2006-07 Season:
Larris played in all 31 games with 25 starting assignments and 837 minutes (third most on the team). While leading the team in assists with 89, he ranked No. 9 in the CAA in assist-turnover ratio and was fifth among the league's 12 starting point guards in fewest turnovers (59).
The southpaw scored 154 points (5.0 per game) with three games in double figures. Those three games included 12 points at Hofstra, 11 points at Charlotte and 11 points vs. Savannah State. An accurate outside shooter, he made 42.2% of his three-point shots on 27-of-64 attempts. He made three treys at Hofstra and two in four other games.
Larris finished +30 in assists-turnovers (89-59) and +29 over the final 20 games as he settled in to his new role. His top game for assists was 7 at George Mason in February with 6 in a game four times (Georgia Tech, James Madison, VCU and ODU). He was third on the team on defense with his 27 steals.
He had a personal best of 10 rebounds in the double overtime win over Towson and also had 6 rebounds vs. Northeastern and 5 rebounds vs. Georgia Tech. He logged 45 minutes of the 50-minute double-overtime game and played the full 40 minutes of three other games. Larris had 66 rebounds on the season.
Junior College Overview:
A team leader, Larris has excelled as a point guard in two years of junior college play and in a stellar high school career. He was a winner last year with 19-win Kilgore (Tex.) College and averaged 5.5 assists a game and was named the third best JUCO point guard in the nation by Lindy’s magazine.
In high school, Ron was named one of the top five point guards in Florida high school ball and finished as the runner-up for State Player of the Year.
Junior College Career: With the Kilgore Runnin’ Rangers, Larris was the team leader in assists (5.5), free throw shooting (79 percent), while being third in steals (31) and pulling down 87 rebounds. His senior team won 19 games under Coach Scott Schumacher in a tough Texas league that had five 20-game winners.
Larris helped Coach Schumacher get career win No. 200 by making two free throws in the final minute of a game to clinch that victory. The point guard also was a key in another win by scoring a field goal with 1:22 left in a game to add to his six assists.
He was named as the third best point guard in the nation in the JUCO preview by Lindy’s Magazine. As a sophomore at Kilgore, Ron enjoyed a double-double game with 14 points and 13 assists vs. Blinn College.
Among the teams showing recruiting interest in Larris were Dayton from the A-10, Illinois State from the MVC, Florida International from the Sun Belt and Eastern Illinois from the Ohio Valley Conference.
Larris focused even more on his passing game and leading a team in JUCO play as he has followed the skills of fellow points guards like Chris Paul and T. J. Ford.
Prep Career:
In high school, Larris was a Mr. Florida Basketball candidate as a first-team all-State honoree and Class 4A Player of the Year runner up playing for Gainesville High.
As a senior, he was one of Florida’s top five point guards and the Alachua County Player of the Year. Ron was one of the Top 20 players in the state of Florida and picked for the Florida Super-Showcase.
When his team played in the Red Cross-Rotary Roundball Classic, Larris was named the Most Outstanding Player. That event in Charleston, S.C. attracts teams from all over the United States. His Gainesville team lost the title game to Archbishop Molloy from Queens, N.Y., but Ron was still chosen as the best player.
Quite a scorer in high school, Larris averaged 22 points a game and seven assists a game for Gainesville. More importantly, he was leading his teams to wins as they posted 25-5 records in his senior and junior seasons (50-10 combined). When they advanced to the Elite Eight his senior year, he stepped up with a 32-point, seven-assist game, but the team lost by one point to end his career.
Ron was the first-ever Gainesville High basketball player to earn Florida all-State three times. Notable alumni of Gainesville High are NFL running back Clinton Portis and singer Tom Petty (of the Heartbreakers).
Obviously a huge basketball fan, he first noticed Georgia State in high school when the Panthers topped Wisconsin in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
Personal:
Ron Larris was born Dec. 19, 1985 in Gainesville, Fla. He is the son of Ron Larris and Liz Walker. Younger brother Dejuan will be a freshman at Stetson University this year. Ron had worn jersey number three in high school and JUCO, but will switch to No. 22 at Georgia State in honor of his deceased grandfather, James Walker, from Ft. Valley, Ga.
As he begins his classes at Georgia State, Larris will be looking at beginning studies in sociology.
