Im new at this (coaching) game but I feel I can get the job done, he said. Play Index. What if Sam Wyche didnt leave IU after only 1 season? But Bird finally came to Boston for the 1979-80 campaign and sparked one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NBA history. In 1987-88, Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a 40-20 game, with a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against Indiana. Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins battled each other during a classic Game 7 in 1988. Career Stats Game Log Splits. Wore the number 33 on his basketball jersey in high school, college and with the Boston Celtics. Larry Bird Indiana State Jersey - Collegeshopfan Find out more. Larry Bird ranks as one of the all-time top players of the NBA. 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. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. The Sycamores went undefeated and reached No. Larry Bird once played college baseball as a dare, and he was actually But even those legendary players didnt fill Boston Garden, wowing fans and dominating games as Bird did. 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. 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. He was named NBA Head Coach of the Year in 1998. 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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. Everyone remembers Michael Jordans decision to leave the Bulls and pursue a career in baseball, but it was Larry Bird who tried his hand at the game on April 28, 1979, and became a one-day legend in the process. Jamal Mashburn recalled how Larry Bird responded to trash-talk at a Years later Bird admitted.."if i had it to do all over again, I'd have gone back to Bloomington, after he had gone home". 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.). 13, but spent most of the season outside of the AP poll. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 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 was drafted as the 6th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in 1978 before he went back to college for a final year. 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. This blog is forever grateful for the meme template that sweet, sweet banner gave us. 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. 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. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. ), 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. January 19, 2023 3:00 am ET. Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana . CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. 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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. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Learn more and register, International Stats at Basketball-Reference.com, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. ", Indiana State teammate Carl Nicks: "It's a tremendous feeling to play with him he brings out the best in everybody. In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, Bird engaged in a memorable fourth-quarter shootout with the Hawks Dominique Wilkins. When Bird maximized his potential at Indiana State in the 1978-79 season, he took a Sycamores team that had a first-year head coach and was picked to finish third or fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in 1979 and carried it all the way to the national championship game with an undefeated record and the countrys No. 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. 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. 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. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. "By noon, Bird appeared at a press conference, a rarity in his scheme of things. Layed him out cold. Celtics Wire. Cedric 'Cornbread' Maxwell speaks out on GOAT, today's NBA, Larry Bird Finally, with the Celtics in a decline that hit bottom in 1996-97, Bird decided to take the plunge. Once every generation or so, a player comes along who can truly be called a superstar. 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. They battled against Earvin "Magic" Johnson -- Bird's rival throughout his professional career -- and Michigan State in the championship game, falling 75-64. Indiana State nearly became the most recent undefeated national champion, reaching the 1979 national title game with a 33-0 record. Bird played with a total of eight Hall of Fame players, though a couple played only a few games alongside him. Navigation Toggle NBA. Hardly a change of clothes each day. Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. I think they may even have been on the floor together. Bird was named a special assistant in the Celtics front office, with limited duties that included some scouting and player evaluation. It is amazing how extreme insecurity can drive a person. And the rest is history. They teamed with Bird and veteran Cedric Maxwell in a frontcourt that carried the Celtics to the championship in 1981. 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. Far from it. Get to know Larry Bird: Stats, records and more, How the Celtics landed Larry Bird in the NBA Draft, 1988 NBA Playoff Highlights: Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins epic showdown, Celtics 75th Season: Bird-Dr. J fight adds to 76ers rivalry, Celtics 75th Season: Bird's debut, Ford sinks first NBA '3', Looking back on Larry Bird's steal against the Pistons, Bill Walton on what made Bird the best he ever played with, Bird's gutsy performance vs. Pacers in '91 series clincher, Three-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986), Three-time All-NBA Defensive Second Team (1982-84), Three-time NBA Three-Point Contest champion (1986-88). He starred in college at Indiana State, taking them to the NCAA final game in 1979, virtually as a one-man team. Three Things: Indiana womens basketball defeats Michigan State 94-85. Forward Larry Bird played 13 seasons for the Celtics. Larry Bird | Bio-married, divorce, affair, children - Playerswiki LeBron James Vs Larry Bird: A Statistical Comparison - Sportskeeda The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Larry Bird's career filled with amazing accomplishments As many observed, he would see plays not as they were developing, but before they developed. Surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels limited Bird to only six games in 1988-89. It was merely an escalated version of Warns usual brand of teasing, but Bird had enough and was ready to prove a point. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. Do you have a blog? 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. Bird also won his third consecutive 3-point shootout title, a feat later matched by Chicago Bulls Craig Hodges from 1990-92. RotoWire considers the best player values in Yahoo fantasy leagues for Friday's 10-game slate. Larry Bird Thought He Would Be A Construction Worker Instead Of A By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. 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. 1977-78 Indiana State Sycamores Men 's Roster and Stats | College Imagine what he wouldve done with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and future NBA players as teammates! src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. Larry Bird. . 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.! Legends profile: Larry Bird | NBA.com The Sycamores went 81-13 during Bird's three-year career. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). 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. 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 . Everything you wanted to know about Indiana legend Larry Bird By that time Birds scoring average had reached the mid-20s, and he was averaging upwards of seven assists. Benson, of course, was a God in Indiana. Larry Bird's baseball career: A lofty .500 batting average But Los Angeles won the series in six games. 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 18 Alabama and No. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career scoring leaders But he has said many times over the years that he would have never been able to play for Bob Knight. When the doubleheader was over, hed finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs while recording nine putouts from first base in the second game. What if Larry Bird hadnt transferred from IU? 31.8 - HOF Larry Bird - Indiana State - 30.3 . An obsessive perfectionist, Bird was idolized by Celtic fans and basketball purists of all allegiances. Larry Bird's career NBA stats. Bird passed Otis Birdsong to become the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer of all-timewith a free throw early in the championship game. "All that shooting off the side of a barn turned into Bird becoming a high school star. He missed the competition, and with each passing year the urge grew to get back into the NBA in a more active capacity. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. FIBA Senior Team Events Stats. His coaching career was shot out of a Larry Bird-sized cannon with the Sycamores going 33-1 and posting a .971 winning percentage in his rookie campaign. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Benson was an all time great college player, but really just a servicable pro. College: University of Hoosiers: Religion: Christian: Nationality: American: Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius: Gender: Male: Sexual Orientation: Straight: Marital Status: Married: . Having collected 7,217 defensive boards and 1,757 on the offensive end of the court, Bird has accounted for 8,974 total boards in his career. Larry Bird's accomplishments and stats make him one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. Larry Bird left IU in mid-September of his freshman year, citing too heavy of a course load and his desire to be closer to home. Then he left the local junior college, Northwood Institute. 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. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . 'Coach, I'm dead,' moaned Bird. Larry Bird's College Career: Overlooked? | News, Scores, Highlights Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. (. Is there room for eight banners on the south wall of Assembly Hall? 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 . / NBA. They got married in 1989 and adopted two children: Connor and Mariah Bird. 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? What if Knute Rockne came to Bloomington in 1914 and changed the trajectory of IU football? RELATED: The complete results from the best #MarchMadnessMoments bracket. Started collecting garbage upon his return to French Lick. when they were picking teams! But mostly he was bored. I'm going to assume this is legit because he lists about 20 million sources at the end of it. 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. Larry Bird's wife, Dinah Mattingly, is his high school sweetheart who got engaged and married the former NBA legend in 1989. The .500 batting average still exists in Indiana State history books as one of the highest ever recorded by a player for the team. 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. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. 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. 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. 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. 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.. Join our linker program. Data Provided By To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Larry Bird Biography: Career, Net Worth, Family, Top Stories for the College basketball conference tournament predictions: Picks for every mens league. 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? But everyone knows why Indiana State is where it is. 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. Larry Joe Bird 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. No-Trouble Returns upon All orders. One basketball coach, however, apparently missed the memo. It was the only time the Hoosiers had a record that was less than five games over .500 under Knights watch. He was particularly hard on freshmen players, such as a young Larry Bird. Their coach, Bill Hodges, is in his first year, the first rookie ever to take an undefeated team to the tournament final. Bird earned an assortment of accolades during his time at Indiana State. If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. A pioneering sixth man, Kevin McHale won three titles with the Celtics in the 1980s. and even better, he did it mostly because of a dare, Mike Hayes, a Kentucky Wesleyan player, recounted the game. Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. Larry Bird - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. The Sycamores went 81-13 during Birds three-year career. Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. 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. He pulls people together. Learn more and register, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Hes very intense. That came in spite of Bird playing with a fracture in his left thumb in the Final Four after getting hurt against Arkansas. Indiana State went 81-13 during the three seasons in which Larry Bird played for the Sycamores. His back was also hurting, but Bird came back in the third period to help lift the Celtics to an emotional 124-121 victory. Indiana State coach Bill Hodges, by the way, wasnt just in his first year as Indiana States head coach. 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. His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. Larry Bird's greatest clutch plays with the Celtics He said he was prepared to leave the team after the 2010-11 season with the Pacers headed in the right direction. You wont find much on Larry Birds short-lived baseball career, but those who were there wont soon forget. His focus was on the court. Jobbade sedan i Celtics frn 1992 till 1997 och coachade sedan Indiana Pacers frn 1997 till 2000. 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.