I was at this game in person, Bias had a body like no other basketball player, outside of MJ, Kobe and LeBron. When he dunked backwards on Warren Martin, the crowd was amazed.
@@mareemare555 i was a major Duke fan and loved how Lenny would battle win or lose the best ACC and all national teams as well,He almost put the fear of God in any opponant and their coaching staff, hell he made his coach go even more bald than he already was
Len Bias fantastic player !! The best player who never played in the NBA ! Him and the unfortunate Landon Turner he would have a fantastic career in the NBA .I'm italian, thanks for posting the entire video of this game !
+John Morgan Hello thanks for your reply and for commenting on mine. I'm Italian, I live in Italy and I love the NBA and NCAA basketball. I was 19 years old when Len Bias died, I had never seen him play because then there was no internet and RU-vid, but I read basketball magazines in Italy that spoke of NCAA and NBA basketball. I read everything about him and I knew reading his statistics that was an extraordinary player, when he died I was very sad, I think it would become the rival of Michael Jordan in the NBA. The Celtics had chosen him and certainly would have played with Larry Bird. I think Boston would win more titles with him during those years. I'm a fan of the Philadelphia Sixers that year (1986) had the first overall pick of the NBA Draft (ceded to Cleveland, who then chose Brad Daugherty, in exchange for Roy Hinson, was a big mistake) I got angry a lot, I dreamed to see play Len Bias with Charles Barkley and return to Phila NBA title. Then years later I saw so many films of Len Bias when he played with Maryland University, and I also read a book about him. He was an extraordinary player in my opinion, he would have made the history of basketball in those years. He made a serious mistake and unfortunately he paid dearly with their lives. His is a very sad story. If you have other videos or pictures to the Len Bias of Maryland publish them times I would see them. Hello and thanks . :)
What a beautiful jumper he had Reminds me of Elvin Hayes and great defense skill would have been great in the NBA under Larry teaching him and Reggie Lewis History would be different
I miss these days. It was no cable tv (in Baltimore). I was ACC and Big East basketball. We had games on tv at least 3 and sometimes 4 a week. That doesn't include the doubleheaders and national games on NBC and CBS. You really got to see all the teams in your Conference, and a lot of good rivalry games. ESPN while at that time very new and people were totally in love with it, would mess things up by, selecting games you didn't want to miss, they would move the starr time to 9:00 and because of the late change the UHF station may not show the game. It happened a couple of times a year. If memory serves me this was a Sat. night game and I was totally involved. I loved my Terrapins, and as the tease showed we were always close, but somehow...someway...either the Heels or Devils would always pull it out. It would piss me off when we beat them and it was a "upset". Yeah...Right! Maryland back then were just as good as Carolina ir Duke. (Duke wasn't the "Duke" we know back then, but still good year in and year out). The ACC was soooo deep! UNC, Duke, N.C. State who won 2 National Championships, Wake Forrest (always dangerous) and new comer Georgia Tech (who in their early years in the ACC had Marylands number...BIG TIME). Clemson had decent teams, but was always a player short. Then the Big East exploded! We fell in love with the style and great players and rivalries. Those were the days! College basketball was so good back then, I'm so glad we got to enjoy such fine basketball played at a high level. Thanks for posting.
I remember even as a young child growing up in the Washington, DC area during the mid 80's, the ACC Raycom/Jefferson Pilot game of the week used to come on WJLA channel 7 on Saturday afternoons. I usually wait to see Maryland play and it even though Maryland is now in the Big Ten, I fondly remember the days when we were in the ACC and always looked forward to the games against Carolina, Duke as well as NC State and Virginia along with Georgia Tech who was a tough out back then
Thanks for sharing, enjoyed the old commercials as well. I'm a UNC fan but really hate what happened to Len Bias. Would have been fun to have seen him play in the NBA.
I wish we could come back to the ACC cause all of our rivalries were good in the ACC and I always looked forward to both Duke games as well as both games against Carolina and U-Va.
@Brian Bullard It is an unfortunate circumstance that the ACC saw promise in the money associated with college football as a means to continue its revenue sharing program. Has it really improved the ACC possessing teams like Boston College, Florida State, Miami, Syracuse and Virginia Tech? I find numerous ACC fans who wish the ACC would return to eight team format? The way college sports is operating financially currently could assist with turning an eight team format in a revenue sharing machine the likes of never seen.
The greatest college basketball player I’ve ever seen. There are only a handful of “cant miss” players I’ve ever seen. These are players that were sure things coming out of High School or College: Patrick Ewing, Sean Kemp, Shaquille O’Neal, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, and Len Bias Len Bias was drafted by the NBA champion Boston Celtics (which some consider the greatest NBA team ever assembled) and would have been under the tutelage of the Legend for years. The Celtics would have dominated the league for at least another decade. Dude, the death of Len Bias totally changed the trajectory of the NBA. Does Larry Bird extend his career, win more championships, and be considered the GOAT? Does Jordan win less rings? Does Len Bias live up to expectations and HE actually is in the GOAT conversation? Is the Len Bias/Reggie Lewis the dynasty of the 90s instead of the Bulls? Like I said, his death changed the future history of the NBA. As a teenager in 1986, his death also had me totally petrified of any “hard” drugs.
He sure was and it was the worst move in Maryland basketball history. He was blamed for something he had nothing to do with. The coach they hired to replace him was a disaster. The only thing he ever did was get Maryland put on probation and it took the school twenty years to recover. It was easily the worst move in Maryland athletic history.
The bias jumper and steal was the beginning of the end for unc season. If this game doesn’t go to overtime Steve hale does not get injured. That messed up the team chemistry and led them to losing 4 out of 5 and falling to a 3 seed.
His leaping ability was legendary. You could put a quarter flat on to of the backboard. Not the rim. the backboard. And he could leap and pick it off with no problem. Not many players can do that. And that was why he was so difficult to defend. He could out leap everyone in the country then. Jprdan? He was all driving. But that was in college. That was their offense. In college, Bias did it all, drive, shoot deep, play defense.
That is a myth...David Thompson use to do that at NC state..That is true..so I know where you got the Bias story which is a myth..Thompson could do it ....
UNC had many times to put the Terps away. The inside defense by Md was top notch, and when Bias started getting hot, they believed and that's all they needed. That's what GREAT PLAYERS can do. They make the whole team BELIEVE!
Len Bias was the best player that played that I remember in college. The only other player that stood out to me was David Thompson. Jordan was not as dominating in college as many people thought. Both Thompson and Jordan were surrounded by very good teammates. Bias played on teams with lesser talent. Bias would have been a great NBA player. Had he played on a team as talented as the Celtics with the more open style of game that is played in the NBA it would have improved Bias game. He was a stronger player then Jordon and had a better jump shot and more range. He also was a better rebounder. Both were excellent defenders. Jordon was a better dribbler and was better at creating his own shot.. Bias had been working to improve that aspect of his game and had made progress. Bias also seemed to get considerably better every year. Bias would have been similar to Le Bro
Michael Jordan may have been the greatest of all time, but Len Bias was amazing, hate I never got to see him play in the NBA. 31 Years ago today, wow never imagined 4 months after this game Len Bias would be dead, RIP. You to Dean Smith
To talk about how good he was. At that 2:13 or so mark. he hits the long jumper....then ran up, stole under the rim. No Lob, he just went up from stand still. and dunk it behind his head...with ease. THAT was amazing.
@Christopher Cox None of the players mentioned by Sanders Jackson compared to Len Bias' athleticism at this point in the careers based on their respective ages.
I'm a Maryland fan and I still lament the decision to leave the ACC to join the Big Ten, but for now I'll have to wait until the ACC/Big Ten challenge for the Terps to play an ACC team just like in the days gone by
Lenny Bias got drafted by the Celtics and was gonna play alongside Larry Bird. I was a 9th grader and couldn't believe it. My favorite player playing on the greatest NBA team at the time. It was all to good to be true. Then it was over.
Yeah, so tragic, my aunt and uncle lived literally 3 blocks from Len Bias and his family on Flagstaff St in Landover. June 19, 1986 is one of the most prominent dates to me ever