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Just prior to Reisman’s junior year at Lumberton, Ivey accepted a job as the head basketball coach at the Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, FL. He persuaded Lonn’s parents for Lonn to transfer to the Florida school. Reisman explains, “It was a tremendous experience going to Florida Air Academy. It was the best two years of my life. I learned discipline. During my senior year, I became a Wing Commander with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The enrollment was about 300.”

The New York native continues, “Before Coach Ivey came to the Academy, the school had won very few basketball games. He turned it around in his frst year. We had an 18-5 record.”

During his two years at the Academy, he lettered in four sports – baseball, tennis, football and basketball. He was also named a High School All-America in football and basketball.

His frst two years of college were at Coffeyville Kansas Community College, where he played basketball and tennis. He later transferred to Pittsburg State College, also in Kansas, to earned his bachelor’s degree in 1978. His major was physical education/biology.

Reisman’s next stop was as a graduate assistant at Arkansas State University, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Division I university at Jonesboro, AR. In 1981, he obtained his master’s degree with a major in educational administration from Arkansas State.

It was at Arkansas State Lonn frst became acquainted with Jack Hedden, an assistant basketball coach. A few years later Hedden and Reisman’s paths would again cross at an Oklahoma university. This occurred in 1981 after Hedden had been named the head basketball coach at Southeastern Oklahoma State