[6] LaRusso, whose mother was Jewish and father was Italian, won All-City honors and was later inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.

[3][7] In 1959, playing for Dartmouth, he grabbed 32 rebounds in a game against Columbia, tying an Ivy League record.

[6] He was taken by the Minneapolis Lakers in the second round of the 1959 NBA draft out of Dartmouth College, and played eight years with them and two for the San Francisco Warriors.

[8] He became the second Lakers rookie to have grabbed at least 20 rebounds in a single game, joining teammate Elgin Baylor.

[2][3] LaRusso had a small cameo role in the Gilligan's Island third-season episode "Bang!