When the Game Was Ours - Larry Bird [13]
"Earvin changed his demeanor, and our team changed its demeanor along with him," Heathcote said.
Magic's shooting was off (2 for 10), his passes were ineffective (6 turnovers), and his team was in foul trouble. Michigan State ended up losing 52–49 in one of Johnson's worst games as a collegiate player. Kentucky's success stemmed in part from using Robey to set high post screens and lure MSU into foul trouble.
Johnson remained convinced that the Spartans lost because they stopped pushing the ball. As he and Kelser reviewed the film in the coach's office, they made a pact to play transition basketball on every possible possession the following season.
But first Magic planned to showcase his talents in the World Invitational Tournament, an opportunity, he felt, to show the country—and Joe B. Hall—that he belonged among the elite. When he looked down the roster, he was surprised and pleased to see Bird's name on the list. The Sports Illustrated cover had aroused his curiosity, and he figured he'd spend some time getting to know this Indiana State star.
Bird was aware of Magic's success but hadn't followed him closely, since Michigan State was neither in Indiana State's conference nor on their schedule. "I was more interested in what the Purdue guys were doing," he said.
The one name on the roster Bird was thankful to see was James Bailey, the Rutgers star whom he had toured with the previous summer in Sofia, Bulgaria. That U.S. team was coached by Crum, Bird's old H-O-R-S-E opponent, and they played four international opponents, including the Cuban national team. The U.S. team wound up in a bench-clearing melee against the Cubans, with fans spilling out of the stands and players punching and shoving each other.
Bailey was attempting to extricate himself from the mob when a security guard screamed to him, "Duck!"
He turned just in time to see his attacker heave a broken bottle at his head. Bailey punched the man in self-defense, but the bottle caught his elbow and ripped it open. He would require 54 stitches in all—34 to repair the gash on his arm, and another 20 to sew up the wound on his right hand from the man's teeth.
The Bulgarian police, dressed in riot gear and toting rifles, finally separated the two teams. Bird, who had ducked for cover under the scorer's table, looked over at Bailey and asked, "What happened?"
Bailey, his face drained of color, was helped off the floor and taken to the hospital. Bird was so angry that he swore he'd never play in another international competition. It was a promise he did not keep.
International incidents have a way of bonding teammates, and Bailey and Bird developed a close alliance. They talked sports, compared upbringings, and found they had more in common than a white kid from the country and a black kid from the city would have ever imagined.
"I'd always heard Bird was kind of rough around the edges," Bailey said, "but I didn't find him that way at all. I was surprised how incredibly respectful he was of other people."
Bailey and Bird met again on the court in the spring of 1978 in the NIT tournament, just weeks before the World Invitational team was assembled. Rutgers nipped Indiana State in the final seconds on a Bailey basket, and as the two players walked off the floor together, the Rutgers fans burst through the ropes and stormed the floor to celebrate their win.
Amid the chaos that followed, an unruly fan charged Bird and jumped on his back. The forward shook him off with his elbow, knocked him to the ground, and kept walking.
"My coach wasn't very happy with me," said Bird. "But what was I supposed to do? The guy was hanging on my back."
If Hall was aware of Bird's little "incident" that spring, he never mentioned it. In fact, he didn't say much to Bird, Magic, or any of the other non-Kentucky players at all.
"I've never had a coach completely ignore me before," Magic said. "Joe B. Hall was the first."
Robey, one of the Kentucky chosen few, sensed the disconnect between his coach and the rest of the players. He befriended