7 Michigan State, No. Scott Horner. 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. The Orlando forward played only 11 games this season after missing two years with a torn ACL. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. Everyone knew Bird was destined for greatness in the NBA, but that didnt stop Indiana State baseball coach Bob Warn from roasting him. He did some commercials and appeared in a few films, including Michael JordansSpace Jam. 0:49. On the day after his uniform was retired in basketball, Larry Bird took the field for both games of a doubleheader in baseball for the Indiana State Sycamores. 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. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. UNLV 77, Duke 79, Kentucky 103, Duke 104, Notre Dame 91, UConn 89, Texas A&M 63, Stanford 62. 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. "'You appear to be enjoying this,' one reporter commented. May 16, 2022. He averaged better than 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Sycamores during his first campaign. I could play baseball, Bird responded, taking the coach by surprise. Odds & lines subject to change. 18 Alabama and No. Once every generation or so, a player comes along who can truly be called a superstar. 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? Benson was an all time great college player, but really just a servicable pro. He earned the Rookie of the Year honours and also led a mediocre team . McHale just destroyed him. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. ---------------------------------------------------- Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP. Tiago Splitter solid in NBA playoff debut Beginning with favorable, Pagns TIME is normally 2 . '", Indiana State coach Bill Hodges on the notion that man-to-man defenses might slow Bird down: "If we go against a UCLA or a Notre Dame later on and they play man-to-man, that's when you'll see how tough Larry really is. You wont find much on Larry Birds short-lived baseball career, but those who were there wont soon forget. Player Season Finder . Ballinger had proof. He led the league in free-throw percentage four times. But mostly he was bored. What if Phil Dickens and IU football hadnt gotten the whole dang department sanctioned? So, what will Larry Bird's age, height, and weight be in 2021? OT: Larry Bird College Statistics. Bird found the transition to college life difficult. Gambling problem? As many observed, he would see plays not as they were developing, but before they developed. . Bird's status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). January 19, 2023 3:00 am ET. TV stations showed film clips of Bird instead of commercials. He was named the NL's Freshman of the Year after playing in his first All-Star game. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick) Bats Left, Throws Left; Height 6' 9", Weight 220 lb. Attended Indiana University for only 24 days. His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Larry Bird Ball was the most popular sport in Terre Haute. Former professional NBA player, coach, and NBA executive Larry Bird is well known globally. Looking at his stats alone, he is known as one of the greatest pure shooters in . Fans were filling not only Boston Garden, which sold out the final 541 games of Birds career, but arenas all over the country to witness Birds exploits. Larry Bird. 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 . Then, however, a loud voice suddenly halted play. Bird's Pacers fell in the East finals in '98 and '99, then came up short in the NBA Finals in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He was there to prove a point. He definitely had a softball swing, Hayes recalled. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions. 0%, great for twelfth throughout MLB between eligible remedies. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? He scored zero points while wearing cream and crimson, however. Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson Stats. Magic Johnson was in the class of 1977. Larry Bird's best teammates included Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson. That may have been to his detriment when he was a senior in high school. 1 in the country, and they are one win from the title. Do you have a sports website? Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. Larry Bird stats. 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 . Thats what a coach has to do.. After 897 games Bird retired with 21,791 points (24.3 ppg), 8,974 rebounds (10.0 rpg) and 5,695 assists (6.3 apg). 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? Lets pick a winner in every mens college basketball conference tournament. But Knight was not impressed. All rights reserved. Bird helped rebuild a Celtics franchise that had been suffering from sub-standard play and poor attendance in the late 1970s. "He's a great passer and an excellent rebounder. 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). 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. 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. 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? Bird had a double-double in all five NCAA tournament games he played in that year. 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. Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners. 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. The Hoosiers went 14-13 in 1977, later having their record adjusted to 16-11 after Minnesota was forced to forfeit two wins. All rights reserved. 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. The Sycamores went undefeated and reached No. 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. Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Larry used BB to escape from his family problems! On May 12, 1997, Bird was named head coach of the Indiana Pacers. Indiana State went 81-13 during the three seasons in which Larry Bird played for the Sycamores. . He averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 897 regular-season games. Find out more. Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. Bird finished runner-up to Moses Malone for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, as he would the following year. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. 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 . No other player in his era was as good or as consistent a shooter as Bird. 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. But Bird, ever the competitor, wanted to prove a point.