Older brother of Bill Russell…played the 1956-1957 and 1957-1958 seasons at USF following service in the Korean War and two years of junior college ball…hard-nosed defensive player…developed an interest in writing while attending Santa Rose Junior College…penned two novels and the play “Five on the Black hand Side” that was turned into a 1973 movie…the film developed a cult following and received an NAACP Image Award for best screenplay…Ebony magazine also recognized Five on the Black Hand Side as one of the 10 best African American movies of all-time…in the early 1970’s, served as a writer in residence at the Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theater in Harlem…other works included the novella A Birthday Present for Katheryn Kenyatta and “Quietus”, a short story published in Langston Hughes’ Best Negro Short Stories…earned his Masters from UC San Diego in 1986…was born in Monroe, LA….family relocated to Oakland where he attended Oakland Technical High.
