He has compiled 1,556 steals, in addition to 755 blocks and 5,695 assists. If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. Larry Bird's journey began in the small rural community of French Lick, Indiana. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. 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! Boston survived a memorable Eastern Conference finals against Philadelphia in which the Celtics bounced back from a 3-1 deficit and posted come-from-behind victories in each of the last three games, then took the title over Moses Malone and the Houston Rockets in a six-game NBA Finals. Join our linker program. Twelve of the top 14 picks in that years draft were seniors, with the other two non-seniors being juniors Kenny Carr and Bernard King, so staying all four years of college was still very much the norm then. 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. One basketball coach, however, apparently missed the memo. No-Trouble Returns upon All orders. and even better, he did it mostly because of a dare, Mike Hayes, a Kentucky Wesleyan player, recounted the game. Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana us College: Indiana State University High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana 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. (Larry Legend; The Hick from French Lick), Draft: Boston Celtics, 1st round (6th pick, 6th overall), 1978 NBA draft, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. Not at the same time. With Bird in the mix, IUs 1978 team wouldve been built around him, Woodson and Radford. Now the Sycamores are 33-0, they are ranked No. How does Larry Bird compare with other great NBA players? (If youre looking for a new throwback jersey to wear at darties whenever all this is over, get your hands on a Larry Bird Northwood jersey. It wasnt until 1983-84, however, that the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals. He became only the third player (and the first non-center) to win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. College Basketball Scores. 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. > Archive 75: Larry Bird| 75 Stories: Larry Bird. But even though one might expect that he, a superstar, would live a high life of splashing cash every day, that wasn't at all the case with Larry. 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. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Larry Bird | Basketball Wiki | Fandom Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana . Larry Bird's College Career: Overlooked? | News, Scores, Highlights 18 Alabama and No. But Knight was not impressed. Carreira Basquete universitrio. Larry Bird Career NBA Coaching Record and Bio - ESPN Take an inside look at Larry Birds iconic steal from Isiah Thomas during Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference finals. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Few played tougher than Bird, who would leap into crowds and over press tables for loose balls. (. Dinah likes to keep a low profile, making rare public appearances with her husband at basketball games. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 19 Minnesota showed the teams potential. RELATED: The complete results from the best #MarchMadnessMoments bracket. 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. Imagine what he wouldve done with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and future NBA players as teammates! 10 Bird Was A Part Of The Most Watched College Game Ever Everything you wanted to know about Indiana legend Larry Bird May 12, 1997: Hired as Head Coach by the Indiana Pacers. ---------------------------------------------------- We had guys last year who didn't care about passing. 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. 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. 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. 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 Hoosiers beat Furman by one in the first round of the NCAA tournament, before losing by one to Villanova. Bird returned to his role with the Pacers in 2013 before stepping down in 2017 to assume an advisory role for the franchise. And then there is a lesser known Bird, the college baseball . Comparison Between Larry Bird and Other NBA Stars - LandOfBasketball.com IU peaked at No. Bird always held a chip on his shoulder over that, even decades later. He was a two-time consensus first-team All-American in 1978-79, the College Player of the Year in 1979, a two-time MVC Player of the Year in 1978-79, and had his No. In addition to his three championship rings, Bird piled up an awesome collection of personal achievements. Indiana State nearly became the most recent undefeated national champion, reaching the 1979 national title game with a 33-0 record. As if by Magic: The Story of Young Larry Bird's Explosion onto the Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Bird averaged 21.3 points, 10.4 assists, and 4.5 steals in 82 games during his rookie season in 1979-80. Bird passed Otis Birdsong to become the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer of all-timewith a free throw early in the championship game. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Larry Bird's career NBA stats. The Sycamores went 81-13 during Bird's three-year career. Bird earned an assortment of accolades during his time at Indiana State. 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) . Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketballers of all time, it . Their coach, Bill Hodges, is in his first year, the first rookie ever to take an undefeated team to the tournament final. 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. Become an Annual VIP member today and get access to VIP content, ad-free forums & more. There is no question about his eligibility.. His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. Students skipped class to line up for tickets eight hours before tipoff. Or write about sports? He was there to prove a point. Bird also won his third consecutive 3-point shootout title, a feat later matched by Chicago Bulls Craig Hodges from 1990-92. Larry Bird, playing for Indiana State, and Magic Johnson, playing for Michigan State, were two of the best basketball players during this time and were about to go head-to-head in a competition that sparked a rivalry between them that lasted throughout the 1980s. Indiana State went 81-13 during the three seasons in which Larry Bird played for the Sycamores. As of today, his net worth is around $75 million. The Hoosiers went 14-13 in 1977, later having their record adjusted to 16-11 after Minnesota was forced to forfeit two wins. NCAA Tournament. Birds concentration and composure were unmatched. ", 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. Larry Bird's book is incredible. How Much Is A Larry Bird Basketball Card Worth Mark Bird's college team, where he became one of the school's best all-time players. 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. 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! Then he left the local junior college, Northwood Institute. All rights reserved. While he wouldve competed for playing time with 6-7 forwards Steve Green (16.6 ppg), May (16.3 ppg) and Tom Abernethy to start the year, Bird grew taller than May at 6-9, 220 pounds, making him a viable replacement once May went down with his injury. Or write about sports? A disk was removed from his back after the season, but it didnt help all that much. ; School Indiana State University; Born December 7, 1956 in West Baden, IN USA; Biographical Information []. Larry used BB to escape from his family problems! Editors note: This is part of a series of stories revisiting the biggest what-ifs in IU history. Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. Bird didnt let the team down. This type of behavior was par for the course with Knight, but a new experience alltogether for Bird. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions. The Cavaliers won in seven games; Boston lost three of the four games couldnt play because of his back. Like Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, John Havlicek and Dave Cowens, the low-key Bird never forced the spotlight upon himself, but rather was a player who brought out the best in the players around him. Knight could only shake his head at what he had lost. Larry Bird's Wife Keeps a Low Profile - FanBuzz Two months later, he signed his NBA contract with the Boston Celtics. IU had three . Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | NBA.com 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. Larry Bird - Wikipedia 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. 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. 1 pick in the 1977 NBA Draft, and Woodson. Larry Bird, AKA "Larry Legend," was selected by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. 1977-78 Indiana State Sycamores Men 's Roster and Stats | College . Hes very intense. 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. Bird won 3 MVP Awards, was selected to play in 12 All-Star Games, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998. In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, Bird engaged in a memorable fourth-quarter shootout with the Hawks Dominique Wilkins. It would have been easy for the story to end here, with a healthy round of shit-talking and little else. He was particularly hard on freshmen players, such as a young Larry Bird. Here are some of the records and historical rankings that Larry Bird achieved at Indiana State: Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote after watching him in the Final Four: "I could not believe The Bird. Martin Fennelly Former Sports columnist. College: University of Hoosiers: Religion: Christian: Nationality: American: Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius: Gender: Male: Sexual Orientation: Straight: Marital Status: Married: . Couldn't have happened. The three-time NBA champion played 94 games with the Sycamores. What if IU hired Jerry Tarkanian instead of Bob Knight, What if IU had solved Syracuses zone in 2013. Larry Bird - BR Bullpen - Baseball-Reference.com Birds status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. It's because of Bird. Once every generation or so, a player comes along who can truly be called a superstar. Larry Bird's college basketball coach is coaching where? 2 Notre Dame, No. 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. Larry Bird ranks as one of the all-time top players of the NBA. He was out to embarrass him from the beginning buzzer to the end buzzer of every meeting. 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. With Bird as the focal point of a well-rounded squad, the Celtics won three NBA titles and 10 Atlantic Division crowns. January 19, 2023 3:00 am ET. 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. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Experience: 13 years. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. He's an impressive figure with incredible rivalries, but there are still tons of things that younger NBA fans should know about Larry Legend. Larry Bird vs Stephen Curry Stats - Stats Pros Larry Bird redshirted (sat out) his freshman year, and therefore, like Maravich, Robertson, and Hayes, his totals were also achieved in only three . This guy is the epitome of everything Ive tried to do here, then-Pacers president Donnie Walsh said of Bird. 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. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. 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. Bird had actually nailed the jumper from the corner. 33 retired by the school. Following a sophomore season that was shortened by a broken ankle, Bird emerged as a star during his junior year. That story is largely lost to time and even better, he did it mostly because of a dare. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. 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? Indianapolis Star. A pioneering sixth man, Kevin McHale won three titles with the Celtics in the 1980s. not larry bird basketball shorts 9%, the greatest considering that 2019 plus great for 90th percentile amongst certified remedies in most associated with football. 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). So he cut the ties and went home. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick) Bats Left, Throws Left; Height 6' 9", Weight 220 lb. The Whole Bird thing reminds me of that old country song"I overlooked and orchid while searching for a rose"! In his other eight seasons as a DI head coach, he won just 96 games and compiled a .384 winning percentage. 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. Gambling problem? Not just some guy. 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. 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? His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. The Orlando forward played only 11 games this season after missing two years with a torn ACL. In regard to per game stats, Bird averages 6.8 assists and 9.6 rebounds. His NBA years : from 1980 to 1992 Larry Bird NBA Stats Summary : Playing in all 82 contests, Bird led the team in scoring (21.3 ppg), rebounding (10.4 rpg), steals (143), and minutes played (2,955) and was second in assists (4.5 apg) and 3-pointers (58). But even those legendary players didnt fill Boston Garden, wowing fans and dominating games as Bird did. 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. The 75 Hoosiers were loaded. Larry Bird's Wife Dinah Mattingly. He missed the competition, and with each passing year the urge grew to get back into the NBA in a more active capacity. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird. It wasnt just that Bird played; he stunned everyone watching that day. He was the heart and soul of the 1980s Celtics, leading them to three NBA championships while earning a reputation as one of the greatest players in league history. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Im new at this (coaching) game but I feel I can get the job done, he said. 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. Bird was nicknamed Larry Legend and The Hick from French Lick, after his hometown in Indiana. He was named NBA Head Coach of the Year in 1998. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Or does he simply become the most famous figure from the 1976 squad, adding another Indiana-to-NBA success story and making, I dont know, hand-me-down Larry Bird Sacramento Kings jerseys the most popular commodity at Goodwills in Monroe County in the 1990s and early 2000s? Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson Stats Comparison | Career All Time Stats At one point, Kentucky was the first school to do the heavy recruiting, according to The Heralds Jerry Birge. Larry Bird was born on as Larry Joe Bird to parents: Georgia and Claude Joseph "Joe" Bird, a veteran of the Korean War.He attended Springs Valley High School. UNLV 77, Duke 79, Kentucky 103, Duke 104, Notre Dame 91, UConn 89, Texas A&M 63, Stanford 62. Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP. And the rest is history. For one day, Bird got to prove he wasnt just a basketball player icing up in the locker room; he was a star at anything he wanted to try. 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. Larry Bird Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more 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. Larry Bird was such a player. But he has said many times over the years that he would have never been able to play for Bob Knight. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. 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. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Sucker punch in OVC tournament leads to 3 ejections. Larry used BB to escape from his family problems! Larry Bird: College basketball stats, best moments, quotes That may have been to his detriment when he was a senior in high school. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Odds & lines subject to change. "All that shooting off the side of a barn turned into Bird becoming a high school star. Bird once again led the team in points (21.2 ppg), rebounds (10.9 rpg), steals (161), and minutes (3,239). Navigation Toggle NBA. "He's 6-9, was the nation's second leading scorer and that's not all," wrote The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton. 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. 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. They thought scoring was more important, but passing is important.". McHale just destroyed him. 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. In the last 7 years, I've been covering everything related to the career and job seeking world. Springs Valley went 19-2 and young Larry became a local celebrity. OT- How Bobby Knight "lost" Larry Bird To Indiana State! - 247Sports He was also called Kodak by his first NBA coach, Bill Fitch, . I think they may even have been on the floor together. Former professional NBA player, coach, and NBA executive Larry Bird is well known globally. Games. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Note: at Spring Valley HS in his senior year., Bird averaged 31 ppg, 21rebounds per game and 4 assists). Everyone knew Bird was destined for greatness in the NBA, but that didnt stop Indiana State baseball coach Bob Warn from roasting him.