In Reply to: Speaking of Florida, did you all see this post from FlaBruin posted by DSCBruin on December 18, 2025 at 18:10:20
We’re probably around the same age. I met Lloyd during the UCLA AAP summer program before my freshman year. We were in the same cohort, which included a 5'11" kid who walked into class one day wearing a gold chain that said “Pooh.” When we were asked what we wanted to be, he said he wanted to be an NBA player. A black girl said, like in Whinny? The class laughed outload at him. He was immediately ostracized, so I’d sit with him in the back of the class because I thought he was genuinely likable.
Some of the minority women in the program dismissed him as just another ignorant brother with unrealistic dreams. That changed abruptly one day when Lloyd came into class and said that Pooh was playing with Magic Johnson at Pauley. Of course, this was Pooh Richardson, one of the top point guard prospects in the country out of Philadelphia, recruited by Walt Hazzard. Overnight, perceptions shifted, and suddenly women were throwing themselves at him.
Lloyd was a good dude who never shied away from long odds. From what I understood at the time, he didn’t have the grades required to qualify for the presidency, so he was blocked for legitimate reasons if the rumors were true. It’s also worth remembering that the frat system then was openly racist, trolling Hispanics with their “Sombrero”-themed parties.
That said, I also thought the AAP program was over the top—but in different ways.
Reading Lloyd’s Wikipedia page now, it’s impressive to see where he ended up. It doesn’t surprise me at all, given his likable personality and his willingness to dream big.
I only knew him for five weeks. After that summer, everyone went their separate ways. Still, I’m glad that during his short life he was able to do meaningful, effective work for his community.
I owe my academic and professional success to that 5 week program. They taught me how to study at an elite level with grad students checking how we took notes, what we got out of lectures, how to we prep for a midterm, etc.
I suggest to everyone that if they can afford it, pay for your kid to enter a pre-freshman summer program.