Surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels limited Bird to only six games in 1988-89. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird. The 1979-80 Celtics improved by 32 games to 61-21 and returned to the top of their division. He became only the third player (and the first non-center) to win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. Anytime you have Bird on the floor, anything can happen, Portlands Clyde Drexler told theBoston Heraldafter the game. His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. 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. Larry Bird was 1 of the NBA's most clutch players ever, amassing 3 MVPs while leading the Celtics to 5 Finals and 3 titles in the 1980s. And Warn, firm in his belief Bird would look foolish on a baseball field, was willing to give him the chance to embarrass himself. My goal is to . 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. "All that shooting off the side of a barn turned into Bird becoming a high school star. He was a superstar in college basketball, in essence. Students skipped class to line up for tickets eight hours before tipoff. NAISMITH AWARDS: Player of the Year | Coach of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year, While Bird was most known for his scoring, he had a well-rounded game that included double-digit rebound totals and unselfish passing. 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". Bird was nicknamed Larry Legend and The Hick from French Lick, after his hometown in Indiana. "'You appear to be enjoying this,' one reporter commented. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. It may have also hurt him in his transition to a big state school, where he lasted a matter of weeks after the start of the school year. It looked almost like a straight uppercut. The massive strike zone should have given pitchers a field day, but they soon realized Bird wasnt there to goof around. Larry Bledsoe, the schools basketball coach, remarked how he was extremely pleased to get a player of Birds caliber, according to the Mitchell Tribune. It's because of Bird. Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson Stats. Sucker punch in OVC tournament leads to 3 ejections. In addition to his three championship rings, Bird piled up an awesome collection of personal achievements. ", The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton: "At the beginning of the season, Indiana State was picked third or fourth in its own conference. So, what will Larry Bird's age, height, and weight be in 2021? Hodges said of Bird, "His only personal goal this year was to lead the nation in rebounds. Data Provided By 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. As it turned out it created one of the greatest rivalries in sports between Magic and Bird. Hes very intense. He was particularly hard on freshmen players, such as a young Larry Bird. I didn't say that Bird was the best college basketball player of all time. He won the Rookie of the Year award, 3 MVP awards, 2 Finals MVP awards and 3 NBA championships. The former NBA player met his second wife, Dinah Mattingly, at Indiana State. Indiana womens basketball Q&A: HooplaWyatt on the Big Ten Tournament. Talking trash to Larry Bird rarely ever ended well, as former NBA player Rodney Rogers found out the hard way. Larry Bird Net Worth. 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. In order to finish his college degree, Larry Bird was working at Ballinger's school as a physical education student-teacher just weeks before becoming an . Larry Bird. Larry Bird stats. "He was named an Indiana All-Star.". Larry used BB tThe internet said that Bird's mother worked 2 jobs to care for Larry and his 5 siblings. College at Indiana State. He thought he had been playing pretty damn good that day. Their coach, Bill Hodges, is in his first year, the first rookie ever to take an undefeated team to the tournament final. An obsessive perfectionist, Bird was idolized by Celtic fans and basketball purists of all allegiances. They got married in 1989 and adopted two children: Connor and Mariah Bird. UNLV 77, Duke 79, Kentucky 103, Duke 104, Notre Dame 91, UConn 89, Texas A&M 63, Stanford 62. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 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). Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Bird passed Otis Birdsong to become the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer of all-timewith a free throw early in the championship game. His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. According to a warrant for Morrow's arrest, he's facing charges of assault by strangulation, second-degree kidnapping and communicating threats. Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. 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. The Hoosiers were still very good, winning national titles in 1976 and 1981, and maybe Bird gives the Hoosiers another in 1975 or 1978, making that three chips in a six- or seven-year span. 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. 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. IU had three . Larry Bird has helped define the way a generation of basketball fans has come to view and appreciate the NBA, said Commissioner David J. Stern when Bird retired due to a painful back condition in 1992, after capturing a gold medal with the original Dream Team at the Olympics in Barcelona. Isiah Thomas was in the high school class of 1979. 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. Birth date: December 7, 1956. Home; Tickets; Schedule. "Larry Bird finishes things," said Dick Ballinger, the varsity head baseball coach at West Vigo High School in West Terre Haute, Indiana during the spring of 1979. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Bird was named a special assistant in the Celtics front office, with limited duties that included some scouting and player evaluation. Everyone knew Bird was destined for greatness in the NBA, but that didnt stop Indiana State baseball coach Bob Warn from roasting him. where they fell to the Michigan State Spartans. 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. 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. Wins over No. Thats what a coach has to do.. Born: Dec 7, 1956 (66 years old) . "At 9 o'clock yesterday [Bill] Hodges went to wake up Bird for a brunch at which he was to receive the Player of the Year Award. 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. I just think when a man is open, he should get the ball whether it's 30 feet out on the wing or underneath. Those would be my first two." When asked if personal statistics matter, he responded: "Yes, it is about numbers. 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. He has compiled 1,556 steals, in addition to 755 blocks and 5,695 assists. Bobby would have won another NC with Bird. Career information head-to-head including championships won, season and playoff stats, honors and awards and more. Indiana State went 81-13 during the three seasons in which Larry Bird played for the Sycamores. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. And the rest is history. 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. FIBA Senior Team Events Stats. 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 . Once every generation or so, a player comes along who can truly be called a superstar. No shit! 18 Alabama and No. On May 12, 1997, Bird was named head coach of the Indiana Pacers. 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. 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. For reference, the 2019 national championship game drew a 22 percent share. What if Larry Bird hadnt transferred from IU. I think they may even have been on the floor together. The experience shook Bird. "He's a great passer and an excellent rebounder. When he talks, you come into his world. Bird signed autographs for fans in attendance and Kentucky Wesleyan players before walking off the field that day. Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. Thanks Jimmie. Join our linker program. Ballinger had proof. Birds concentration and composure were unmatched. 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. src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. This was easy to see when you noticed Bird's basketball stats. Larry Bird redshirted (sat out) his freshman year, and therefore, like Maravich, Robertson, and Hayes, his totals were also achieved in only three . 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 . Bird found the transition to college life difficult. The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. Larry used BB to escape from his family problems! The following year was Birds last. Bird was the embodiment of Celtics Pride. He was a classy, confident, hardworking player who thrived on pressure and inspired teammates to excel. The highlight of Bird's three-year collegiate career came in 1979, when he led the Sycamores to a 33-0 record and their first NCAA Tournament berth in the program's history. Career NBA statistics; Points: Rebounds: Assists: Stats at Basketball-Reference.com: . That may have been to his detriment when he was a senior in high school. Bird scored a team-high 19 points for the Sycamores in the 1979 national championship game but it wasn't his most efficient performance as he was just 7-of-21 from the field and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. 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. Neither Birds hometown of French Lick nor West Baden had a daily newspaper at the time, nor was either home to a radio or TV station. Larry Legend dragged a coach to the national championship game who later had a five-win season and a three-win season in something called the Trans America Athletic Conference while coaching Mercer. Bird also won his third consecutive 3-point shootout title, a feat later matched by Chicago Bulls Craig Hodges from 1990-92. 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. 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. six players on the first team and . 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. In regard to per game stats, Bird averages 6.8 assists and 9.6 rebounds. Note: at Spring Valley HS in his senior year., Bird averaged 31 ppg, 21rebounds per game and 4 assists). He starred in college at Indiana State, taking them to the NCAA final game in 1979, virtually as a one-man team. He earned the Rookie of the Year honours and also led a mediocre team . 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. As freshman and junior varsity statistics do not count toward official NCAA records, three playersPete Maravich, Oscar Robertson and Elvin Hayesonly had three seasons to compile their totals. ", 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. A disk was removed from his back after the season, but it didnt help all that much. Check out the detailed 1977-78 Indiana State Sycamores Roster and Stats for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com 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? In 1987-88, Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a 40-20 game, with a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against Indiana. He was unflappable and virtually unstoppable. So it is a moot point. McHale just destroyed him. 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. 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. Bobby said at this same time he (Knight) made a very huge mistake with having Bird room with an exceptional sophistcated player, with a very vibrant personalitythe complete opposite of Bird ..it was a very bad match-up..and Bird left school even before pre-season practice had started..He hitchiked home.and stayed! A crafty defensive player, Birds most famous steal came in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit. 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.

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