Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. The next season, 1974-75, is where two of the greatest What ifs in IU basketball collide: What if Bird had stayed and what if Scott May, the teams second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, hadnt broken his arm against Purdue in late February? By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Here are some of the awards Larry Bird won in college: However, Bird was all business in spite of the awards he won and the fanfare he received. Bird literally despised him for the way he treated him at Indiana, and he has never been shy to remind people of the opposite trajectories of their respective careers. Theres no guarantee Bird wouldve stuck around for his senior season if he had stayed at IU, but doing so couldve allowed him to be the featured scorer on the Hoosiers if he wanted a larger share of shots after playing alongside Benson, the No. Finally, with the Celtics in a decline that hit bottom in 1996-97, Bird decided to take the plunge. TV stations showed film clips of Bird instead of commercials. Bird recalls in his Book "Drive"--which he wrote late in his playing career-- how he never missed an opportunity to take it to Benson during their NBA days. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Both Dinah and Larry studied at Indiana State University. Odds & lines subject to change. For reference, the 2019 national championship game drew a 22 percent share. In the final, they played Michigan State, led by "Magic" Johnson, and together their rivalry would eventually be responsible for the resurgence of the NBA in the 1980s. "He's a great passer and an excellent rebounder. Larry Joe Bird ", In Bird's own words, here's the value he placed on ball movement: "My feeling about passing is that it don't matter who's doing the scoring as long as it's us. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Three-time NBA champion with Boston Celtics - 1981 . Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. But Bird, ever the competitor, wanted to prove a point. Forward Larry Bird played 13 seasons for the Celtics. If I could, I'd like to play with him forever.". 33 retired by the school. He was unflappable and virtually unstoppable. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Editors note: This is part of a series of stories revisiting the biggest what-ifs in IU history. Mike Hayes, a Kentucky Wesleyan player, recounted the game, vividly remembering Birds bizarre, ungainly swing. He has accounted for 1,556 steals, as well as 755 blocks and 5,695 assists. Bird had a double-double in all five NCAA tournament games he played in that year. 2022-23 Season Schedule; / NBA. When Walsh moved on to a similar role with the Knicks before the 2008-09 season, Bird gained complete control of the teams basketball operations and helped the Pacers end a four-year playoff drought in 2010-11. NCAA Tournament. 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. Bird chose IU because he likes coach Bobby Knight, the players, the fans and the way they have things set up there, according to The Noblesville Ledger. Bird won 3 MVP Awards, was selected to play in 12 All-Star Games, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998. So he cut the ties and went home. He even plays defense, although that's not what's causing the NBA Boston Celtics to salivate over him.". Birds concentration and composure were unmatched. The former NBA player met his second wife, Dinah Mattingly, at Indiana State. Bird passed Otis Birdsong to become the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer of all-timewith a free throw early in the championship game. The highlight of Bird's three-year collegiate career came in 1979, when he led the Sycamores to a 33-0 record and their first NCAA Tournament berth in the program's history. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. Three Things: Indiana womens basketball defeats Michigan State 94-85. Do you have a sports website? ), We did a great deal of checking before he made his decision and the college allowed him to enroll, Northwoods academic dean Jim McElhiney told The Indianapolis News in September 1974. How does Larry Bird compare with other great NBA players? That may have been to his detriment when he was a senior in high school. "At 9 o'clock yesterday [Bill] Hodges went to wake up Bird for a brunch at which he was to receive the Player of the Year Award. What if IU hired Jerry Tarkanian instead of Bob Knight, What if IU had solved Syracuses zone in 2013. UCLA beat Montana by just three points in its second tournament game, proving the Bruins were a resilient, but mortal, champion. Bird enjoyed a phenomenal collegiate basketball career at Indiana State (30.3 points per game in a three-year career that included a trip to the national championship game). They teamed with Bird and veteran Cedric Maxwell in a frontcourt that carried the Celtics to the championship in 1981. He won the Rookie of the Year award, 3 MVP awards, 2 Finals MVP awards and 3 NBA championships. Larry Bird has helped define the way a generation of basketball fans has come to view and appreciate the NBA, said Commissioner David J. Stern when Bird retired due to a painful back condition in 1992, after capturing a gold medal with the original Dream Team at the Olympics in Barcelona. and even better, he did it mostly because of a dare, Mike Hayes, a Kentucky Wesleyan player, recounted the game. ", The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton: "At the beginning of the season, Indiana State was picked third or fourth in its own conference. Far from it. . Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. Lets pick a winner in every mens college basketball conference tournament. 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. > Archive 75: Larry Bird| 75 Stories: Larry Bird. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions. Bird was one of the best scorers in the country, a big forward who led the way for the Sycamores from the Missouri Valley Conference to the biggest national stage. He started out as an Indiana Hoosier but later left the school and team coached by the legendary Bobby Knight. But even those legendary players didnt fill Boston Garden, wowing fans and dominating games as Bird did. The Celtics won the physical, bitter series in seven games and advanced to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive year, meeting the Lakers for the third time. 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 and Dominique Wilkins battled each other during a classic Game 7 in 1988. The 16th-leading scorer of all-time in NCAA mens basketball history scored 2,850 points in just three seasons an incredible 30.3 career scoring average after enrolling at Indiana University in the fall of 1974. 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. In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, Bird engaged in a memorable fourth-quarter shootout with the Hawks Dominique Wilkins. And then there is a lesser known Bird, the college baseball . He did some commercials and appeared in a few films, including Michael JordansSpace Jam. Let me be clear, college basketball would look and feel the same if Bird never transferred from IU to ISU, but the 1979 national championship game Bird vs. Magic is still the highest-rated college basketball game of all-time, with a 24.1 rating for a game in which 38 percent of all TVs in the country that were turned on at the time were tuned into Indiana State vs. Michigan State on NBC. Then one day, Warn called Bird a wuss for his seemingly endless postgame recovery and threw down the gauntlet when he picked up a baseball. Extremely high basketball IQ, pure heart and hustle. In reality, he spent most of the next five years in Florida, playing golf and taking it easy. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. An offseason trade with Golden State which that many consider the most lopsided in NBA history brought center Robert Parish and a future first-round pick (which became Kevin McHale) to Boston. Despite losing leading scorer Steve Green and John Laskowski after the 75 season, IU got the band back together in 1976 and finished what the Hoosiers came three wins away from achieving the previous year: an undefeated, national championship season as they became the NCAAs #1 All-Time March Madness team. He was selected to play in 12 All-Star games. So, what will Larry Bird's age, height, and weight be in 2021? Not at the same time. Hodges is credited with recruiting Larry Bird to Indiana State and coached Bird in the famous 1979 NCAA Final against Michigan State. Find out more. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. 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. Odds & lines subject to change. Surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels limited Bird to only six games in 1988-89. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Is there room for eight banners on the south wall of Assembly Hall? They battled against Earvin "Magic" Johnson -- Bird's rival throughout his professional career -- and Michigan State in the championship game, falling 75-64. IU had three one-possession losses in the 1976-77 season and three defeats by two possessions. Home; Tickets; Schedule. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana College: Indiana State University Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1998 As Player: 897 G, 24.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 6.3 APG (Full Record) A disk was removed from his back after the season, but it didnt help all that much. Do you have a blog? Thanks Jimmie. Note: at Spring Valley HS in his senior year., Bird averaged 31 ppg, 21rebounds per game and 4 assists). The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. In order to finish his college degree, Larry Bird was working at Ballinger's school as a physical education student-teacher just weeks before becoming an . Birds status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. He pulls people together. As it turned out it created one of the greatest rivalries in sports between Magic and Bird. He wasnt named to the Associated Press six-player All-State first team or nine-player second team, despite averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds, once putting up 55 points in a game for Springs Valley High School and 34 rebounds in another. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. In 2003, he joined the Pacers front office as the teams president of basketball operations and worked side-by-side with Walsh to rebuild Indiana into a contender. College at Indiana State. Bird helped rebuild a Celtics franchise that had been suffering from sub-standard play and poor attendance in the late 1970s. What if Larry Bird hadnt transferred from IU. 13, but spent most of the season outside of the AP poll. Do you have a blog? . After working at municipal jobs for a year Bird enrolled at Indiana State and was accepted into their program. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. He was a 12-time All-Star, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and a nine-time member of the All-NBA First Team. Warn noted that Bird played baseball with the same energy he brought to the court: He plays the game just as he does basketball, with every ounce he has. He was particularly hard on freshmen players, such as a young Larry Bird. Add the best version of Larry Bird in college, one capable of averaging roughly 30 and 15 at Indiana State, and the Hoosiers might have had another title contender in 1978 if the Hick from French Lick was still in Bloomington. The only thing that wouldve been more painful for some IU fans than briefly landing Bird, only to see him become a folk hero up the road, would have been losing him to Kentucky. Career NBA statistics; Points: Rebounds: Assists: Stats at Basketball-Reference.com: . We present them here for purely educational purposes. Real men play with balls this size, Warn said, glaring at Bird. In 1981-82, Bird made the first of his three consecutive appearances on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team even though he was relatively slow and not the greatest one-on-one defender, his anticipation and court sense made him peerless as a team defender. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick) Bats Left, Throws Left; Height 6' 9", Weight 220 lb. With five seconds remaining and the Celtics trailing 107-106, Bird stole an Isiah Thomas inbounds pass and fed Dennis Johnson, whose layup gave Boston the win. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Bird nearly doubled the Sycamores' win total year-over-year from 13 to 25 after sitting out just one year in 1975-76, rather than two, after IU signed papers for Bird's release. 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) . Home-game attendance hovered around 3,100 when Bird arrived at Indiana State, but as he had done in Springs Valley, Bird single-handedly packed the house and elevated his team to respectability and more. Carr was his best teammate. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. The small forward had just led Indiana State to a 33-1 season, with the team's sole loss coming to Magic Johnson . We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Player Season Finder . Larry Bird was born on 7 December 1956, making him 64 years old as of today, 2 August 2021. The Sycamores went 81-13 during Birds three-year career. Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana . His back was also hurting, but Bird came back in the third period to help lift the Celtics to an emotional 124-121 victory. . They got married in 1989 and adopted two children: Connor and Mariah Bird. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. A crafty defensive player, Birds most famous steal came in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Bird, the Coach of the Year in 1997-98, resigned as Pacers coach after Indianas Finals appearance. When I started here, I wanted to see the high school, college and professional basketball worlds come together, and Bird symbolizes that. Experience: 13 years. As the NBA celebrates it's 75th Anniversary Season, get to know dozens of star players who helped make the NBA what it is today. Andy Wittry has written for Stadium, SI.com, Sporting News, the Indianapolis Star, Louisville Courier-Journal and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 4:50AM. The experience shook Bird. Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Larry Bird in 2023. The story was news to me. Michael Jordan has compiled 41,011 minutes and has participated . Magic Johnson was in the class of 1977. The guy had absolutely nothing. All rights reserved. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana, High School: 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. The .500 batting average still exists in Indiana State history books as one of the highest ever recorded by a player for the team. When Bird elected to return to Indiana State for one more year, the Celtics dipped to 29-53. 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. In the last 7 years, I've been covering everything related to the career and job seeking world. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, NBA Legends: Profiling the league's greats, Ex-NBA player Morrow facing assault charges, Durant passes 'Big O' for 13th in career points, NBA Fantasy: Under-the-radar additions for playoffs, Magic's Isaac (torn adductor) out for rest of season, Triple-double win streak shows Jokic dominance, NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo plays and strategy for March 3. Larry Bird was a standout in Boston and one of the NBAs most iconic players ever. 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. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. His last-second heroics, ranging from seemingly impossible reverse layups to miraculous 35-foot bombs over multiple defenders, never ceased to amaze those who followed his career. By that time Birds scoring average had reached the mid-20s, and he was averaging upwards of seven assists. It was his first season ever as a college head coach. He was seemingly able to get almost any shot he wanted whether it was 30 seconds after the tip or with as much time left on the clock . At Springs Valley High, Bird scored 1,125 career points, averaged 30.6 points and 20.5 rebounds," Dana Hunsinger Benbow recounted in the Indianapolis Star. Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. 1 in Birds senior year that is, until a Michigan State team featuring a 6-foot-9 guard named Earvin Magic Johnson knocked them off in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game, one of the most widely watched showdowns in basketball history. He thought he had been playing pretty damn good that day. Larry Bird's college career. Do you have a sports website? This blog is forever grateful for the meme template that sweet, sweet banner gave us. The Top 11 Ranked. Bird would typically start offensive possessions on the right block, where he would utilize the right corner of the floor, the fre-throw line extended and the opposite wing. Find out more. Birds 19 points in the 1982 NBA All-Star Game, including 12 of the Easts last 15, earned him the games MVP trophy. Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana us College: Indiana State University High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Bird returned to his role with the Pacers in 2013 before stepping down in 2017 to assume an advisory role for the franchise. Wore the number 33 on his basketball jersey in high school, college and with the Boston Celtics. Year Event GP MIN PTS FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3PT% FTM FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF Place; 1992: Olympic Games . Larry Bird's best teammates included Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson. I ran across this short narrative while reading Bobby Knight's book- "Knight-My Story", and thought it might be interesting to share to the board. Larry Bird once played college baseball as a dare, and he was actually good, The Clippers Russell Westbrook experiment is off to a terrible start. When talking about per game stats, Bird sports an average of 6.8 assists as well as 9.6 boards. The Celtics' legendary playmaker is the only person in NBA history to win MVP, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year in a career. Bird was named a special assistant in the Celtics front office, with limited duties that included some scouting and player evaluation. Like many great national championship teams, IU faced a rebuild or a reload or whatever you want to call it the next year. Not just some guy. Check out the detailed 1977-78 Indiana State Sycamores Roster and Stats for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com What if Sam Wyche didnt leave IU after only 1 season? He's a 3-time NBA Champion, a 12-time all-star, and he was named to countless NBA teams during his roughly 13 years on the Celtics. I also really believe he can be a heck of a coach. At Indiana State here is what Bird did: 1976-77..aveged 32.8 ppg, 1977-78..averaged 30 ppg and 1978-79 ..28.6 ppggiving him a 3 years career average at indiana State of 30.3 ppg. Bird didnt let the team down. He was a 2x 1st team All American, future #1 overall lottery pick and 1976 NCAA player of the year, leading the 76 IU team to the only undefeated national title of the next 40 years. No other player in his era was as good or as consistent a shooter as Bird. Russell Westbrook is being left wide open on offense, and hes still hurting the Clippers. Bird nearly doubled the Sycamores win total year-over-year from 13 to 25 after sitting out just one year in 1975-76, rather than two, after IU signed papers for Birds release. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird. Only a few photos exist from the game, but seeing it live would have been legendary. There is the Larry Bird people know, the Boston Celtics legend, the hick from French Lick, the Indiana State University basketball king. They both finished their college playing careers in the spring of 1979. Career Stats Game Log Splits. Larry Bird is an Indiana basketball legend, starting at Springs Valley High School and running through his playing days at Indiana State . Nearly 30 years ago, then-college basketball star Jamal Mashburn saw Larry Bird in a hotel prior to a week of scrimmages between The Dream Team and some of the country's top college players. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). Do you have a sports website? Indiana State nearly became the most recent undefeated national champion, reaching the 1979 national title game with a 33-0 record. At the time, Bird was a junior at Indiana State University and decided he wanted to play his senior year . One newspaper in Indiana vaguely described the reason as personal dissatisfaction. He then enrolled at Northwood Institute, a two-year school with roughly 200 students in West Baden, Indiana, near his hometown of French Lick. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Larry Bird's accomplishments and stats make him one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. In 1977-78 the Celtics had compiled a 32-50 record, their worst since 1949-50. 5 ranking than their final record that was just one game above .500, having not cracked the AP poll after December 20. The following year Bird posted the third-longest free-throw streak in NBA history, hitting 71 consecutive attempts. Larry Bird stats. Thats what a coach has to do.. when they were picking teams! Bird took just two shots that night and made both, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, while he helped teammates Carl Nicks and Steve Reed score 50 combined. Bob Knights worst team at IU, by record, was the 1977, post-title team. School: Indiana StatePosition: ForwardHeight: 6-9Weight: 220 poundsYears active: 1976-79NCAA tournament record: 4-1Career averages: 30.3 points per game, 13.3 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, 53.3% shooting. Bird always held a chip on his shoulder over that, even decades later. What if Larry Bird hadnt transferred from IU? Larry Bird averages for the NBA season and Playoffs, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and other categories, year by year and career numbers. Bird poured in 20 points in the final period to outdo his counterpart and lead the Celtics to victory even though he had bronchial pneumonia. All rights reserved. Hes very intense. Knight said that when Bird came to campus in the Fall of 1974, and the team would organize pick up games, that Bird would commonly get left out and would not be picked Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. At one time I believe Knight had Bird, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas in for recruiting. 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. College basketball conference tournament predictions: Picks for every mens league. Indianapolis Star.