He was remarking to one of the players before the game that he just wanted to do well; he didnt want to let the team down.. Taking a look at the numbers behind Nikola Jokic's historic season for the Nuggets. He led the league in free-throw percentage four times. Real men play with balls this size, Warn said, glaring at Bird. He was there to prove a point. 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Games. Bird earned an assortment of accolades during his time at Indiana 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. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. May 12, 1997: Hired as Head Coach by the Indiana Pacers. . Bird found the transition to college life difficult. 1 in the country, and they are one win from the title. 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? Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. College: Indiana State. Larry used BB to escape from his family problems! Indiana vs. Michigan State: Womens basketball game notes, how to watch, more, Everything you need to know about the Champs Big Ten tournament quarterfinal matchup, Three Things: Indiana mens basketball loses to Iowa 90-68, Indiana mens basketball collapses against Iowa 90-68, Indiana womens basketball: Big Ten awards announced. You wont find much on Larry Birds short-lived baseball career, but those who were there wont soon forget. 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? In his first season, the Pacers with Reggie Miller as their main weapon were defeated by the defending-champion Chicago Bulls and Jordan in a tough seven-game conference finals series. 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. 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." 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. Bird and Johnson were already playing their first year in the NBA by then. Having grabbed 7,217 defensive rebounds and 1,757 offensive, Bird has accumulated 8,974 total rebounds during his NBA career. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketballers of all time, it . Under the leadership of Hodges, Bird and Co. went undefeated during the 1978-79 season and advanced to face Magic and his Spartans. At different times, Bird has been quoted saying either Dennis Johnson or M.L. The following comes from The Tampa Bay Times: His best NCAA tournament game came in the Final Four against DePaul, when he scored 35 points with 16 rebounds and nine assists (all were NCAA tournament highs for him) while shooting 16-of-19 from the field. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. They both finished their college playing careers in the spring of 1979. He was brilliant against the Razorbacks with a a 31-point, 10-rebound game in the regional finals. NCAA Tournament. His NBA years : from 1980 to 1992 Larry Bird NBA Stats Summary : Complete NBA coaching record for Larry Bird, including regular season and postseason games. "He's 6-9, was the nation's second leading scorer and that's not all," wrote The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton. Larry Bird's accomplishments and stats make him one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. Im new at this (coaching) game but I feel I can get the job done, he said. And Warn, firm in his belief Bird would look foolish on a baseball field, was willing to give him the chance to embarrass himself. After 897 games Bird retired with 21,791 points (24.3 ppg), 8,974 rebounds (10.0 rpg) and 5,695 assists (6.3 apg). 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 Michigan State Spartans in the 1979 championship. Bird averaged 21.3 points, 10.4 assists, and 4.5 steals in 82 games during his rookie season in 1979-80. Birth Year: 1956. 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. . 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. Check out the top highlights and plays from Larry Bird's storied NBA career. 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. He started out as an Indiana Hoosier but later left the school and team coached by the legendary Bobby Knight. As a senior, Bird became the schools all-time scoring champion and about 4,000 people attended his final home game. Bird once again led the team in points (21.2 ppg), rebounds (10.9 rpg), steals (161), and minutes (3,239). Larry Bird, in full Larry Joe Bird, (born December 7, 1956, West Baden, Indiana, U.S.), American basketball player who led the Boston Celtics to three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships (1981, 1984, and 1986) and is considered one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. The following year Bird posted the third-longest free-throw streak in NBA history, hitting 71 consecutive attempts. 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. 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. . An obsessive perfectionist, Bird was idolized by Celtic fans and basketball purists of all allegiances. 5 ranking than their final record that was just one game above .500, having not cracked the AP poll after December 20. In a first-round series that year, Bird badly bruised his face in a second-quarter fall in Game 5 against Indiana. Larry Joe Bird He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points short of averaging 30 per contest. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. One basketball coach, however, apparently missed the memo. ", 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. He has compiled 1,556 steals, in addition to 755 blocks and 5,695 assists. Now the Sycamores are 33-0, they are ranked No. 1 pick in the 1977 NBA Draft, and Woodson. Bird passed Otis Birdsong to become the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer of all-timewith a free throw early in the championship game. 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.. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. What if Sam Wyche didnt leave IU after only 1 season? The pair made an agreement: A non-conference doubleheader was looming against Kentucky Wesleyan, a perfect low-risk opportunity to put Bird in a baseball uniform. Larry Bird's book is incredible. Do you have a sports website? Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 4:50AM. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. He pulls people together. Experience: 13 years. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Attended Indiana University for only 24 days. Then, however, a loud voice suddenly halted play. At the time, Bird was a junior at Indiana State University and decided he wanted to play his senior year . He and owner Herb Simon had discussed his eventual departure for a few years. There may not be a folding chair in the state that would be left un-flung. Entdecke Spielplan College Basketball jhrliche Vorschau Menge 2 1977-78-1978-79 Vogel Magie in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! Birds 19 points in the 1982 NBA All-Star Game, including 12 of the Easts last 15, earned him the games MVP trophy. Published Jan. 28 . He became only the third player (and the first non-center) to win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. Imagine what he wouldve done with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and future NBA players as teammates! 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. View Comments. The Sycamores went undefeated and reached No. 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 . 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. The Hoosiers beat Furman by one in the first round of the NCAA tournament, before losing by one to Villanova. Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana us College: Indiana State University High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana 2023 NCAA | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Larry Bird goes to the basket against DePaul in the 1979 Final Four. But none of those things kept him in Bloomington, as he was gone before homecoming his freshman year. College: University of Hoosiers: Religion: Christian: Nationality: American: Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius: Gender: Male: Sexual Orientation: Straight: Marital Status: Married: . He thought he had been playing pretty damn good that day. Benson was an all time great college player, but really just a servicable pro. "He was named an Indiana All-Star.". Bird helped rebuild a Celtics franchise that had been suffering from sub-standard play and poor attendance in the late 1970s. Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana . Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. The Hick from French Lick. In 1975, he enrolled at Indiana State. There is the Larry Bird people know, the Boston Celtics legend, the hick from French Lick, the Indiana State University basketball king. All rights reserved. Despite joking that he hoped he could get the Xs and Os right in the huddle, and that he didnt draw up any plays with himself in them, Bird approached his new role with typical aww-shucks aplomb. 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 . Couldn't have happened. 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? . Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. 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. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. 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. Birds status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. 19 Minnesota showed the teams potential. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. 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. Larry Bird is an Indiana basketball legend, starting at Springs Valley High School and running through his playing days at Indiana State . Jobbade sedan i Celtics frn 1992 till 1997 och coachade sedan Indiana Pacers frn 1997 till 2000. Only a few photos exist from the game, but seeing it live would have been legendary. He has tallied 1,556 steals, as well as 755 blocks and 5,695 dimes. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. This guy is the epitome of everything Ive tried to do here, then-Pacers president Donnie Walsh said of Bird. He was unflappable and virtually unstoppable. We talked Hoosiers with our buddy at Hoopla. He said he was prepared to leave the team after the 2010-11 season with the Pacers headed in the right direction. Bird did a fine job in his three seasons on the bench. But Bird finally came to Boston for the 1979-80 campaign and sparked one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NBA history. Birth City: West Baden Springs. Find out more. Larry Bird's wife, Dinah Mattingly, is his high school sweetheart who got engaged and married the former NBA legend in 1989. What if Knute Rockne came to Bloomington in 1914 and changed the trajectory of IU football? Recently crowned national champion N.C. State also joined the pursuit of Bird in mid-April 1974, right before he was slated to sign his National Letter of Intent with the Hoosiers. 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 . Even though he had never coached a game in his life, the Pacers had no qualms about turning over the reins to Bird. Sucker punch in OVC tournament leads to 3 ejections. 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. 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. 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. He was a superstar in college basketball, in essence. Benson, of course, was a God in Indiana. There is no question about his eligibility.. He even plays defense, although that's not what's causing the NBA Boston Celtics to salivate over him.". 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.