BALTIMORE — As Larry Stewart hugged his old teammates, with tears in his eyes, it hit him. After 32 years he is finally home.
"There’s no words right now," he said. "I’m just ecstatic."
Stewart was introduced as the new head men’s basketball coach at Coppin State University on Friday. The 54-year-old will now lead from the sidelines three decades after leading the Eagles on the floor.
One of the program’s all-time great players, Stewart starred in West Baltimore from 1988-1991. He ranks third all-time in scoring at Coppin and is the only player in program history to score at least 1,000 points (1,824) and grab 1,000 rebounds (1,052), a school record. He is also a two-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference player of the year and led Coppin to its first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1990.
His goal is to return his alma mater to that glory.
"I want to bring that back, that feeling back, that family atmosphere where the games were just packed. You had a faculty section. You had a family section. You had student sections. Everyone was just on one accord just wishing the best for Coppin. So, that’s my hopes and my dreams, to bring all of those feelings back to this campus."
A former NBA pro, Stewart played for the Washington Bullets, Vancouver Grizzlies and Seattle Supersonics. He has been a collegiate assistant coach for the past 14 years at Bowie State, Morgan State and Maryland Eastern Shore. He was with the Bears from 2015-19 and then again last season. The cross-town rival’s head coach, Kevin Broadus, was in the house for Stewart’s big day. Stewart replaces Juan Dixon, who was fired after six seasons at Coppin.
What kind of head coach does Stewart want to be?
"I’m going to be the kind of coach that’s going to be real with you, tell you the truth. Because along my journey every person that mentored me, they told me the truth and they were real with me," he told WMAR-2 Sports Reporter Shawn Stepner.
What type of basketball does he see his teams playing?
"Up-tempo, in your face, picking you up, trapping, all over the place, high energy."
Just like those teams from back in the day. As he put his arms around his teammates from 30-plus years ago, he knows therein lies the blueprint for success.
"We all grew up here. We all had the same mission. We were all locked into one goal," he said. "We all came here when there were four, maybe five buildings. We used to walk here from over on Brooks Lane. So, we're tied together because of the things we were able to accomplish here. Great brothers of mine, life-long friends. The majority of us are from out of town. We never left. We still live here. I've seen their children grow up. They've seen my children grow up. We are just tied together and it all started here at Coppin.
And that’s what he wants to now build.
"Yes sir." said Stewart. "That’s what I’m going to build."
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
