was out. When I realized that depending on what the doctor said, my last game could have been at Oregon. I wasn’t happy with that performance, so I was determined to give it my best on every play.”
Little’s still not at a point where he’s physically able to give the most he’s capable of. He hopes he’ll be at full strength in time for the Bengals’ game against Weber State on Saturday at Holt Arena.
He’s not the only one with that desire. Alexander said that his performance at Northern Colorado was a strong indicator of what a healthy Little is capable of, and Morgan and sophomore guard Sherrod Baldwin were excited about what he could potentially do when he returns to top shape.
“I think he can make a real big difference,” Baldwin said. “Being as consistent as he can be with scoring and rebounding would add on to the play of (forwards) Demetrius (Monroe) and Chron (Tatum). That’d definitely be a big thing in conference.”
One thing is for sure: whether Little is at full strength or not, he’s going to be playing like he is. Morgan said that one of his favorite things about Little is the attitude they share about the game of basketball.
Both players take the game very seriously and love to play, which Little said is a requirement to play at the Division I level.
“The passion that he’s talking about is competing every single play and going hard on every possession,” Little said. “That’s what’s required. If you’re not willing to do that, then you probably shouldn’t be here at the level we’re playing at.”
After everything he’s overcome and everything he’s done to get himself to that level, nobody can question whether Little belongs on that level.