The Whole Bird thing reminds me of that old country song"I overlooked and orchid while searching for a rose"! Larry Bird played in the NCAA tournament just once, in 1979, but he made the most of it. Maybe Bird wouldve spent the summer of 1975 celebrating the first of back-to-back national titles at IU, rather than playing for Hancock Construction, a state-champion AAU team sponsored by the mayor of Mitchell, Indiana, which was the only team capable of knocking off the mighty Indiana All-Stars in an exhibition. IU went 21-8 that season, finishing second in the Big Ten. Years later Bird admitted.."if i had it to do all over again, I'd have gone back to Bloomington, after he had gone home". He once saw to it that McHale went for 40+ against Benson, ordering the guys to just feed the ball into Mchale every time down the floor. Larry Bird Comparisons: ( players sorted by last name ) - A-Larry Bird vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He did some commercials and appeared in a few films, including Michael JordansSpace Jam. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. College: Indiana State. If the answer was yes, then theres a chance there would be national championship banners from 1975 and 1976 hanging inside Assembly Hall right now. He has tallied 1,556 steals, as well as 755 blocks and 5,695 dimes. Birth date: December 7, 1956. Even the mild mannered Kareem Abdul Jabbar once decked Benson square in the jaw during a pro game, after being delivered one too mant rib shots by him. With Larry Bird, the 77 Hoosiers are probably a 20-win team and closer to their preseason No. He definitely had a softball swing, Hayes recalled. All rights reserved. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Benson would do things like figure out which side of the court Bird was warming up on, for instance, then come over and take the ball away from him and order Bird off to the other end of the floor. College basketball conference tournament predictions: Picks for every mens league. Neither Birds hometown of French Lick nor West Baden had a daily newspaper at the time, nor was either home to a radio or TV station. The Boston Celtics had selected him in the 1978 NBA Draft, hoping that Bird, who had become eligible for the NBA after his junior year, might forgo his senior season-but knowing he was worth the wait even if he didnt. The small forward had just led Indiana State to a 33-1 season, with the team's sole loss coming to Magic Johnson . Martin Fennelly Former Sports columnist. Once every generation or so, a player comes along who can truly be called a superstar. The small forward had just led Indiana State to a 33-1 season, with the teams sole loss coming to Magic Johnson and Michigan State. Indiana womens basketball Q&A: HooplaWyatt on the Big Ten Tournament. where they fell to the Michigan State Spartans. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana, High School: There is no question about his eligibility.. The hours he had spent working on his shot as a youngster paid big dividends in the NBA. Other notable performances by Bird include his career-high 49 points against Wichita State in February 1979, scoring 29 points in the first half against Butler in December 1978, just 10 months after he dropped 47 on the Bulldogs on the road. The 75 Hoosiers were loaded. Bird's status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. "Larry Bird finishes things," said Dick Ballinger, the varsity head baseball coach at West Vigo High School in West Terre Haute, Indiana during the spring of 1979. Larry Bird was drafted as the 6th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in 1978 before he went back to college for a final year. Career NBA statistics; Points: Rebounds: Assists: Stats at Basketball-Reference.com: . Carreira Basquete universitrio. Odds & lines subject to change. Im new at this (coaching) game but I feel I can get the job done, he said. Hardly a change of clothes each day. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird. Bird always held a chip on his shoulder over that, even decades later. In a first-round series that year, Bird badly bruised his face in a second-quarter fall in Game 5 against Indiana. When the Celtics named Rick Pitino as the franchises new president and coach, Bird knew any role for him in Boston would be a limited one. When I started here, I wanted to see the high school, college and professional basketball worlds come together, and Bird symbolizes that. 13, but spent most of the season outside of the AP poll. RotoWire names five under-the-radar players who could add value to your rosters as we approach fantasy playoffs. Larry Bird's accomplishments and stats make him one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. But Bird, ever the competitor, wanted to prove a point. At one point, Kentucky was the first school to do the heavy recruiting, according to The Heralds Jerry Birge. Bird also cites an instance during an off season open gym, soon after he arrived on campus, during a period of "no contact" between the players and coaches. Among Birds contemporaries, perhaps only Earvin Magic Johnson was considered a better passer and was a player who he would inextricably be linked with forever. Larry Bird SF #33. Anytime you have Bird on the floor, anything can happen, Portlands Clyde Drexler told theBoston Heraldafter the game. 1 pick in the 1977 NBA Draft, and Woodson. 2023 NCAA | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Larry Bird goes to the basket against DePaul in the 1979 Final Four. Wins over No. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. That may have been to his detriment when he was a senior in high school. I also really believe he can be a heck of a coach. Maybe the UCLA dynasty, which featured 10 national titles in 12 years under John Wooden, the last coming in 1975, would have passed the torch to a burgeoning era of IU basketball under Bob Knight. On the day after his uniform was retired in basketball, Larry Bird took the field for both games of a doubleheader in baseball for the Indiana State Sycamores. This blog is forever grateful for the meme template that sweet, sweet banner gave us. A crafty defensive player, Birds most famous steal came in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit. Real men play with balls this size, Warn said, glaring at Bird. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . In 1987-88, Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a 40-20 game, with a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against Indiana. By. They both finished their college playing careers in the spring of 1979. How does Larry Bird compare with other great NBA players? Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Birds concentration and composure were unmatched. But he has said many times over the years that he would have never been able to play for Bob Knight. Year Event GP MIN PTS FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3PT% FTM FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF Place; 1992: Olympic Games . CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. 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Bird nasceu em West Baden Springs e cresceu em French Lick, em Indiana, e iniciou a sua carreira no basquete ao fazer parte de seu time no colegial, sendo posteriormente selecionado pela Indiana University e por seu legendrio tcnico, o explosivo Bob Knight.Contudo, com um time repleto de estrelas e uma atmosfera no muito compatvel com seu estilo de . Mark Bird's college team, where he became one of the school's best all-time players. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. FIBA Senior Team Events Stats. Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell teamed up to oust the Rockets in Game 6 of The Finals in 1981. On a grander scale, however, college basketball may have needed Birds run with Indiana State to really make March Madness the spectacle it is today. The Celtics beat the Houston Rockets in '81 with Maxwell and Larry Bird leading the way and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984 when Maxwell confidently told his teammates "to get on my back, boys" in the decisive . On February 6, 1988, Larry Bird won his 3rd consecutive 3-point Contest while still wearing his warm-up jacket. Bird signed autographs for fans in attendance and Kentucky Wesleyan players before walking off the field that day. Join our linker program. Gender: Male. Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana . After the 2011-12 season, Bird stepped down as the Pacers president of basketball operations, citing health issues. Scott Horner. Could you imagine Bob Knights reaction if, just three years after IU became the most recent undefeated national champion, the Hoosiers lost that distinction to an in-state school (and not even Purdue or Notre Dame, but Indiana State) that was led by an outbound IU transfer? / NBA. He also owns Larry Birds Boston Connection, a hotel/restaurant in Terre Haute that also serves as a museum for many of his trophies and awards. It was interesting to me a I never knew that Larry Bird had signed to play for Indiana, and the story of how he ended up at Indiana Stateinteresting stuff! A defensive maven who stifled some of the best stars, Dennis Johnson was an All-Star, a Finals MVP and won three NBA titles. Birth Country: United States. Now the Sycamores are 33-0, they are ranked No. Forward Larry Bird played 13 seasons for the Celtics. But Bird finally came to Boston for the 1979-80 campaign and sparked one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NBA history. What if IU hired Jerry Tarkanian instead of Bob Knight, What if IU had solved Syracuses zone in 2013. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Get to know more about the C's legend below: Here are some of Larry Bird's notable career achievements and statistics: Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana University. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. 1,400 points): 30.3 points, 16th all-time on the NCAA career scoring list: 2,850 points, Tied for 23rd all-time in career double-doubles: 68 double-doubles, Tied for 24th all-time in points in a season: 973 points (1979), Tied for 24th all-time in consecutive double-doubles in a season: 16 double-doubles (1979). He started his college career in the fall of 1979. View Comments. It wasnt until 1983-84, however, that the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals. when they were picking teams! According to a warrant for Morrow's arrest, he's facing charges of assault by strangulation, second-degree kidnapping and communicating threats. But his arrogant attitude is hardly a big surprise to those who know about Benson. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. He averaged better than 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Sycamores during his first campaign. Indianapolis Star. Adding Bird to that IU team is almost an embarrassment of riches, giving the sports last undefeated champion a player who was named one of the top 15 players ever in the NCAA tournament during the 75 Years of March Madness Celebration in 2013. That came in spite of Bird playing with a fracture in his left thumb in the Final Four after getting hurt against Arkansas. In reality, he spent most of the next five years in Florida, playing golf and taking it easy. Their top eight scorers eventually played in the NBA and they were a 31-1 juggernaut that ran through the Big Ten gauntlet unscathed and suffered their only loss of the season against Kentucky, 92-90, in the regional final. Here are some of Larry Bird's notable career achievements and statistics: Three-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986) Two-time NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) . They thought scoring was more important, but passing is important.". I have all the confidence in the world that Ill be able to handle these guys and do the things that are necessary to win games.. Bird soon realized that it was actually HE who was the target of Knight's ridicule--because of the way he had come off of a screen in a pick up game. Bird found the transition to college life difficult. Regarding per game stats, Bird is averaging 6.8 dimes and 9.6 rebounds. According to The New York Times, Hodges once said his primary contribution during Indiana States national runner-up season was not messing up Larry Bird.. Kent Benson returned for his senior year, as did forward Wayne Radford for his junior season, but gone were May, Abernethy, Quinn Buckner, Bobby Wilkerson and Jim Crews. Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. With Bird as the focal point of a well-rounded squad, the Celtics won three NBA titles and 10 Atlantic Division crowns. Larry Bird ranks as one of the all-time top players of the NBA. Bird was 20, 21 and 22 years old when he eventually played college ball for Indiana State. Not just some guy. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. The end of Birds career was at hand, but not before one last achievement: a gold medal with the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, which dominated the competition at Barcelona and won millions of fans for the sport with its brilliance. Larry Bird was 1 of the NBA's most clutch players ever, amassing 3 MVPs while leading the Celtics to 5 Finals and 3 titles in the 1980s. "By noon, Bird appeared at a press conference, a rarity in his scheme of things. Extremely high basketball IQ, pure heart and hustle. The avid outdoorsman who also has a passion for country music, auto racing, golf and the St. Louis Cardinals has many interests. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick) Bats Left, Throws Left; Height 6' 9", Weight 220 lb. Bird was nicknamed Larry Legend and The Hick from French Lick, after his hometown in Indiana. 'Coach, I'm dead,' moaned Bird.
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