Lot of joy from Bird, lot of joy.

I grew up 45 miles from him. Around 1970 our family attended a convention at the French Lick Springs resort hotel where Larry's mother worked as a waitress. Maybe she served us.

Me too !! This is awesome

Amazing footage of Larry Bird at 20 years old. Also such coincidental last names.... Bird and Birdsong.

Yes Indeed 💯, a young End of Sophomore year Larry Bird. I'm Tellin Ya. I Noticed the Basketball Rims are curved way out on the floor & the Post is no longer there, the way all if them should be🏀🏀🏀👏👏👏

I've said it several times and I'll say it again: I got Bird slightly over LeBron.

​​@@exclamationpointman3852In some ways he was a better player game for game but LeBron pretty much Doubled his stats by now 40'000 11,000 and 11,000 2200 steals is absolutely insane

@@frankie3791 I hate to say it but I think them double stats was brought to you by Balco

@@exclamationpointman3852 No the NBA tests are strict they were popping guys just for marijuana, I've never even heard of an NBA player accused of steroids lol

​@frankie3791 If he stays on the court for 100 years, he'll have REALLY huge stats.

LeBron would flop away from defenders he's good at that😂

@@davidgeissler8620 100% 😊😁🤣😂😅

True its Larry Bird the greatest forward ever

LaFlop and the NBA deciding to crown him is why I no longer watch…. they don’t even play defense anymore. It’s just a game of horse.

@@FUBAR1986 100%

Dude was recruited by Knight....his best move was leaving Indiana

Bird's coach Bob King also coached Pacers HOF Mel Daniels at New Mexico. No doubt some of the NBA brass knew of him because of the Bob King/Daniels NBA connection. Mel also became an ISU assistant coach in 1977 which helped Bird become a better inside player and defender.

I think the longest shot he made was the free throw. Amazing the variety of shots he made.

Recognized Otis Birdsong's name as soon as the announcer called it. He was a helluva player too!

Yes he was, he was my idol back when I was 13 as I saw him play with the KC Kings many times. My favorite player from the old days lol

I agree Otis was just an all around great player had a fine college and pro career

Yeah.right on .much rather have bird on my team over LeBron the clown james.

Dominique Wilkins said "Look into Bird's eyes (when he's playing), you'll see a killer".

He was 20. Magic was 20 when he hit the NBA. Don't think the money was as big back in those days.

Nolan Richardson said the same thing. It on here if you want to see it.

While the NIT tournament was the bigger tournament until the mid-to-late 50's, the NCAA tournament has ruled ever since. Hence, in 1977 the NIT had already been relegated to little brother status for around 20 years.

​@@brent.a Preach, whoever you are ... Preach .. You KNOW the history.

​@@darrenneal7245Russ & Wilt changed that. USF dominance & WILT's scoring prowess at KANSAS knocked the NIT out. Right behind those two: Elgin, Oscar, West & the UCLA DYNASTY with some guy named Lew Alcindor.

@@RICHBLACKCOCK I KNOW the history.

LOL NCAA was WAY bigger deal in 77, NIT was more of a consolation prize for teams that didnt make NCAA tournament

Tartan floors suck.

Thanks for information

😅

Yes, in the early 80s, Birdsong and Phil Ford of the Kansas City Kings were probably the best starting guard tandem other than Magic Johnson and Norm Nixon of the Lakers.

​@peacelovehopecharity I disagree. These combo's were better... Cheeks/Toney, Spurs Gervin/Moore, Spurs Griffith/Green, Suns Walter Davis/Dennis Johnson

Bird was basically the tallest player for this game. Most of his points came from offensive rebounds put backs and tips. Nothing special.

Except he looks about 6'7. Did he grow taller after this?

@@dalepress1581 He was actually 6'10 in the NBA. He wanted to be a small forward so he was listed as 6'9. That is why he averaged 10 (9.9) rebounds for his career.

@@charlesgeorges3192 He went on to become a top 10 player in NBA history. He was special alright.

@@terrellbaker1660 IMO, top 5 yet he did not win enough NBA championships. I would take BIrd's 3 years of his prime over ANYBODY. Definitely Top 10.

He was drafted 6th after his junior year.

@@mr.e6684 Correct. Note that I did not say *all* NBA scouts.

@@sbrasel I think some of it was about position. NBA scouts still prized traditional centers and point guards, not the hybrid position that Bird and Magic Johnson were about to introduce to the world. So they drafted guys like Mychal Thompson and Phil Ford first, thinking that their skills were sure to translate well in the pros.

Some of the scouts probably thought he didn't have the athleticism to be a great NBA player. Also, he was playing in a smaller conference. Boy were they wrong!

The same season Brian Shaw & Kelvin Upshaw played for the Celtics.

Fun memory.

3-Point line is the single biggest mistake Basketball has ever made!

Bill Walton scored 44 points also... in the title clinching 1973 NCAA championship game on 21 for 22 FGs. No three point line either.

@@mr.sinjin-smythKobe had 81 points one time

@@TV-ob1if Yes, but 21 points of that are from 3 pointers (7 for 13 from three point line). So what's your point?

He wasn't a three point shooter in college 😊❤

@@mr.sinjin-smythJordan scored 55 against the knicks

Either that or maybe it was his back issues that took some of the spring out of his legs..

@@cindyknudson2715 He lost his spring way before he hurt his back. It was the beer

Actually he was still a great athlete until the back injury from trying to shovel gravel for his mom's driveway. Bird's game changed after the injury IE he learned how to improve his rebound position and keep the opponent off balance on offense with pass/shot fakes. He also perfected his set shot after the back injury, even though he was already a great outside shooter.

@@Forever_Laura Yeah ok

You're right about that foul.

It was 100% clean block. Refs weren't used to that kind of block and almost always called a foul. They also weren't used to officiating a player that could dominate every stat line like Bird. Only a handful of collegiate players changed basketball IE Wilt, Russell, Oscar, Kareem, Elvin, Pistol, Bird & Magic.

Well, he’s not playing against all NBA caliber talent.

​@@thomaslyne3243 I guess you did not see Birdsong play in NBA..lol

He's 20 years old. I was more athletic at that age too. 😄

If they were nobodies, they don’t beat UConn with Clark playing so poorly. STFU with the unnecessary glazing.

@@manuginobilisbaldspot2 I wouldn't call it poorly, I think she had 22 points with 90% of them being in the second half. If your team is so tired from chasing and defending a player of Clarks caliber, you won't have the legs you need to make the easy shots in the closing minutes. UCONN missed a lot of open shots in the 4th quarter even Geno said those shots were there. UCONN plays with only 6 players 3 are Freshmen. UCONN did amazing for what they brought to the table. Love em' and are my favorite. I do believe if NCAA would just up the total fouls allowed to 6 (like the WNBA) the results would be a true reflection of the talent on any team vs another team. UCONN was always in follow trouble before the half of many of those games. So I believe there would have been different results if UCONN had the legs and weren't in foul trouble. That said I am very much in agreement with paulentz1972. Clark is very much like Bird in what she does for her team. UCONN had two players who were in the first 14 picks of the WNBA draft not counting Buecker who chose to stay who would have been a top 5 pick. So if you take two of those three you have two top 6 picks and a 14. Martin for Iowa did get chosen but was way down on the list. She's a solid player more a finisher from Clark getting her the ball - and isn't that the point.

free throws. refs do their job for "hyped players"@@daviddeleo4078

Wrong! If you swapped teams, Bird with Michigan State would've won every game. Magic with Indiana State would not had even made the tournament let alone go 33-0 and make it to the title game. Btw, Magic is the greatest PG to ever play the game, but Michigan State was loaded with talent... and ISU was not.

The 3 point line has ruined team basketball.

Just like in the 1987 NBA Finals.

He was always taking the pressurized last shot. Took a lot of them. Anybody is going to miss a few.

@@dmichael100 Yes, but it always hurts knowing what might've been.

Got the ball to him in a bad position

@@mr.sinjin-smyth Sure, that's why we love sports and following favorite teams and players. I am responding to the surprise at the miss. No one- including Bird- ever made all their game winners. Truth is, if you check the stats close- the percentage is not super high. but the makes look large in our memories. No one should be surprised - if they are realistic that BIrd, or Jerry West, or Steph Curry missed several last second shots. They all took so many

no 3 line here...he'd hit from all over and that's why his fakes were devastatingly awkward...he'd take the shot if you gave it, and usually make

@@johncraftenworth7847 Absolutely....the game was so different in the 1980's....Bird would be by far the best player in today's game. & this is coming from a Sixers fan back in the day who loathed Larry.

I don't watch NBA anymore, but...some highlights....nothing against Jovic & Doncik are whatever their names are ....Bird would kill it today.....5× times the players they are

they good. bird better on rebounding and d but there's no incentive to play d with the rules/reffing how they are now. Jokic actually has a lot of shots and playmaking quite comparable to bird. it's mainly the whole intensity of the leaque is soft and weak these days@@user-dv3do1od2r

yes i have

@@sportvideofootage I'd love to see at the very least the intro of the starting 5s. Other than Bird and Miley on ISU and Birdsong on Houston, I couldn't name any of those players.

Will you ever post it?

Players today could really learn something from watching how hard Larry played. He was special and in my opinion opinion the greatest of the greatest college players to ever play the game. After all he actually led Indiana State to the number one ranking in 1979 despite your blue blood schools and major conferences. I still have not seen another like him maybe Caitlin Clark.

@@user-pc3kl6hl3p Larry Bird had an amazing history. He finished 3rd in the Indiana high school Mr. Basketball voting in his senior year of 1974, then dropped out of two colleges. Was working in sanitation at a resort at age 20. From that to the NBA title MVP just five years later.

Seems also like a precursor for the heartbreak miss in the 1987 NBA Finals.

No doubt and after this game ISU played Rutgers and Bird was hacked in the last seconds of a 1 point game, Bird went after the ref after the game

Didn’t win their conference championship.

They didn't win their league and the NCAA tournament was only 32 teams.

@@charlesswain1767 At that time Indiana State was an independent. They went into the Missouri Valley Conference the next year (Bird's junior season). ISU was 25-2 on the regular season (lost at Purdue and at Illinois State, beating Illinois State two weeks later at Indiana State). Should have been in the NCAA with at 25-2 record and Bird.

6'9" is fairly tall.

@@cindyknudson2715 I saw him life several times in Bcn 92 and he was only 2m 06cm (in NBA they measure with sneakers they give them extra 3cim). 2,6 is poor in FIBA when the center is usually taller thasn 2,10. Larry Bird was a 3 (McHale was a 4) but in NCAA were so small he was the center

6' 9" was pretty much normal height for centers in 1970's NCAA. Not every team had a 7' center and if they did, he was probably only 6' 10" because coaches lied about players height 99.9% of the time.

Fun fact, the 1980s had the tallest average height of any NBA era ever

C'mon. Winning any tight game, especially in a "win or go home" tournament is cause for celebration. I didn't read the rule that you can only celebrate wins over high-majors. And actually, I see businessmen celebrate wins in lunchtime pick-up games with more verve than UH did here.

They thought they had hit the lottery

That's such a COPING comment after seeing and relieving your alma mater / classmate lose after all these years. It was a memorable win for Houston and a heartbreaking loss for Bird and Indiana State, just like what would happen against Magic and Michigan State 2 years later. So enjoy the coping all over again. 😆😆😏😏

NIT was still a big deal back. It was filled with a lot of good teams.

Poor you knowing nothing about competition winning and losing 😊😅😂❤!