Is former KU player Mario Little’s hoops career over at 36? Here’s what he had to say

Mario Little’s 12-year professional basketball career, which may or may not be coming to an end, has taken the 36-year-old former University of Kansas basketball guard to spots all over the globe.

“I’ve traveled the world,” Little, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound guard from humble beginnings on the South Side of Chicago, told The Star on Monday. He’s back in Lawrence working former KU forward Thomas Robinson’s hoops camp for youths at The Good Game facility on Clinton Parkway.

Little — he played at KU from 2008 to 2011 after starring at Chipola College in Florida — has during his career competed for Tulsa and Oklahoma City in the NBA G League, followed by stints in Ukraine, Spain, South Korea, the Philippines, Israel, Venezuela, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria and Qatar.

He did not play for a pro team this past season and instead worked in real estate and as a head coach/trainer for Basketball Development Academy in Nashville.

“You know how guys get on the Internet and say, ‘I am going to retire,’ and send a long message? I don’t know if I’ll ever do that. I’m not saying I won’t but I really don’t know,” Little said.

That’s because all it takes is one phone call from a general manager providing an offer too good to pass up. He’s a seasoned veteran in knowing where the money is overseas, having played outside the U.S. for so many years.

“I still get some calls to play. I did get some calls to play this year,” Little said, “but it was either leave my kids, which I have a lot of kids (at the Nashville academy), to go somewhere and play for some money or stay there and still make some money while being with the kids. I want everybody to know I’m pushing forward (in life).”

Little recently declined a chance to play basketball alongside two of his best friends, former KU forwards Markieff and Marcus Morris, at the Danny Rumph Charity Classic in Philadelphia. He also had some prior commitments in Nashville thus was unable to play for KU’s alumni team in The Basketball Tournament. The KU alumni squad went 2-1 for the second straight year, failing to make the Final Four.

“Obviously my body is great. I’ve been blessed to still be able to play at 36. But I wasn’t in (game) shape,” Little said. “I don’t want to jump out there like I’m 26. Obviously I can run up and down the court. I train all day. (But) I didn’t want to go out there and injure myself. I’m really hands on with the kids (in Tennessee). I chose not to play.”

Little believes one of these summers the KU team will click and make a long run in the TBT.

“I think when Perry Ellis got hurt (knee injury that required surgery in the 2019 TBT) it put a little bad stain on it, even though Perry was able to recover and recover for real,” Little said of Wichita native Ellis, who has had a productive career overseas following his year of rehab.

“Some of the guys making a lot of money (overseas) are not wanting to chance that, chance getting hurt. Next year if things are right, maybe we’ll be able to get a lot of guys and really be able to compete.”

Little said he follows KU’s fortunes in basketball every season. He likes KU’s roster for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.

“Last year I thought they were pretty good. It wasn’t Kansas like (it) usually happens around here,” Little said. The Jayhawks went 23-11, tied for fifth in the Big 12 standings and lost in the second round of the NCAAs.

“We’ve got Hunter Dickinson returning. It’ll be good for him to return understanding how important things are around here. KJ (Adams) … if he can add some things to his game he should be really, really effective. I believe he could be a pro,” Little added.

Little was asked about the changing landscape of college hoops.

“Everybody wishes that,” Little said of wishing NIL money, now going to players, was available when he was in college.

“Do I miss college? I used to miss college, not now really. I’ve played pro 12, 13 years, that’s obviously longer,” Little added. “I would love to play in the fieldhouse, but I don’t miss being a college student. Maybe now … if I was able to get the things college kids get now — obviously they get money and all of that. There’s also freedom and being able to work on your craft. We had a lot going on. We had so much class and study hall (with no online options). We didn’t have time to get better like these guys.”

Little says he’ll forever be thankful for the “brotherhood” of KU hoops. The Morris twins, Little and others embraced the “FOE” slogan created by the twins. That stands for “Family Over Everything.”

“I talk to Thomas (Robinson) three or four times a day. The twins … we talk maybe twice a day,” Little said. “Elijah (Johnson), Ben (McLemore), Jamari (Traylor) … personally I talk to everybody. I’m like the middleman. You want to reach Thomas, somebody’s going to call me. You want to reach Tyshawn (Taylor) I’m usually the guy. Anybody wants to reach Wayne (Selden) or Cliff (Alexander), call me. KU brotherhood is always strong.”

Robinson’s camp, which started Monday, will run all week at The Good Game on Clinton Parkway. Robinson was traveling back from Puerto Rico where he played for a pro team on Monday and is expected to arrive at camp Tuesday.

“Of course,” Little said, asked if it’s great to be back in Lawrence. “We’ll be sticking our heads in the coaches’ offices as much as possible.”