His focus was on the court. Bird was often checked by Magic Johnson in Michigan State's 2-3 matchup zone in theepic clash of two all-time greats. What if Sam Wyche didnt leave IU after only 1 season? In addition to his three championship rings, Bird piled up an awesome collection of personal achievements. 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. Lets pick a winner in every mens college basketball conference tournament. 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. He definitely had a softball swing, Hayes recalled. Talking trash to Larry Bird rarely ever ended well, as former NBA player Rodney Rogers found out the hard way. In the final, they played Michigan State, led by "Magic" Johnson, and together their rivalry would eventually be responsible for the resurgence of the NBA in the 1980s. 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. 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 . With Larry Bird, the 77 Hoosiers are probably a 20-win team and closer to their preseason No. What if Phil Dickens and IU football hadnt gotten the whole dang department sanctioned? Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Data Provided By Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is a former American professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The following season . Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. It wasnt until 1983-84, however, that the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals. 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. Larry used BB to escape from his family problems! After working at municipal jobs for a year Bird enrolled at Indiana State and was accepted into their program. In 1977-78 the Celtics had compiled a 32-50 record, their worst since 1949-50. Students skipped class to line up for tickets eight hours before tipoff. Larry Bird SF #33. His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. He started his college career in the fall of 1979. where they fell to the Michigan State Spartans. 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.. 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. A disk was removed from his back after the season, but it didnt help all that much. Having grabbed 7,217 defensive rebounds and 1,757 offensive, Bird has accumulated 8,974 total rebounds during his NBA career. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, former coach and former executive. This was easy to see when you noticed Bird's basketball stats. 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. Looks like Bradley's coach on 2/10/79 tried to give Bird the same treatment . Body Measurement Of Larry Bird. There is no question about his eligibility.. But he has said many times over the years that he would have never been able to play for Bob Knight. I also really believe he can be a heck of a coach. Larry Bird Comparisons: ( players sorted by last name ) - A-Larry Bird vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Play Index. 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. College basketball conference tournament predictions: Picks for every mens league. So it is a moot point. Lost to most people in the basketball statistics for the Springs Valley team that year, however, was a short piece in a Bedford newspaper that noted, "The freshman free-throw trophy was presented to Larry Bird. . The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. He's an impressive figure with incredible rivalries, but there are still tons of things that younger NBA fans should know about Larry Legend. 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. 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. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Bird's status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. Like many great national championship teams, IU faced a rebuild or a reload or whatever you want to call it the next year. Larry Bird Ball was the most popular sport in Terre Haute. Attendance often reached 1,600 and they were all there to watch the blond-haired shooting whiz with a funny smile named Larry Joe Bird. Bird soon realized that it was actually HE who was the target of Knight's ridicule--because of the way he had come off of a screen in a pick up game. I think they may even have been on the floor together. 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? The following year Bird posted the third-longest free-throw streak in NBA history, hitting 71 consecutive attempts. Indiana womens basketball Q&A: HooplaWyatt on the Big Ten Tournament. OT: Larry Bird College Statistics. . "He was named an Indiana All-Star.". Note: at Spring Valley HS in his senior year., Bird averaged 31 ppg, 21rebounds per game and 4 assists). No other player in his era was as good or as consistent a shooter as Bird. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. At one point, Kentucky was the first school to do the heavy recruiting, according to The Heralds Jerry Birge. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points short of averaging 30 per contest. 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". He became only the third player (and the first non-center) to win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. 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. Only a few photos exist from the game, but seeing it live would have been legendary. After the 2011-12 season, Bird stepped down as the Pacers president of basketball operations, citing health issues. ; School Indiana State University; Born December 7, 1956 in West Baden, IN USA; Biographical Information []. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick) Bats Left, Throws Left; Height 6' 9", Weight 220 lb. Indianapolis Star. Imagine Thomas, Bird and Magic on the same team. Gambling problem? Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. On The Players Tribune's "Knuckleheads" podcast, former NBA All-Star Jamal Mashburn said Rogers had talked trash to Bird after a day of practice between the 1992 College Select Team and the 1992 Dream Team.. After a practice, as a group of players were standing around, Mashburn said . But there were plenty more heroics yet to come. Then he left the local junior college, Northwood Institute. When I started here, I wanted to see the high school, college and professional basketball worlds come together, and Bird symbolizes that. He was seemingly able to get almost any shot he wanted whether it was 30 seconds after the tip or with as much time left on the clock . 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Then, however, a loud voice suddenly halted play. He has compiled 1,556 steals, in addition to 755 blocks and 5,695 assists. A crafty defensive player, Birds most famous steal came in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit. What if Larry Bird hadnt transferred from IU? NCAA Tournament. Bird recalls in his Book "Drive"--which he wrote late in his playing career-- how he never missed an opportunity to take it to Benson during their NBA days. 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. He pulls people together. Hodges is credited with recruiting Larry Bird to Indiana State and coached Bird in the famous 1979 NCAA Final against Michigan State. But mostly he was bored. Surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels limited Bird to only six games in 1988-89. It wasnt just that Bird played; he stunned everyone watching that day. He was particularly hard on freshmen players, such as a young Larry Bird. Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Larry Joe Bird is considered one of the greatest to play the game (never mind for the Celtics) because of how clutch a player he was. Season-ticket sales tripled. He scored zero points while wearing cream and crimson, however. IU would have definitely won 1 or 2 more titles had Bird stuck around and become the player he eventually did. 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. Two months later, he signed his NBA contract with the Boston Celtics. Attended Indiana University for only 24 days. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. The Sycamores went undefeated and reached No. During his career he shot .496 from the floor and .886 from the free-throw line, retiring as the fifth all-time free-throw shooter behind Mark Price, Rick Barry, Calvin Murphy and Scott Skiles. You wont find much on Larry Birds short-lived baseball career, but those who were there wont soon forget. 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. One newspaper in Indiana vaguely described the reason as personal dissatisfaction. He then enrolled at Northwood Institute, a two-year school with roughly 200 students in West Baden, Indiana, near his hometown of French Lick. Finally, with the Celtics in a decline that hit bottom in 1996-97, Bird decided to take the plunge. Bird was named a special assistant in the Celtics front office, with limited duties that included some scouting and player evaluation. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. The Hoosiers beat Furman by one in the first round of the NCAA tournament, before losing by one to Villanova. Having collected 7,217 defensive boards and 1,757 on the offensive end, Bird has accounted for 8,974 rebounds in total in his career. "'You appear to be enjoying this,' one reporter commented. Benson was an all time great college player, but really just a servicable pro. Do you have a sports website? 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. Boston won, 152-148, in double overtime. Find out more. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. The Official Store of the Larry Bird Indiana State Jersey for College. May 12, 1997: Hired as Head Coach by the Indiana Pacers. Larry Bird was a standout in Boston and one of the NBAs most iconic players ever. Han slutade spela i NBA 1992. We talked Hoosiers with our buddy at Hoopla. He averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 897 regular-season games. Bird did a fine job in his three seasons on the bench. Birth date: December 7, 1956. This type of behavior was par for the course with Knight, but a new experience alltogether for Bird. Larry Bird averages for the NBA season and Playoffs, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and other categories, year by year and career numbers. At the time, Bird was a junior at Indiana State University and decided he wanted to play his senior year . Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketballers of all time, it . 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. Knight could only shake his head at what he had lost. Bird was the embodiment of Celtics Pride. He was a classy, confident, hardworking player who thrived on pressure and inspired teammates to excel. They teamed with Bird and veteran Cedric Maxwell in a frontcourt that carried the Celtics to the championship in 1981. 10 attempts), Indiana State-record 83.3 free throw percentage in an NCAA tournament game (min. You can watch the full replay of the '79 title game below. Gambling problem? At one time I believe Knight had Bird, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas in for recruiting. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Birth Country: United States. Birds 19 points in the 1982 NBA All-Star Game, including 12 of the Easts last 15, earned him the games MVP trophy. He and owner Herb Simon had discussed his eventual departure for a few years. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . 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? 1 pick in the 1977 NBA Draft, and Woodson. Bird was so self-confident that he was known to waltz up to the opponents bench before tipoff and predict a 40-point performance for himself. Here you have the answers. . 2022-23 Season Schedule; With five seconds remaining and the Celtics trailing 107-106, Bird stole an Isiah Thomas inbounds pass and fed Dennis Johnson, whose layup gave Boston the win. This guy is the epitome of everything Ive tried to do here, then-Pacers president Donnie Walsh said of Bird. All rights reserved. Bird returned home to become the head coach of the Indiana Pacers in 1997 and led them to the conference finals. Even the mild mannered Kareem Abdul Jabbar once decked Benson square in the jaw during a pro game, after being delivered one too mant rib shots by him. With Bird as the focal point of a well-rounded squad, the Celtics won three NBA titles and 10 Atlantic Division crowns. 1988 Men's NCAA, 2019 Women's NCAA, 1940 Men's NCAA, 2006 Women's NCAA, 1981 Men's NCAA. 'Can I stay in bed?' 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. 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) . Bird finished runner-up to Moses Malone for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, as he would the following year. Kent Benson was the bigest name in Indiana basketball back then, but an A1 arrogant asshole as well, at least by most accounts of those who knew him. Do you have a blog? Regarding per game stats, Bird is averaging 6.8 dimes and 9.6 rebounds. Magic Johnson was in the class of 1977. He won the Rookie of the Year award, 3 MVP awards, 2 Finals MVP awards and 3 NBA championships. They both finished their college playing careers in the spring of 1979. Indiana State nearly became the most recent undefeated national champion, reaching the 1979 national title game with a 33-0 record. Larry Bledsoe, the schools basketball coach, remarked how he was extremely pleased to get a player of Birds caliber, according to the Mitchell Tribune. ", 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. Jobbade sedan i Celtics frn 1992 till 1997 och coachade sedan Indiana Pacers frn 1997 till 2000. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. What if IU hired Jerry Tarkanian instead of Bob Knight, What if IU had solved Syracuses zone in 2013. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. When he talks, you come into his world. 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. The story was news to me. 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. French Lick had a population of 2,059, most of whom came out to watch Springs Valley High Schools home games in a state that takes its schoolboy basketball very seriously. What if Knute Rockne came to Bloomington in 1914 and changed the trajectory of IU football? In 2003, he joined the Pacers front office as the teams president of basketball operations and worked side-by-side with Walsh to rebuild Indiana into a contender. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. They got married in 1989 and adopted two children: Connor and Mariah Bird. Bird was raised in French Lick, Indiana, and attended Indiana State University, where he helped revive . The Celtics, however, fell to the Pistons in the conference finals. 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. Drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in . For reference, the 2019 national championship game drew a 22 percent share. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? It was Bird's first experience with Knight in a gym setting. Bird was too insecure for the atmosphere there and Magic hated how Knight yelled and screamed and bullied players so he went to Mich State. In his other eight seasons as a DI head coach, he won just 96 games and compiled a .384 winning percentage. 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. Im new at this (coaching) game but I feel I can get the job done, he said. Do you have a blog? According to The New York Times, Hodges once said his primary contribution during Indiana States national runner-up season was 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. A pioneering sixth man, Kevin McHale won three titles with the Celtics in the 1980s. Bird nasceu em West Baden Springs e cresceu em French Lick, em Indiana, e iniciou a sua carreira no basquete ao fazer parte de seu time no colegial, sendo posteriormente selecionado pela Indiana University e por seu legendrio tcnico, o explosivo Bob Knight.Contudo, com um time repleto de estrelas e uma atmosfera no muito compatvel com seu estilo de . > Archive 75: Larry Bird| 75 Stories: Larry Bird. The internet said that Bird's mother worked 2 jobs to care for Larry and his 5 siblings. 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. It determined the balance of power in the NBA throughout the 1980s, arguably the most important era in NBA history, helping to reestablish the Celtics as the best team in the Eastern Conference during this time. He was selected to play in 12 All-Star games. Larry Bird ranks as one of the all-time top players of the NBA. A brutal sucker punch in the OVC tournament stopped the game in its tracks. Thats what a coach has to do.. 11 in the AP poll that season and finished the year ranked No. Larry Bird - net worth, private life. He was named NBA Head Coach of the Year in 1998. I'm going to assume this is legit because he lists about 20 million sources at the end of it. 18 Alabama and No. But even those legendary players didnt fill Boston Garden, wowing fans and dominating games as Bird did. I just think when a man is open, he should get the ball whether it's 30 feet out on the wing or underneath. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. ---------------------------------------------------- Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. One basketball coach, however, apparently missed the memo. Bird played with a total of eight Hall of Fame players, though a couple played only a few games alongside him. 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. games played = 41.4 ppg This is going off of their college career . He wasnt named to the Associated Press six-player All-State first team or nine-player second team, despite averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds, once putting up 55 points in a game for Springs Valley High School and 34 rebounds in another. 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. Do you have a blog? How does Larry Bird compare with other great NBA players? Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. Thanks Lincoln- nice post and pretty much confirms what my book about Knight, and how he thought Benson could "do no wrong" while at Indiana. They both finished their college playing careers in the spring of 1979. Bird passed Otis Birdsong to become the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer of all-timewith a free throw early in the championship game. The 1979-80 Celtics improved by 32 games to 61-21 and returned to the top of their division. And the rest is history. Or write about sports? Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins battled each other during a classic Game 7 in 1988. 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. 0:05. 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. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. 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. Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell teamed up to oust the Rockets in Game 6 of The Finals in 1981. (. Check out 50 great assists by Larry Bird. Springs Valley went 19-2 and young Larry became a local celebrity. 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. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. 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. The hours he had spent working on his shot as a youngster paid big dividends in the NBA. Bird helped rebuild a Celtics franchise that had been suffering from sub-standard play and poor attendance in the late 1970s. 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? Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 13, but spent most of the season outside of the AP poll. Russell Westbrook is being left wide open on offense, and hes still hurting the Clippers. In 1975, he enrolled at Indiana State. 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. Bird enjoyed a phenomenal collegiate basketball career at Indiana State (30.3 points per game in a three-year career that included a trip to the national championship game). 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. The Sycamores went 81-13 during Birds three-year career. Learn more and register, International Stats at Basketball-Reference.com, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Scott Horner. Or write about sports? So he cut the ties and went home. Bird literally despised him for the way he treated him at Indiana, and he has never been shy to remind people of the opposite trajectories of their respective careers. Do you have a sports website? 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. Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. 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.