| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1965-12-12)December 12, 1965 (age 60) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) |
| College | Xavier (1984–1988) |
| NBA draft | 1988:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1988–1994 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Byron K. Larkin (born December 12, 1965)[1] is an American former professionalbasketball player who had spent six seasons playing professionally abroad, although he is best known for his collegiate career atXavier University between 1984–85 and 1987–88. A native ofCincinnati,Ohio, Larkin starred atMoeller High School in bothfootball and basketball.[2] Even though he was anAll-American in football, Larkin chose to play basketball in college for his hometown'sXavier Musketeers.
In just his second collegiate game as afreshman, he scored 13 points in only 19 minutes off the bench to lead his team to a three-point win overPittsburgh.[2] 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.[2] Over the span of Larkin's four-year career, Xavier won threeMidwestern Collegiate Conference tournament championships (which he was theMVP of each time), two MCC regular season titles, threeNCAA tournament appearances, and Xavier's first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 1988.[2] No other player in MCC (now called theHorizon League) history has been named the Tournament MVP three times.
Larkin graduated in 1988 as the most decorated player in Xavier University history.[2] His 2,696 points are the school record and still rank amongst the all-time NCAA Division I career scoring leaders.[3] He was twice named theMCC Player of the Year, first as asophomore in 1986 and then as asenior in 1988,[4] and he was the first Xavier player to be named to a postseason All-America team.[2] Larkin was also a three-time First Team All-Conference performer and led the Musketeers in scoring for all four years.[2] Different major national media sources such asSports Illustrated,The Sporting News,Basketball Weekly andBasketball 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.[2][4] Larkin was later inducted into Xavier University's Athletics Hall of Fame.[5]
After his junior season in 1986–87, Larkin was named as the first alternate for bothguard positions forTeam USA's squad that competed in the1987 Pan American Games, which were held inIndianapolis,Indiana.[5]
Despite a lauded career at Xavier University, Larkin was never drafted by anyNational Basketball Association (NBA) team.[4] He worked out for theCleveland Cavaliers,Milwaukee Bucks andNew Jersey Nets, but due to his size (6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)) and inability to adapt to the NBAthree-point line, teams did not show enough interest and he was passed up.[4] After a brief stint with theCedar Rapids Silver Bullets in theContinental Basketball Association,[1] Larkin spent the next five years playing professionally inVenezuela forGuaiqueríes de Nueva Esparta, where in two of them he led his league in scoring.[4] He then split his sixth and final professional season between teams inGermany andHong Kong.[4] 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-3two 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."[4]
Today, Larkin serves as thecolor 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.[4] He was enshrined in the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2022 as part of the 2021 induction class.[6]
Byron Larkin is the brother ofHall of Fame baseball playerBarry Larkin, who played theshortstop position for theCincinnati Reds.[4] He is also the brother ofStephen Larkin, another formerMajor League Baseball player, and the uncle ofShane Larkin, a professional basketball player. The Larkin brothers were all raisedCatholic.[7]