Knight said(to the effect).."I didn't handle that well, I just let him goI had a lot of good players(at the time) who were happy to be where they wereto me, we had a great team shaping up and I didn; envision Bird playing much for us until he was a junior, anyway. Larry Bird was a standout in Boston and one of the NBAs most iconic players ever. Larry Bird's college stats were as incredible as his mustache he averaged more than 30 points and 13 rebounds in his collegiate career. Attended Indiana University for only 24 days. 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. Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Larry Bird in 2023. I could do that. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right 6-9, 220lb (206cm, 99kg) . Larry Bird ranks as one of the all-time top players of the NBA. It wasnt until 1983-84, however, that the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals. The Sycamores went undefeated and reached No. College: Indiana State. Extremely high basketball IQ, pure heart and hustle. ", Indiana State teammate Carl Nicks: "It's a tremendous feeling to play with him he brings out the best in everybody. Larry Bird. He scored 136 points in five NCAA tournament games, leading the Sycamores to the national championship game, where they fell to the Michigan State Spartans. Find out more. All rights reserved. During his career he shot .496 from the floor and .886 from the free-throw line, retiring as the fifth all-time free-throw shooter behind Mark Price, Rick Barry, Calvin Murphy and Scott Skiles. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketballers of all time, it . College: Indiana State (1976-1979) NBA draft: 1978 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall: . In his other eight seasons as a DI head coach, he won just 96 games and compiled a .384 winning percentage. 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. Bird earned an assortment of accolades during his time at Indiana State. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. In 1975, John Woodens last season, UCLA won its 10th national championship to cap off an NCAA tournament run in which it needed overtime to beat Michigan in the opening round and Louisville in the Final Four. The Boston Celtics selected Larry Bird with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. A crafty defensive player, Birds most famous steal came in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit. After the 2011-12 season, Bird stepped down as the Pacers president of basketball operations, citing health issues. It would have been easy for the story to end here, with a healthy round of shit-talking and little else. Wins over No. By that time Birds scoring average had reached the mid-20s, and he was averaging upwards of seven assists. Do you have a sports website? No-Trouble Returns upon All orders. Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.Growing up in French Lick, Indiana, he was a local basketball star. Birth City: West Baden Springs. Birds legend was born in the tiny town of French Lick, snuggled in Indianas corn country, where his family led a spartan life. 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. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. Indiana State nearly became the most recent undefeated national champion, reaching the 1979 national title game with a 33-0 record. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick) Bats Left, Throws Left; Height 6' 9", Weight 220 lb. Hes very intense. It's because of Bird. Larry Bird was a co-star of one of the greatest college basketball national championship games ever - Bird vs. Magic, when the undefeated Indiana State Sycamores took on the co-Big Ten champion . 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). Does the most recognized team in Hoosier history double or even, gasp, triple, its national championship haul with Bird in Bloomington in the mid-to-late 70s? Layed him out cold. Larry Bird then married Dinah Mattingly on September 30, 1989, who he met while studying at the Indiana State University. But Los Angeles won the series in six games. 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. Larry Legend dragged a coach to the national championship game who later had a five-win season and a three-win season in something called the Trans America Athletic Conference while coaching Mercer. In the last 7 years, I've been covering everything related to the career and job seeking world. Editors note: This is part of a series of stories revisiting the biggest what-ifs in IU history. Larry used BB tThe internet said that Bird's mother worked 2 jobs to care for Larry and his 5 siblings. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 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. Published Jan. 28 . Kent Benson was the bigest name in Indiana basketball back then, but an A1 arrogant asshole as well, at least by most accounts of those who knew him. It began as gentle ribbing, poking fun at Birds propensity to spend a majority of his free time getting ice and massages in the ISU training room. 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 . Larry Bird redshirted (sat out) his freshman year, and therefore, like Maravich, Robertson, and Hayes, his totals were also achieved in only three . Larry Bird is an Indiana basketball legend, starting at Springs Valley High School and running through his playing days at Indiana State . Few played tougher than Bird, who would leap into crowds and over press tables for loose balls. This guy is the epitome of everything Ive tried to do here, then-Pacers president Donnie Walsh said of Bird. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? 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. As per reports, Bird made around $24 million over the course of his career. The Sycamores went 81-13 during Bird's three-year career. 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. And in the 2000 NBA Finals, the Pacers succumbed in a six-game series to the Lakers, led by Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant, for the Lakers first of three consecutive titles. 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. 'Coach, I'm dead,' moaned Bird. There are lecture halls in Ballentine Hall that are bigger than Northwoods entire student body at the time, and the school briefly landed one of the 20 greatest scorers in college basketball history. Bird was the embodiment of Celtics Pride. He was a classy, confident, hardworking player who thrived on pressure and inspired teammates to excel. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. Home; Tickets; Schedule. The story behind the 1978 NBA draft, often known as the Larry Bird draft, is one of the most important in league history. Known as 'Chief', Parish played 21 seasons in the NBA and was one of the mainstays in Boston during the '80s, leading the Celtics to three titles. Bird scored a team-high 19 points for the Sycamores in the 1979 national championship game but it wasn't his most efficient performance as he was just 7-of-21 from the field and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line. In reality, he spent most of the next five years in Florida, playing golf and taking it easy. "He's 6-9, was the nation's second leading scorer and that's not all," wrote The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton. 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. They both finished their college playing careers in the spring of 1979. An undefeated IU team with a healthy Scott May or Larry Bird, let alone both, wouldve made for a compelling matchup with Woodens final UCLA team. Larry Bird's Wife Dinah Mattingly. Now the Sycamores are 33-0, they are ranked No. 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. Celtics Jamal Mashburn recalled how Larry Bird responded to trash-talk at a 'Dream Team' practice in 1992 "Hey Larry, you ain't hit a jumper since '84." Bird missed 22 games in 1990-91 because of a compressed nerve root in his back, a condition that eventually forced his retirement. Bird returned home to become the head coach of the Indiana Pacers in 1997 and led them to the conference finals. Fans always seemed to be willing to give a ride to Birds parents, who couldnt afford a car of their own. Like many great national championship teams, IU faced a rebuild or a reload or whatever you want to call it the next year. He earned the Rookie of the Year honours and also led a mediocre team . Larry Bledsoe, the schools basketball coach, remarked how he was extremely pleased to get a player of Birds caliber, according to the Mitchell Tribune. Carr was his best teammate. He was also called Kodak by his first NBA coach, Bill Fitch, . When he talks, you come into his world. Mike Hayes, a Kentucky Wesleyan player, recounted the game, vividly remembering Birds bizarre, ungainly swing. 1988 Men's NCAA, 2019 Women's NCAA, 1940 Men's NCAA, 2006 Women's NCAA, 1981 Men's NCAA. But there were plenty more heroics yet to come. 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.. Bird had a double-double in all five NCAA tournament games he played in that year. 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. Season-ticket sales tripled. 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. All rights reserved. On February 6, 1988, Larry Bird won his 3rd consecutive 3-point Contest while still wearing his warm-up jacket. 31.8 - HOF Larry Bird - Indiana State - 30.3 . If Larry Bird hasnt transferred from IU because of whatever propelled him from Bloomington the school being too big, homesickness, his courseload, Jim Wismans wardrobe, whatever he potentially provides IU an insurance policy to Mays crippling arm injury in 1975, leading to another Final Four berth if not another title; another headliner to IUs best team ever in 1976; enough singular talent to avoid a post-championship drop-off and Bob Knights worst season at IU in 1977; and, likely, turns IU into another national title favorite in 1978. Loved to watch him play. Here you have the answers. He was such a deadly shooter that he sometimes practiced 3-pointers with his eyes closed. What if Knute Rockne came to Bloomington in 1914 and changed the trajectory of IU football? Body Measurement Of Larry Bird. 2 Notre Dame, No. 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 . games played = 41.4 ppg This is going off of their college career . Would an 18-year-old Bird have been ready to take a complementary, if not starring, role as a freshman in the second or third weekend of the NCAA tournament? Everyone knew Bird was destined for greatness in the NBA, but that didnt stop Indiana State baseball coach Bob Warn from roasting him. He was a superstar in college basketball, in essence. Bird was too insecure for the atmosphere there and Magic hated how Knight yelled and screamed and bullied players so he went to Mich State. 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. Bird helped rebuild a Celtics franchise that had been suffering from sub-standard play and poor attendance in the late 1970s. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Born in 1956, in the state of Indiana, this player is known as the biggest reason behind why the Boston Celtics were led to the NBA championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986. His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. Check out the top highlights and plays from Larry Bird's storied NBA career. Their 9-9 Big Ten record was bumped to 11-7, making a tough transition year appear a little less harsh in the history books. 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. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. The Top 11 Ranked. What if Larry Bird hadnt transferred from IU. Started collecting garbage upon his return to French Lick. You can watch the full replay of the '79 title game below. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. The .500 batting average still exists in Indiana State history books as one of the highest ever recorded by a player for the team. Magic Johnson was in the class of 1977. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . 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 . A pioneering sixth man, Kevin McHale won three titles with the Celtics in the 1980s. ---------------------------------------------------- Bird was raised in French Lick, Indiana, and attended Indiana State University, where he helped revive . Regarding per game stats, Bird is averaging 6.8 dimes and 9.6 rebounds. Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. Finally, with the Celtics in a decline that hit bottom in 1996-97, Bird decided to take the plunge. . A brutal sucker punch in the OVC tournament stopped the game in its tracks. Bird returned to his role with the Pacers in 2013 before stepping down in 2017 to assume an advisory role for the franchise. 1 pick in the 1977 NBA Draft, and Woodson. He is a graduate of Indiana University. 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 Larry Bird SF #33. How does Larry Bird compare with other great NBA players? the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. What if Phil Dickens and IU football hadnt gotten the whole dang department sanctioned? Odds & lines subject to change. We talked Hoosiers with our buddy at Hoopla. But mostly he was bored. Check out 50 great assists by Larry Bird. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. 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. Magic Johnson was in the class of 1977. We present them here for purely educational purposes. See our ethics statement. View Comments. Michael Jordan has compiled 41,011 minutes and has participated . Larry Bird vs Steven Adams. Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. 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. I heard this story once and I believe it is true. He won the NBA Executive of the Year award in 2012 to become the only person in NBA history to win Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. However, he was eligible to be drafted without applying for "hardship" because his original college class at Indiana University had graduated. Indiana State coach Bill Hodges, by the way, wasnt just in his first year as Indiana States head coach. That story is largely lost to time and even better, he did it mostly because of a dare. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Bird, now 30 years old and with worsening back condition and foot problems as well, would not win a fourth championship ring. In regard to per game stats, Bird averages 6.8 assists and 9.6 rebounds. 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. If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. As many observed, he would see plays not as they were developing, but before they developed. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Larry Bird Rookie Year Stats. When Bird elected to return to Indiana State for one more year, the Celtics dipped to 29-53. He missed the competition, and with each passing year the urge grew to get back into the NBA in a more active capacity. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Larry Bird's career NBA stats. . UCLA beat Montana by just three points in its second tournament game, proving the Bruins were a resilient, but mortal, champion. 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. What if former IU football coach Clyde Smith hadnt resigned after an open and undercover campaign to oust him? Wore the number 33 on his basketball jersey in high school, college and with the Boston Celtics. College at Indiana State. Tiago Splitter solid in NBA playoff debut Beginning with favorable, Pagns TIME is normally 2 . He was brilliant against the Razorbacks with a a 31-point, 10-rebound game in the regional finals. That was excellent. Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell teamed up to oust the Rockets in Game 6 of The Finals in 1981. . Do you have a blog? Dinah likes to keep a low profile, making rare public appearances with her husband at basketball games. Hardly a change of clothes each day. Though Larry Bird never won a scoring or rebounding title, he produced stats comparable to those of the NBA's best and brightest through his well-rounded play, dizzying . 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. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. . The Orlando forward played only 11 games this season after missing two years with a torn ACL. They got married in 1989 and adopted two children: Connor and Mariah Bird. Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.He is the only person in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Finals . Larry Bird played 13 seasons for the Celtics. 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. '", Indiana State coach Bill Hodges on the notion that man-to-man defenses might slow Bird down: "If we go against a UCLA or a Notre Dame later on and they play man-to-man, that's when you'll see how tough Larry really is. "By noon, Bird appeared at a press conference, a rarity in his scheme of things. Benson, of course, was a God in Indiana. There is no question about his eligibility.. Learn more and register, International Stats at Basketball-Reference.com, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. He was named NBA Head Coach of the Year in 1998. 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) . 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. Knight said.." I first saw him play for Spring Valley HS, about 60 miles south of Bloomington physically he wasn't the Larry Bird everybody remembers..as a HS senior he was about 6-'6" and around 180lbs. Indiana State star Larry Bird makes his way through the crowd of players and fans getting congratulations after his team defeated Arkansas, 73-71, to win the NCAA Midwest Regional tourney crown in . 1 ranking. 5 ranking than their final record that was just one game above .500, having not cracked the AP poll after December 20. He became only the third player (and the first non-center) to win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. Then he left the local junior college, Northwood Institute. Jobbade sedan i Celtics frn 1992 till 1997 och coachade sedan Indiana Pacers frn 1997 till 2000. 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. For 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics, from 1979-80 through 1991-92, Bird personified hustle, consistency and excellence in all areas of play as a scorer, a passer, a rebounder, a defender, a team player, and, perhaps above all, as a clutch performer. He thought he had been playing pretty damn good that day. Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana . And Warn, firm in his belief Bird would look foolish on a baseball field, was willing to give him the chance to embarrass himself. He and owner Herb Simon had discussed his eventual departure for a few years. Bird's Pacers fell in the East finals in '98 and '99, then came up short in the NBA Finals in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. What if Sam Wyche didnt leave IU after only 1 season? What if IU hired Jerry Tarkanian instead of Bob Knight, What if IU had solved Syracuses zone in 2013. Bird was 20, 21 and 22 years old when he eventually played college ball for Indiana State. Imagine Thomas, Bird and Magic on the same team. My goal is to . * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. He was out to embarrass him from the beginning buzzer to the end buzzer of every meeting. Learn more and register, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. On Aug. 18, 1992 he announced his retirement as a player. He has accounted for 1,556 steals, as well as 755 blocks and 5,695 assists. Along with Magic, Bird was revitalizing the NBA, helping the league live up to its new slogan, NBA Action: Its FAN-tastic. After only two seasons, fans, coaches and players knew exactly what Bird was all about: big numbers and clutch performances. 10 attempts), Indiana State-record 16 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game, Tied for first in semifinal history with 16 made field goals against DePaul, Second-leading scorer in the country in 1978: 30.0 points per game, Second-leading scorer in the country in 1979: 28.6 points per game, Third-leading scorer in the country in 1977: 32.8 points per game, Sixth all-time (since 1973) in rebounds in a season: 505 rebounds (1979), Tied for seventh with a two-game Final Four rebound total of 29 rebounds in 1979, Eighth in Final Four history with an 84.2 shooting percentage against DePaul, Tied for eighth all-time in career rebounding average: 13.3 rebounds per game, Ninth in NCAA tournament history (since 1973) with 67 rebounds in a single NCAA tournament, Tied for 13th all-time in double-doubles in a season: 28 double-doubles (1979), 15th all-time in career scoring average (min.