While working at Crane in the fall of '74 I teamed up with Jim and Jack Trout in an intramural league on the base. We went undefeated. In the spring of '75 I played on an AAU team with Larry and we won the state championship. Great memories for sure.
If Clyde Austin don't miss the layup in the first half Then we win and still lose by 2: Mark Aguirre was all that in more . The number one player in the nation and is sophomore and junior year.!! He is HOF OF WORTHY NO DOUBTS
Basketball wasn’t just scoring and although Bird was one of the best shooters of all time with people all over him. But the reason I feel Bird was the best of all time is because of his hustle. That enabled him to get rebounds make great passes for assist etc. He was always moving without the ball. Total Basketball player
The opening tip-off is all we needed to see as evidence of how intellect superceded athleticism. With all things assumed as equal, of course; an athletic intellect remains supreme. That is Bird, btw. He was very athletic, despite the stereotypes.
This is much easier to watch at .75 speed better still at .50 speed. Reminds me of our home movies projected onto our white living room wall in this time period.
Had the pleasure of watching the 1979 season on my new cable tv in 79. There was a superstation out of Indianapolis that broadcast their season that year . The wildest game that year was Brad Heaton hitting a 50 footer at the buzzer to beat New Mexico St. Bird had fouled out and everybody thought their undefeated season was ending that day. People forget that Heaton, Nicks and Miley were great roll players and played a big part in them going to the championship game against MSU
Bird was the most skilled player his size in history. I didn’t say the “best” player. Just had the best basketball IQ , shooting and passing skills ever. Combined with his toughness and leadership the man was on another level. Bobby Knight said Bird had the greatest hand eye coordination in basketball history. That’s THE Bobby Knight. High praise. Edit: love hearing Al McGuires old school NYC accent.
Check out the video at 42:27. Hastings pulls off the PERFECT euro step, they call travel and, to the announcers - and anyone at the time - it seemed like an obvious travel.
This was the tournament that transformed postseason college basketball from a curiosity into a national event. There was no "March Madness" before 1979. Only 40 teams were invited, and there was still a third-place game between the two semifinal losers. It was rare indeed that two superstars the magnitude of Bird and Magic would meet in an NCAA final, and while it certainly wasn't the greatest championship ever played, few games impacted college basketball the way that one did. This was also the last Final Four to be played in an on-campus arena--the University of Utah, although subsequent Final Fours have been held at a school's primary off-campus arena. Given the use of domed stadiums for most Final Fours now, this tournament will likely stand as the last on-campus Final Four.
Think about it, Bird played against an Arkansas team with Sidney Moncrief, Depaul with Mark Aguirre, and then a guy named Magic at Michigan State. What competition! Damn
I realize that 1979 was not the apex of television transmission but this VCR tape translation is SOOOOOOO bad, I can’t even make out Bird, let alone numbers on jerseys. lol. The video should be titled, “a group of blurs vs. a group of blurs.”
Great to see this game again. The finals between ISU and MSU is still the most watched game ever. It was a great time to be a basketball fan as Bird and Magic brought the same excitement to the NBA.
I was fortunate enough to be able to see Larry play in Indianapolis against the Pacers twice. I was also able to see him play in Larry’s Game a fund raiser for the Boys Club. He was the hardest working and hardest playing man I have ever seen play the game. Diving for lose balls and sacrificing his body on many occasions. I will never forget the time he went for the ball against the Pacers in Boston and broke the bones around his eye. He went to the locker room and then came back out to play and win the game. He could do things that most guards couldn’t do when passing the ball. He will be what his mother said, the Greatest Player Ever to play in the NBA. I have seen great players who could do a lot of things good but Larry did everything great. There will never be another Larry Bird.
