Remembering Strothers

Of course, you remember Lamont Strothers, the former NBA guard who played seven conferences in six years as a San Miguel Beer import in the PBA up to 2002.

Strothers, 42, was a huge fan favorite in the PBA. His most unforgettable experience with San Miguel was when the Beermen were seeded sixth after the eliminations, beat Tanduay in the quarters, repulsed Red Bull in the semis and defeated Purefoods for the 2000 Governors Cup championship. It was his second title with San Miguel.

In 1991, Strothers was picked on the second round by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA draft and wound up playing for Portland and Dallas in two major league seasons. It was quite a feat for an NCAA Division III cager to play in the NBA. Strothers played four years at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, scoring 2,709 points for an average of 23.3 and became the third all-time leading scorer in Division III history.

It wasn’t only in the Philippines where Strothers played overseas hoops. He saw action in Turkey, Spain, France, Puerto Rico, Greece and Israel but his favorite was the Philippines. To this day, Strothers keeps in touch with his Filipino friends and among those he contacts through facebook are Olsen Racela, Mark Telan, Dorian Pena, Ali Peek, Chris Tan, Boybits Victoria, and Yves Dignadice. Ex-PBA imports in his list of facebook friends include Chris King, Derrick Chievous, Joe Wylie, Des Ferguson, Ace Custis and Julius Nwosu.

“I hope all are doing well,” said Strothers in a recent message. “Just dropping a line to say hello to all and the PBA. My boys are still doing it and Olsen is hanging in there. He’s one of the best point guards I’ve ever played with. Please give everyone my regards and let the PBA world know that I truly miss and enjoyed the people in the Philippines because you are just that, down to earth people.”

It’s not often that former PBA imports reach out to their Filipino fans after a long absence. Billy Ray Bates and Strothers are two of a kind. Bates is planning a visit to Manila as soon as he finds a sponsor.

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“I’m all over the place and into different things,” said Strothers. “I still do the clothes and gear but not the shoes. I’m still trying to find a good contact with the shoes there. I’ll take whoever is your contact there. I coach at my alma mater with the women’s team. I run an organization working with youth. I am a basketball official (referee) - imagine that. Let (former PBA referee Ernie) De Leon know. And I run a basketball training program and camp.”

Strothers is with the coaching staff of the Christopher Newport women’s varsity and used to be the head coach of the Bethel High School boys team. He operates the LSB (Lamont Strothers Basketball) camp and a development program called GESUS or Growth Through Education, Sports, Unity and Spirit which helps kids develop self-confidence through participation in athletics.

Last year, Strothers organized the sundown summer league in Virginia to get kids out of the streets at night and into the gym. Games were held from 6:30 p.m. to midnight, hours that Strothers said were critical in terms of youth criminal incidence.

“If (the kids) had something to do at that time, maybe it will redirect their mindset and give them positive things to do,” said Strothers in the Daily Press. “We’re taking anyone who’d like to participate. All kids are at-risk in our mindset. If you connect kids that are having problems with kids that are not, I have seen it has a positive effect on them. We try not to put kids in a box until they put themselves there.”

At least 150 kids signed up to join Strothers’ camp which brought in boys and girls from 12 to 18 years old. Participation was free and Strothers provided a nutritious meal every day for the players. He even provided transportation for those who couldn’t afford the bus fare.

Strothers’ rich basketball background is what he leans on to teach kids in his camps.

“I’ve been blessed to be under a lot of talented coaches,” said Strothers. “I take a piece of what they taught me and blend it in with what I know.”

When Strothers coached Bethel High, he made the boys play like he did. “I’m an up-tempo guy,” he said. “It depends on the opponent because I’m an adjustment type of coach. We have a style that we want to get up and down the floor and play defense from baseline to baseline but we’ll gauge it to our opponent. We bring energy, unity and we’re coming out to win.”

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Strothers, who has nine children, likes to use Biblical principles in his basketball lessons.

At GESUS, Strothers’ campers spend as much time on educational and Biblical studies as they do on passing, dribbling and shooting. “They have to interpret Bible Scriptures on their own and they have to write,” said Strothers. “After that, we get into the fundamentals of basketball and we really instil the basics. We try and teach them things that will make them successful on the court. The ultimate goal is for the kids to get better as people first. When you look at the Scriptures, they all relate to everyday life. When I was in the NBA, we had chapel. It wasn’t mandatory but it was there and that’s all we’re giving them. It’s not all about basketball.”

Strothers’ rise to basketball stardom was incredible considering when he was a senior high school player at Forest Glen in Suffolk in 1986, his left eye was permanently damaged during a fistfight. He was struck with brass knuckles and his frontal vision was never the same again. When Strothers applied to join the military after high school, he wasn’t accepted because of his impaired vision. His central vision in the injured optic remains blurry and he only has peripheral sight in the left eye.

After leaving the PBA, Strothers hooked up with Filipino friends to bring locally-made women’s clothing, lingerie and athletic apparel, like basketball uniforms, to the US. He used to contract Filipino shoemakers for made-to-order pairs. In Turkey where he also played, Strothers had a partner from whom he sourced leather coats for sale in the US. 

Strothers has certainly gone a long way from playing basketball in seven countries for 11 years. There is life after basketball and Strothers’ example is an inspiration.