Playing 'what if' with Larry Bird and Indiana
Posted: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 1:08 PM
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Big Ten
The “what if?” game can torment a fan base, no matter how much their team’s won.
Perhaps that’s the a reason why Hoosier fans should steer clear of the new book “When the Games Was Ours,” by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. (Or the similar ground covered by Seth Davis in “How March Went Mad.”)
It’s well known that Bird led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA tournament title game. And, among college hopheads, just as well known is that Bird originally signed to play at Indiana for Bob Knight’s Hoosiers. Yet, as Henry Abbott over at True Hoop points out, Bird left school during his freshman year because he wasn’t a fan of the tough love he was getting, and could’ve used a little TLC.
When he broke his foot in a pickup game, and had to hobble all over campus only to be late, Bird had had enough. "I'm sitting there saying to myself, 'I'm hurt, I can't work, I'm going to be in trouble for being late to class, I don't have any money, and they won't let me play in any of the games," Bird said. "Time to go home."
Sure, it’s easy to play “what might’ve been” with guys like Bird. It wasn’t like Indiana drove him away, but they didn’t need him then either, given that Knight’s team went 32-0 in 1975-76 and won the title. I mean, nobody knew he’d become Larry Bird.
Still, think of Bird in a Hoosiers uniform. It’s enough to send shivers down your spine.
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