Loved to watch him play. 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. The team didnt have equipment big enough to accommodate Birds 69 frame, so they stretched out the longest pair of pants they could find, procured the largest hat on campus, and trotted out onto the field one of the greatest basketball players of all time. An obsessive perfectionist, Bird was idolized by Celtic fans and basketball purists of all allegiances. After working at municipal jobs for a year Bird enrolled at Indiana State and was accepted into their program. Layed him out cold. Bird was named a special assistant in the Celtics front office, with limited duties that included some scouting and player evaluation. McHale just destroyed him. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Only a few photos exist from the game, but seeing it live would have been legendary. Name: Larry Bird. The former NBA player met his second wife, Dinah Mattingly, at Indiana State. 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. He was named the NL's Freshman of the Year after playing in his first All-Star game. Once every generation or so, a player comes along who can truly be called a superstar. 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. In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, Bird engaged in a memorable fourth-quarter shootout with the Hawks Dominique Wilkins. In 1975, he enrolled at Indiana State. Hodges allowed Bird to sleep in, which annoyed the folks who sponsored the brunch and the award, and some in the media. Bird's status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins battled each other during a classic Game 7 in 1988. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. He missed the competition, and with each passing year the urge grew to get back into the NBA in a more active capacity. Do you have a sports website? 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. Player Season Finder . Bird helped rebuild a Celtics franchise that had been suffering from sub-standard play and poor attendance in the late 1970s. Sucker punch in OVC tournament leads to 3 ejections. Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. It was his first season ever as a college head coach. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. All rights reserved. Larry Bird - net worth, private life. Birth Year: 1956. 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. Fans always seemed to be willing to give a ride to Birds parents, who couldnt afford a car of their own. The Celtics, however, fell to the Pistons in the conference finals. By that time Birds scoring average had reached the mid-20s, and he was averaging upwards of seven assists. 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. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 4:50AM. Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana . The Whole Bird thing reminds me of that old country song"I overlooked and orchid while searching for a rose"! He left campus not long after that and literally hithhiked home. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Posted on Mar 25th, 2016, 9:21 AM, , User Since 143 months ago, User Post Count: 15682, Posted on Mar 25th, 2016, 9:44 AM, , User Since 105 months ago, User Post Count: 1757, Posted on Mar 25th, 2016, 9:46 AM, , User Since 140 months ago, User Post Count: 6281, Posted on Mar 25th, 2016, 10:23 AM, V I P, User Since 219 months ago, User Post Count: 9143, Posted on Mar 25th, 2016, 10:42 AM, , User Since 143 months ago, User Post Count: 15682, Posted on Mar 25th, 2016, 5:40 PM, , User Since 145 months ago, User Post Count: 42940, Posted on Mar 25th, 2016, 5:44 PM, V I P, User Since 257 months ago, User Post Count: 92590, Posted on Mar 25th, 2016, 6:42 PM, , User Since 145 months ago, User Post Count: 4686, Posted on Mar 29th, 2016, 11:30 PM, , User Since 118 months ago, User Post Count: 717, Posted on Mar 30th, 2016, 7:09 AM, , User Since 143 months ago, User Post Count: 15682, Locked Topic - No more replies can be posted. Odds & lines subject to change. I just think when a man is open, he should get the ball whether it's 30 feet out on the wing or underneath. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Learn more and register, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. They teamed with Bird and veteran Cedric Maxwell in a frontcourt that carried the Celtics to the championship in 1981. He also owns Larry Birds Boston Connection, a hotel/restaurant in Terre Haute that also serves as a museum for many of his trophies and awards. College: Indiana State. 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. The following year was Birds last. 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. 'Coach, I'm dead,' moaned Bird. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. How does Larry Bird compare with other great NBA players? He became only the third player (and the first non-center) to win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. ; School Indiana State University; Born December 7, 1956 in West Baden, IN USA; Biographical Information []. Is there room for eight banners on the south wall of Assembly Hall? His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. Larry Bird. He was a superstar in college basketball, in essence. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. He averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 897 regular-season games. Larry Bird then married Dinah Mattingly on September 30, 1989, who he met while studying at the Indiana State University. Three-time NBA champion with Boston Celtics - 1981 . He was there to prove a point. 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. Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana us College: Indiana State University High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana IU went 21-8 that season, finishing second in the Big Ten. Jobbade sedan i Celtics frn 1992 till 1997 och coachade sedan Indiana Pacers frn 1997 till 2000. The experience shook Bird. 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. Gambling problem? He also hit nearly 90 percent of his free-throw attempts. 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. But he has said many times over the years that he would have never been able to play for Bob Knight. But Bird finally came to Boston for the 1979-80 campaign and sparked one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NBA history. 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. It wasnt just that Bird played; he stunned everyone watching that day. Stephen Curry has racked up 29,674 minutes and has played in 864 . Like many great national championship teams, IU faced a rebuild or a reload or whatever you want to call it the next year. College at Indiana State. What if Phil Dickens and IU football hadnt gotten the whole dang department sanctioned? But his arrogant attitude is hardly a big surprise to those who know about Benson. They both finished their college playing careers in the spring of 1979. 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. But Knight was not impressed. Find out more. Indiana womens basketball Q&A: HooplaWyatt on the Big Ten Tournament. > Archive 75: Larry Bird| 75 Stories: Larry Bird. Bird returned home to become the head coach of the Indiana Pacers in 1997 and led them to the conference finals. Do you have a blog? In reality, he spent most of the next five years in Florida, playing golf and taking it easy. Students skipped class to line up for tickets eight hours before tipoff. The following season . Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana, Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1998 (Full List), As Player: 897 G, 24.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 6.3 APG (Full Record), As Executive: IND franchise, 2003-2017 (Full Record). If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points short of averaging 30 per contest. 2022-23 Season Schedule; Call 1-800-GAMBLER. 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. When he talks, you come into his world. 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. The Hoosiers beat Furman by one in the first round of the NCAA tournament, before losing by one to Villanova. 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. You can watch the full replay of the '79 title game below.
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