Taking a look at the numbers behind Nikola Jokic's historic season for the Nuggets. With Bird as the focal point of a well-rounded squad, the Celtics won three NBA titles and 10 Atlantic Division crowns. My goal is to . But none of those things kept him in Bloomington, as he was gone before homecoming his freshman year. ", 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. But Bird finally came to Boston for the 1979-80 campaign and sparked one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NBA history. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Bird had a double-double in all five NCAA tournament games he played in that year. Finally, Bird enrolled at Indiana State, which had posted 12-14 records in each of the two previous years and where the pressure was not quite the same as at Indiana a perennial Big Ten power and national title contender. Surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels limited Bird to only six games in 1988-89. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. 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Larry Bird's wife, Dinah Mattingly, is his high school sweetheart who got engaged and married the former NBA legend in 1989. 1 pick in the 1977 NBA Draft, and Woodson. Larry Bird. 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) He won the Rookie of the Year award, 3 MVP awards, 2 Finals MVP awards and 3 NBA championships. ), 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. Magic Johnson was in the class of 1977. Bird played with a total of eight Hall of Fame players, though a couple played only a few games alongside him. 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? Imagine what he wouldve done with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and future NBA players as teammates! 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 . UNLV 77, Duke 79, Kentucky 103, Duke 104, Notre Dame 91, UConn 89, Texas A&M 63, Stanford 62. He was out to embarrass him from the beginning buzzer to the end buzzer of every meeting. He initially enrolled at Indiana University in 1974 but dropped out before the season began. Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. 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. Published Jan. 28 . Forward Larry Bird played 13 seasons for the Celtics. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. A defensive maven who stifled some of the best stars, Dennis Johnson was an All-Star, a Finals MVP and won three NBA titles. Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. FIBA Senior Team Events Stats. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The experience shook Bird. With Larry Bird, the 77 Hoosiers are probably a 20-win team and closer to their preseason No. He said he was prepared to leave the team after the 2010-11 season with the Pacers headed in the right direction. College at Indiana State. Thanks Jimmie. A pioneering sixth man, Kevin McHale won three titles with the Celtics in the 1980s. At one time I believe Knight had Bird, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas in for recruiting. Do you have a blog? As of today, his net worth is around $75 million. Scott Horner. When Bird enrolled in Bloomington, he joined the reigning Big Ten champions, an IU team that had gone 23-5 and missed the NCAA tournament after a loss to Michigan but won the Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament to close out its 1973-74 campaign. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Hodges allowed Bird to sleep in, which annoyed the folks who sponsored the brunch and the award, and some in the media. Check out the detailed 1977-78 Indiana State Sycamores Roster and Stats for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. 18 Alabama and No. But his arrogant attitude is hardly a big surprise to those who know about Benson. 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. IU had three one-possession losses in the 1976-77 season and three defeats by two possessions. 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. Knight went on"at 6-'6" and 180 lbs, I could not envision Bird being what he became, but I could see where he could become a "darned" good player for us". Knight signed Bird up to play at Indiana in the spring of his senior year.! (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana, High School: Finally, with the Celtics in a decline that hit bottom in 1996-97, Bird decided to take the plunge. Although Johnson also turned in an impressive first season for the NBA-champion Los Angeles Lakers, Bird was named Rookie of the Year and made the first of his 12 trips to the All-Star Game. It may have also hurt him in his transition to a big state school, where he lasted a matter of weeks after the start of the school year. This blog is forever grateful for the meme template that sweet, sweet banner gave us. The players looked up to see Coach Knight, just recently returned from an out of state trip, having an absolute cow and cussing up a storm, throwing shit and marching across the floor from the open doorway he had been peeking through. When Bird elected to return to Indiana State for one more year, the Celtics dipped to 29-53. The College Jersey Store consists of a significant selection of Indiana State Larry Bird Jerseys, such as Mens, Womens and Kids, swingman, limited, Authentic and throwback jerseys for all, Away Larry Bird Indiana State Jersey at Out Online Retail Outlet 24-7. ", The New York Times' Dave Anderson: "[Bill] Hodges likes to say that his primary contribution to the Sycamores this season has been 'not messing up Larry Bird. 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. College: Indiana State. 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. Learn more and register, International Stats at Basketball-Reference.com, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. So it is a moot point. 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 poured in 20 points in the final period to outdo his counterpart and lead the Celtics to victory even though he had bronchial pneumonia. Far from it. 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. 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. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. The first inkling to Bobby Knight that things had changed wiht Larry Bird was from a former player who called Knight, and said" he had just seen Bird playing in an outdoor tournment in Lebanon, and he was a "beast" at 6'-9' and around 225#and by that time Bird was al set at Indiana State. It was his first season ever as a college head coach. Imagine Thomas, Bird and Magic on the same team. Knight could only shake his head at what he had lost. How does Larry Bird compare with other great NBA players? 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. I didn't say that Bird was the best college basketball player of all time. 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. Larry Bird, AKA "Larry Legend," was selected by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. 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. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Birds status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. NCAA Tournament. Bird returned to his role with the Pacers in 2013 before stepping down in 2017 to assume an advisory role for the franchise. In 1977-78 the Celtics had compiled a 32-50 record, their worst since 1949-50. 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. 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) . Coming out of Springs Valley, Bird chose IU over Indiana State and Purdue after being pursued by more than 50 schools, according to The Herald (Jasper, Ind.). Once every generation or so, a player comes along who can truly be called a superstar. not larry bird basketball shorts 9%, the greatest considering that 2019 plus great for 90th percentile amongst certified remedies in most associated with football. In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, Bird engaged in a memorable fourth-quarter shootout with the Hawks Dominique Wilkins. View Comments. 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. Join our linker program. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Larry Bird is recognized as one of the greatest NBA players of all time. 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. ", Indiana State teammate Carl Nicks: "It's a tremendous feeling to play with him he brings out the best in everybody. Larry Bird's Wife Dinah Mattingly. Bird had actually nailed the jumper from the corner. As it turned out it created one of the greatest rivalries in sports between Magic and Bird. They battled against Earvin "Magic" Johnson -- Bird's rival throughout his professional career -- and Michigan State in the championship game, falling 75-64. But Bird, ever the competitor, wanted to prove a point. 2022-23 Season Schedule; 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 . 5 ranking than their final record that was just one game above .500, having not cracked the AP poll after December 20. After the 2011-12 season, Bird stepped down as the Pacers president of basketball operations, citing health issues. What if Phil Dickens and IU football hadnt gotten the whole dang department sanctioned? Two months later, he signed his NBA contract with the Boston Celtics. On May 12, 1997, Bird was named head coach of the Indiana Pacers. ", The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton: "At the beginning of the season, Indiana State was picked third or fourth in its own conference. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Those would be my first two." When asked if personal statistics matter, he responded: "Yes, it is about numbers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. The three-time NBA champion played 94 games with the Sycamores. Attended Indiana University for only 24 days. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. This type of behavior was par for the course with Knight, but a new experience alltogether for Bird. His career averages were 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in 897 regular season games. There is no question about his eligibility.. Bird also won his third consecutive 3-point shootout title, a feat later matched by Chicago Bulls Craig Hodges from 1990-92.
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