Orlando Lightfoot is about to embark on a new journey.
The former Idaho basketball player is days away from starting a job at the “Boys and Girls Club” in Chattanooga, Tenn. It’s a gig that should be a slam dunk for the man who ranks 28th on the list of the Big Sky Conference’s “50 Greatest Male Athletes.’’
“I’ll be able to look at those kids, and tell those kids that I was once one of you,’’ said the Big Sky’s all-time scorer. “I grew up just like you, in the same environment. I did the same things a lot of you are doing.”
“I pride myself in surrounding myself around positive people. If you do that, positive things will happy. Once I left Chattanooga, I wasn’t going to come back until I’d accomplished what I’d set out to do. I wasn’t going to become another statistic.’’
The 6-foot-7 forward was named “Mr. Basketball” and the Gatorade Player of the Year for the State of Tennessee in 1988-89. Academic issues cost him a chance to play for Billy Tubbs at Oklahoma. So, for a year, he toiled at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tenn.
He transferred to the University of Idaho to play for Larry Eustachy. As a Prop 48 student, he had to sit out a season, but still had three seasons of eligibility for the Vandals. Hugh Watson, who had previously coached in Tennessee, was an assistant for Idaho, and helped Lightfoot find his way to Moscow.
“I trusted Coach Watson so much,’’ Lightfoot said. “He was like a father-figure to me. He had told me great things about Moscow and the University. It was a great town, a great university, and the people were extremely nice. I can honestly say those four years in Moscow were the best four years of my life.”
After sitting out a season, Lightfoot took the Big Sky Conference by storm. He was named the Newcomer of the Year in 1991-92, when he averaged a league-high 21.8 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. As a junior, he averaged 22.3 points per game, was named the Big Sky MVP, and guided the Vandals to the regular-season conference title.
Eusachy left Idaho following Lightfoot’s junior year. Joe Cravens, who later coached Weber State, was named the Vandals’ head coach.
“It was tough, especially the way it went down.’’ Lightfoot said. “Hugh Watson was in place to take over as head coach, and they brought in Joe Cravens. I didn’t know Joe. They were two different styles of coaches. Joe Cravens is one of the best people I met my entire life. He’s a great coach. I enjoyed playing for both of them. Larry hardened me up. He helped turn me into a man. Joe’s offense, and the things he did for me my senior year, he’s just an immeasurable man.’’
During his senior campaign of 1993-94, Lighfoot averaged a league-best 25.4 points per game, which ranks fifth in Big Sky history. He was named the Big Sky MVP, and First Team All-Conference for the third straight season.
“I just had a feel for scoring,’’ he said. “I didn’t have fear. My confidence level was so high when it came to scoring the ball. I wanted the ball in the big moments. When I was younger, I was taller, so I had to play against the older guys. I’d play from the perimeter and shoot jumpers. When I came back to play against kids my age, I was on the post. I developed an inside-outside game and was a two-way player offensively. That separates you from everyone else.’’
Lightfoot finished his career with 2,102 points in just 91 career games. He remains the league’s all-time leading scorer. His career average of 23.1 points per game ranks fifth in league history. He’s also one of just two players in league history to score 50 points in a game. Lightfoot netted 50 in a 1993 game against Gonzaga.
“When I scored 50 I only played 30 minutes,’’ he recalled. “I got in foul trouble. I only played 10 minutes in the first half, and scored 12 points. In the second half, I scored 38. The crazy thing is in warm-ups, I was telling guys I wasn’t feeling too good. It was like something was wrong with the basket. The rims were tight. I remember it like yesterday. When the game started, I couldn’t miss.’’
The other thing Lightfoot didn’t miss was class. He graduated from Idaho, buckling down and applying himself academically.
After college, Lightfoot enjoyed a successful career overseas, playing for multiple teams until 2007. He averaged at least 20 points in eight of his seasons. He played for teams in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. While playing in Switzerland in 1995-96, he averaged 27.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
“It was just like coming from Chattanooga and going to Moscow,’’ he said. “It was rough. I went to Europe, France, and part of me was saying, ‘I don’t need to be here.’ Everybody spoke a different language. I didn’t watch TV because everything was in French. The food was different. At the time, only two Americans were allowed on the team, so it’s you and the other guy. But, when I got the check, I thought, I can do this.’’
Lightfoot returned home to Chattanooga, where he spent the last several years as an accounts manager for a trucking company. He said his 3-year-old son Dallas, is a left-hander, with a great shooting stroke.
Despite living thousands of miles away from Big Sky country, he still keeps a close eye on the league and his alma mater. Idaho, which left the Big Sky following the 1995-96 season, returns for men’s basketball in 2014.
“I’m so happy about that,’’ Lightfoot said. “I always brag about the Big Sky down here in Tennessee. My friends laugh at me, because this is SEC country. I support the Big Sky.’’
