Life Liberty & The Pursuit of Basketball with Randy Livingston

Image Courtesy of Randy Livingston

Some stories stretch wider than sports.
Some stories remind you why purpose matters.

Sitting down with my longtime classmate, teammate and friend Randy Livingston, we traced a journey that spans the Calliope Projects, Newman School, LSU, the NBA, Australia and back home again to build the next generation of young men.

This is not just a basketball story.
This is a story about resilience, legacy and living with intention.

New Orleans Roots and the Spark That Started It All

Randy grew up in the Calliope Projects in the Third Ward of New Orleans. Master P. Cash Money. The birthplace of an entire era of culture.

He was one of four kids. Ronald, Lamonica, Jessica and Randy.
Big brother Ronald was the first competitor he ever measured himself against. Losing to him lit a fire Randy still carries.

He started in football, broke his collarbone, then shifted to basketball. Years later, his son broke his collarbone the same way. Life circles back.

By high school, Randy became one of the greatest players the state has ever seen.
Three state championships.
Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Naismith National Player of the Year.

Only two players in history won both those awards as juniors and seniors:
Kareem Abdul Jabbar and LeBron James.

That is the company Randy kept.
Rare air. Rare accomplishments. Rare humility.

Recruiting Legends, Choosing LSU and the Storm of Injuries

Every coaching legend came through Newman back then. Dean Smith. Coach K. Pitino. Boeheim. Fisher. They packed into our tiny gym hoping to land him.

Randy could have gone anywhere.
North Carolina. Duke. Kentucky. Michigan. Syracuse.

But LSU felt like home.
His brother was already there. Johnny Jones, not Dale Brown, was the one he connected with most.

Then fate intervened.

At the ABCD Camp before college, Randy tore his ACL.
Four months post surgery, he was back practicing.
Then a torn quad.
Then a fractured patella. The hardest blow of all.

He battled depression alone before we had the language for it.
But his mother Ada anchored him:
“If God did not want you to play again, something permanent would have happened.”

The rehab was long. Old school. Immobilizer. Atrophy. Pain.
But he climbed back again and again.

And when he declared for the NBA Draft, Ronnie Henderson left with him. Two brothers chasing the same dream.

The NBA, Houston Rockets and Life Among Legends

Draft night in 1996 was a roller coaster.
Denver promised to take him in the first round.
They passed.

Then Houston called.
Rudy Tomjanovich. Carol Dawson.
The Rockets believed in him.

A day later, the Rockets traded for Charles Barkley, joining Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Three of the greatest players ever.

Randy showed up to training camp and earned the starting point guard job as a rookie.
On essentially one leg.
Against one of the NBA’s most veteran rosters.

Then a hamstring pull opened the door for Matt Maloney. The Wiley Pip story.
But Randy still played 63 games that rookie season.
He went on to play 11 years in the NBA for 11 teams, including the Hawks, Jazz, Suns, SuperSonics, Bulls and more.

He coached in the NBA Development League afterward, nearly joining Popovich’s Spurs staff. Then life took another turn.

Australia, Scouting and the Birth of LivOn Basketball

After two decades in the game, Randy needed space and perspective.
He moved to Australia with his wife.

There he built a scouting service from scratch, helping Australian players earn scholarships at American colleges.
He mentored Ben Simmons, Dante Exum and countless others.
He learned video editing, built highlight reels and developed an eye for global talent.

LivOn Basketball was born there.
A name inspired by his wife, Anita Ondine, and the message that no matter your adversity, you live on.

Basketball had taken him across the world.
Australia gave him clarity on how he wanted to give back.

Returning to Newman, Coaching Arch Manning and Building Champions

After a stint at LSU, Randy returned home to Newman.
He coached eighth grade first.
Then he took over the varsity program.

Newman had not won a state championship since our senior year in 1993.
Under Randy, they won three.

He coached Arch Manning.
He coached his own son, RJ Livingston.

He rebuilt the program from the inside out. Culture, expectations, mentality.
A documentary has been filmed. Hollywood is circling.

And through all of it, LivOn Basketball expanded into Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League, giving New Orleans kids exposure, structure and opportunity that can shift entire family trajectories.

This is legacy work. This is what purpose looks like.

Poor Boys, Camellia Grill and What Really Matters

No Retire Southern episode ends without food.
Randy is a shrimp guy through and through.

Shrimp poor boys anywhere in New Orleans.
Parkway Tavern is a favorite. Lettuce, ketchup and hot sauce on a poor boy. No tomatoes. Non negotiable.
Camellia Grill remains a classic: omelets, chocolate freezes, warm pecan pie.

Crawfish with a daiquiri on the side is peak dining.
But when he talks about Live On, you hear the deeper message:
“Each one teach one. Someone did it for me. Now it is my turn.”

That is the heart of Retire Southern.
That is what it means to live with intention.
And that is the legacy Randy Livingston continues to build.