In 1972, LaRue Martin was the number one draft pick of the Portland Trail Blazers and a Loyola University star. His career with the Trail Blazers flatlined, anticlimactically, ending just a few years later in 1976. Immediately, Martin knew he needed to get a real job. Initially taking one with Nike in Portland, he soon found better paying work as a driver for UPS. The company had to custom-make pants to fit his towering height!
Today he will tell you, “There is life after sports. Period.” He also said, once he retired, he had responsibilities, a family to take care of, and so he took the day job at UPS and patiently worked his way up through the UPS corporate chain to become UPS Illinois district public affairs and community services manager. He’s proud of his accomplishments and work ethic. He also enjoys sitting on the board of the National Basketball Retired Players Association.
Dan Dickau – Owns a Barber Shop
In 2011, NBA star Dan Dickau retired after six seasons. The former Gonzaga University point guard was picked up by the Sacramento Kings in 2002 but traded several times to many different teams. Since retirement, he’s tried to keep one foot in the court with coaching and as a college basketball sportscaster for CBS and ESPN. Also, he founded a youth basketball academy in Vancouver, but his business venture flopped within a year.
A more profitable business venture has been the hairstylist gig he and his wife launched in Spokane, Washington. It’s called The Barbers, a franchise operation, of which they now operate three! The service-heavy shops offer basic cuts and “the works,” including hot lather neck shaves and massage. The shops are sports-oriented with walls plastered in TVs, framed jerseys and a wide range of sports paraphernalia. Shoot a game of pool while you wait, or snack on free popcorn and sodas. The Dickaus are new to the Spokane area, recently moving there from Vancouver. They give back to the community with sponsorships and donations.
Charlie Ward – High School Basketball Coach and Motivational Speaker
This unprecedented athlete was drafted for all three major professional sports leagues! At Florida State he won the Heisman trophy and was later inducted in the 2006 College Football Hall of Fame. Post-college, the NFL, NBA and MLB all clamored for Charlie Ward. He chose the NBA, suiting up with the N.Y. Knicks in 1994. His solid career as a 3-point-wizard point guard lasted 11 years. Ward’s commitment to charity work with groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes earned him NCAA recognition. “His leadership transcended offense, defense and special teams,” Mark Richt, now Miami Hurricanes head football coach, said of Ward. “It transcended the basketball court. The way he goes about his life with such integrity. I’ve learned as much from him as he ever did from me,” Said Richt, Ward’s former Florida State quarterback coach. Ward was presented with the NCAA John Wooden Keys to Life award in 2011.
His inspirational work as a motivational speaker is part of his giving nature, giving back to the community and beyond. Coaching high school kids is another way he provides leadership in the community. Currently, Ward is coaching basketball at Florida High School in Tallahassee. Previously, he coached four seasons of high school football at Booker T. Washington High School.
Steve Francis - An Entrepreneur
Steve Francis’ entrepreneurial spirit took off early with selling crack on the corner of his crime-infested city at age 10, but he escaped the dingy city for the bright lights and fast fame of the NBA. “It was messed up. I’m not glorifying it I got robbed at gunpoint a million times. I got my ass beat a million times. I saw drive-bys. But honestly, if you ask me what really scared me the most, . . . the drugs. The needles, man. The pipes. The PCP. The people slumped over with that look in their eyes.” A front and center view of the American crack epidemic.
Despite it all, he managed to land a decent NBA career. Drafted second overall in 1999, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year and was a three-time All-Star. His 9-season career was not long enough for Francis. Transitioning out would not be easy, it took a huge emotional toll, compounded by Francis who treated it with heavy drinking. When he pulled it together, he got into several business ventures. Out of his passion for music he launched a hip-hop label called Mazerati Music. It’s difficult for professional athletes, who have already had so much fortune, to strike it big again in the entertainment industry. Likewise, Mazerati Music sits on the shelf. Francis also launched a clothing line called We r One.
Evan Eschmeyer - An Attorney
Evan Eschmeyer headed back to Northwestern for a law degree just four years into his NBA career. Starting out at Northwestern, as the best men’s basketball player in the history of Wildcats basketball, Eschmeyer was courted by many pro teams. He went with the Nets in the 1999 NBA draft. Two years later he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Persistent knee problems forced him to make a tough decision. Doctors told him to retire or risk never being able to play basketball with his children. Eschmeyer had to let go of a dream. “Being forced out of the NBA was one of the most difficult things I have ever been through,” Eschmeyer said, “Imagine you take a world-class painter and cut off his hands so he can never paint again. All of a sudden basketball was gone.”
Today, he and his wife and their three children live in Ohio. As a business attorney with a family farm to run, he keeps very busy. Half the time he’s working as an attorney with a renewable energy fellowship for the Environmental Law & Policy Center helping renewable energy entrepreneurs get started. Life after basketball can be sweet too.