larry bird college stats
But Knight was not impressed. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. For reference, the 2019 national championship game drew a 22 percent share. They got married in 1989 and adopted two children: Connor and Mariah Bird. Celtics Wire. RotoWire names five under-the-radar players who could add value to your rosters as we approach fantasy playoffs. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. 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. Then, however, a loud voice suddenly halted play. But mostly he was bored. Larry Bird, playing for Indiana State, and Magic Johnson, playing for Michigan State, were two of the best basketball players during this time and were about to go head-to-head in a competition that sparked a rivalry between them that lasted throughout the 1980s. It's because of Bird. It would have been easy for the story to end here, with a healthy round of shit-talking and little else. FIBA Senior Team Events Stats. Career Stats Game Log Splits. Bird returned to his role with the Pacers in 2013 before stepping down in 2017 to assume an advisory role for the franchise. 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. Wins over No. 18 Alabama and No. games played = 41.4 ppg This is going off of their college career . 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). Bird once again led the team in points (21.2 ppg), rebounds (10.9 rpg), steals (161), and minutes (3,239). 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.). Hodges is credited with recruiting Larry Bird to Indiana State and coached Bird in the famous 1979 NCAA Final against Michigan State. "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. Scott Horner. Indiana State coach Bill Hodges, by the way, wasnt just in his first year as Indiana States head coach. "He was named an Indiana All-Star.". In regard to per game stats, Bird averages 6.8 assists and 9.6 rebounds. Larry Bird's career NBA stats. College: Indiana State (1976-1979) NBA draft: 1978 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall: . 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. 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 . Find out more. Not just some guy. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. The first inkling to Bobby Knight that things had changed wiht Larry Bird was from a former player who called Knight, and said" he had just seen Bird playing in an outdoor tournment in Lebanon, and he was a "beast" at 6'-9' and around 225#and by that time Bird was al set at Indiana State. The 1977 Hoosiers were led by senior center Benson (19.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg) and freshman guard Mike Woodson (18.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg), while just up the road, Bird was averaging 32.8 points on 54 percent shooting, along with 13.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.8 steals per night in his first season with Indiana State. 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). . Larry Bird played in the NCAA tournament just once, in 1979, but he made the most of it. Bird missed 22 games in 1990-91 because of a compressed nerve root in his back, a condition that eventually forced his retirement. 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. Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. Bob Knights worst team at IU, by record, was the 1977, post-title team. College: Indiana State. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). I could play baseball, Bird responded, taking the coach by surprise. Birth Year: 1956. 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. 10 attempts), Indiana State-record 16 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game, Tied for first in semifinal history with 16 made field goals against DePaul, Second-leading scorer in the country in 1978: 30.0 points per game, Second-leading scorer in the country in 1979: 28.6 points per game, Third-leading scorer in the country in 1977: 32.8 points per game, Sixth all-time (since 1973) in rebounds in a season: 505 rebounds (1979), Tied for seventh with a two-game Final Four rebound total of 29 rebounds in 1979, Eighth in Final Four history with an 84.2 shooting percentage against DePaul, Tied for eighth all-time in career rebounding average: 13.3 rebounds per game, Ninth in NCAA tournament history (since 1973) with 67 rebounds in a single NCAA tournament, Tied for 13th all-time in double-doubles in a season: 28 double-doubles (1979), 15th all-time in career scoring average (min. Find out more. 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. 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. 13, but spent most of the season outside of the AP poll. The Official Store of the Larry Bird Indiana State Jersey for College. Larry Bird played 13 seasons for the Celtics. . Mark Bird's college team, where he became one of the school's best all-time players. 10 attempts), Indiana State-record 83.3 free throw percentage in an NCAA tournament game (min. Warn noted that Bird played baseball with the same energy he brought to the court: He plays the game just as he does basketball, with every ounce he has. When Bird enrolled in Bloomington, he joined the reigning Big Ten champions, an IU team that had gone 23-5 and missed the NCAA tournament after a loss to Michigan but won the Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament to close out its 1973-74 campaign. Talking trash to Larry Bird rarely ever ended well, as former NBA player Rodney Rogers found out the hard way. It wasnt just that Bird played; he stunned everyone watching that day. He definitely had a softball swing, Hayes recalled. He missed 37 games because of the continuing back problems. His career averages were 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in 897 regular season games. 1 in Birds senior year that is, until a Michigan State team featuring a 6-foot-9 guard named Earvin Magic Johnson knocked them off in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game, one of the most widely watched showdowns in basketball history. 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? UNLV 77, Duke 79, Kentucky 103, Duke 104, Notre Dame 91, UConn 89, Texas A&M 63, Stanford 62. While Indiana State coach Bill Hodges was frustrated with the style of defense, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, Bird wasn't concerned about his lack of shots. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points short of averaging 30 per contest. 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. He became only the third player (and the first non-center) to win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. Indiana State nearly became the most recent undefeated national champion, reaching the 1979 national title game with a 33-0 record. He starred in college at Indiana State, taking them to the NCAA final game in 1979, virtually as a one-man team. All rights reserved. . 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! Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. IU peaked at No. With Larry Bird, the 77 Hoosiers are probably a 20-win team and closer to their preseason No. There is the Larry Bird people know, the Boston Celtics legend, the hick from French Lick, the Indiana State University basketball king. All rights reserved. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. They battled against Earvin "Magic" Johnson -- Bird's rival throughout his professional career -- and Michigan State in the championship game, falling 75-64. But Los Angeles won the series in six games. Those would be my first two." When asked if personal statistics matter, he responded: "Yes, it is about numbers. Birds 19 points in the 1982 NBA All-Star Game, including 12 of the Easts last 15, earned him the games MVP trophy. Bird also cites an instance during an off season open gym, soon after he arrived on campus, during a period of "no contact" between the players and coaches. Larry Bird Net Worth. It was Bird's first experience with Knight in a gym setting. Editors note: This is part of a series of stories revisiting the biggest what-ifs in IU history. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Bird played with a total of eight Hall of Fame players, though a couple played only a few games alongside him. "By noon, Bird appeared at a press conference, a rarity in his scheme of things. Larry Bird's journey began in the small rural community of French Lick, Indiana. But there were plenty more heroics yet to come. And then there is a lesser known Bird, the college baseball . 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. Bird signed autographs for fans in attendance and Kentucky Wesleyan players before walking off the field that day. According to a warrant for Morrow's arrest, he's facing charges of assault by strangulation, second-degree kidnapping and communicating threats. At different times, Bird has been quoted saying either Dennis Johnson or M.L. Thanks Jimmie. 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? I heard this story once and I believe it is true. He was remarking to one of the players before the game that he just wanted to do well; he didnt want to let the team down.. Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins battled each other during a classic Game 7 in 1988. 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. Bird took just two shots that night and made both, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, while he helped teammates Carl Nicks and Steve Reed score 50 combined. The hours he had spent working on his shot as a youngster paid big dividends in the NBA. 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. That story is largely lost to time and even better, he did it mostly because of a dare. Home-game attendance hovered around 3,100 when Bird arrived at Indiana State, but as he had done in Springs Valley, Bird single-handedly packed the house and elevated his team to respectability and more. I didn't say that Bird was the best college basketball player of all time. It was his first season ever as a college head coach. Larry Bird ranks as one of the all-time top players of the NBA. Bird passed Otis Birdsong to become the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer of all-timewith a free throw early in the championship game. 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. An undefeated IU team with a healthy Scott May or Larry Bird, let alone both, wouldve made for a compelling matchup with Woodens final UCLA team. 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. Indiana womens basketball Q&A: HooplaWyatt on the Big Ten Tournament. Gender: Male. 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. You wont find much on Larry Birds short-lived baseball career, but those who were there wont soon forget. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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larry bird college stats