by Mike Tierney

 

When Randall “Randy” Orr completed his basketball eligibility at Georgia Perimeter College, little could he have imagined playing in 10 foreign countries, on six minor-league U.S. teams, in two NBA camps and on the winningest squad in any sport—all before turning 30.

 

Georgia Perimeter “gave me the opportunity to see the world, make a living, meet a lot of people,” Orr says from his residence and birthplace, Hampton, S.C., where he operates youth basketball camps when not expanding his extensive hoops resume.

 

The typical pattern for a Jaguar standout is to attend a four-year school after two seasons on GPC’s Decatur Campus. But there is nothing routine about the trajectory of Orr’s career.

 

Orr arrived at GPC from Western Kentucky University, where he sat out during a redshirt season. Both of Orr’s Georgia Perimeter teams (2002-03, 2003-04) qualified for the National Junior College Athletics Association tournament, one reaching the Final Four. Frozen in his mind is a tournament game in which he sank five straight three-pointers and had 21 points—by halftime.

 

“We could have beaten some D-1 schools out there,” Orr said, alluding to NCAA member teams.

 

And he could have qualified for the highlight reel on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” There was the dunk in a playoff game against Middle Georgia College–a finishing touch to leaping from near the foul line over an opposing player.

 

Post-GPC, Orr has been a Globetrotter, figuratively and literally—playing in leagues all over the planet, as well as four months with the famed team based in Harlem that blends basketball and comedy.

 

It has been a blessing for a small-town native whose passport has run out of unstamped pages. “Some guys from my hometown have never even been to Atlanta, to Jacksonville,” said the 6-foot-11 Orr, who topped out vertically at Georgia Perimeter but was about 70 pounds lighter than his current weight of 255 pounds.

 

Of course, he would trade much of it for the fulfillment of every player’s dream—a shot in the NBA.

 

Orr believes the Indiana Pacers were set to draft him in 2004 until another prospect unexpectedly fell into their laps. Three stints in the NBA’s Developmental League—along with appearances in the Chicago Bulls pre-draft camp, the Memphis Grizzlies summer camp and numerous tryouts—did not generate a call-up or contract.

 

The hard lessons have supplied Orr with material for his motivational talks to classrooms and youth groups. There are thousands of players, he points out, only a few of which rise to the sport’s pinnacle.

 

Another message, courtesy of his GPC experience, is that a basketball career can be carved out in more than one way.

 

Orr’s first overseas gig was in France. He was sent home after only a month, his skinny frame unsuited for the physical play. But the six-figure contract that was paid in full offered an inkling that there was a fruitful basketball life outside the NBA.

 

Back in the States, Orr bounced around among several teams, then returned overseas to Poland. It was a brief stay. The Globetrotters came a’calling.

 

Orr’s first thought: “I want to play basketball, not make anybody laugh.” Still, he was impressive at a tryout and signed, then took on a “straight” role for four months with the team that never loses. Fan adulation and first-class accommodations made the grind of six games per week acceptable.

 

“It was definitely worth it,” he said.

 

Thus was accelerated a whirlwind existence that has equipped Orr with some amazing memories, not all of them fond.

 

There was the time in Paraguay, when he was en route to join a new team. During a flight stopover, Orr deplaned to stretch his legs, only to see the jet take off without him. Unable to speak the language, he managed to contact the team via the Internet. It sent a veritable crop-duster to fetch him, and Orr rode nervously in the two-seater next to the pilot to his intended destination.

 

There was also the season in Venezuela, where the “gyms” were essentially outdoors, except for a roof, and players would be pouring sweat by the opening tip.

 

In early 2012, Orr sat in his room before practice with his Uruguay team and told himself, “I can’t do this anymore.” Basketball overseas can mean practices twice a day, late paychecks and no-frills venues. He had seen enough.

 

Tugging at him also was that he had an infant daughter and a son, and his mother Liz was battling stage-four cancer. Orr returned to the States and shifted his home base from Atlanta back to his native South Carolina, where his mom lives.

 

Then came an opportunity for a second tour of duty in Japan, his favorite long-distance setting, owing to the food, the friendly people and the fact that he is paid there on time and in full. His mother’s remarkable improvement strengthened his interest in returning; her cancer was in remission. So, he left in December for Japan, with plans to come home in April.

 

Orr’s basketball camps for youth will continue, providing another source of income as well as a purpose in life. Orr feels a sense of accomplishment from the camps and finds that kids seem to pay attention to pro athletes, especially extra-large ones. When Orr tells them to appreciate growing up in America or to not wait until their mid-20s to fully dedicate themselves, they tend to listen. They recognize that his is a distinct perspective; it comes from someone whose world view is shaped by actually having viewed much of the world.

 

Randy Orr slide show