Role of a Lifetime: Larry Farmer and the UCLA Bruins

by Larry Farmer, Jamaal Wilkes (Afterword), Bill Walton (Foreword)

Role of a Lifetime  is the story of the crucial role Larry Farmer played on teams that won three NCAA titles for UCLA under Coach John Wooden. Farmer’s record at UCLA was 89–1, the greatest winning percentage in NCAA history. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 88–2.) Role of a Lifetime  also details how Farmer, a self-taught player from the playgrounds of Denver, managed to secure a full scholarship, make the varsity team as a sophomore, and ultimately become the head basketball coach at UCLA at the age of 30—the first black head coach for any sport at UCLA. The book chronicles the reactions of black leaders to his role as the first black head coach, as well as the inside politics that led him to resign after three years as coach, just days after accepting a two-year extension. Farmer also shares new insights about UCLA athletic booster Sam Gilbert and his role in the team’s NCAA probation. Farmer’s insider perspective during UCLA basketball’s most fabled period, combined with his natural ability to relate entertaining and informative anecdotes about legendary figures such as John Wooden, Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, Reggie Miller, and many other famous players and coaches from throughout the world of college basketball, makes Role of a Lifetime  a must-have for all Bruin fans and fans of basketball everywhere!

348 pages, Hardcover

Published February 21, 2023

About the author

Larry Farmer served as the head basketball coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1981 to 1984, Weber State University from 1985 to 1988, and Loyola University Chicago from 1998 to 2004. He played college basketball at UCLA, where he was a member of three national championship-winning teams for the UCLA Bruins under Head Coach John Wooden in the early 1970s. In 2018, Farmer was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

When one thinks of UCLA basketball’s glory days in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the names that come to mind include John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes. Those are just a few of the many stars that came from that program coached by Wooden, but one name who all of those mentioned considered important but is not easily recognized is Larry Farmer. He was a player on three UCLA championship teams, his team’s record in games he played was 89-1 and he later coached the team for four seasons. His stories about UCLA as both a player and coach are described in this book written by Farmer.

This book cannot be described as a true biography as there is very little mention of any events in Farmer’s life, personal or professional, after his resignation as the UCLA coach in 1984 aside from a stint coaching in Kuwait. Per Wikipedia, he did later coach at Weber State and Chicago Loyola, as well as assistant coaching jobs with both NBA and college teams. This was the only aspect of the book that disappointed me as his stories about UCLA were excellent.

Whether he talked about his role on the UCLA championship teams, the unrealistic expectations from fans on the coaches that succeeded Wooden or his own work at the school doing coaching duties, whether as an assistant or the head coach, Farmer’s dialogue is easy to read. This is especially true if one is knowledgeable in basketball-speak as there is a lot of technical language during his playing days. For coaching, that was more about his recruiting trips and how he would handle young men who are away from home for the first time and for many, having a male authority figure. His stories about the rivalry games against Notre Dame are great, whether he was a player or a coach.

Because the focus of the book is strictly on UCLA, this is recommended only for readers who are fans of that program or who enjoy learning about basketball history, especially in that time frame. I do fall into that latter category, so I did rate the book highly, but if one is not interested in UCLA, then it is best to skip this one.

I wish to thank Santa Monica Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

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[Vince Roe · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Denver native and self proclaimed basketball junkie, I was moved emotionally by this book. Coach Farmer has been a legend to me for decades after my dad told me about his days as a HS player at Manual HS. Reading about his life as a player, coach, friend, and family man has solidified his legend status in my mind. I got a chance to meet Coach Farmer years ago at a coaching clinic and I look forward to him having a book signing back in Denver (hint, hint).

[Michael Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great read

Not only for UCLA sports fans like me. I not only enjoyed the stories of coach Wooden, but also nice to get the truth about the Gilbert’s and why left his head coaching position. I admire his strength of character to leave when he did.

[Monty Edson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read like it was a first-person journal...a sequence of events and games... with little insight into the game itself.

[David Barney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Larry Farmer’s experience as a UCLA basketball player and coach. Very interesting story.