When the Game Was Ours - Larry Bird [14]
The lavish perks were later deemed an NCAA violation because they created an uneven playing field for recruiting, but it was clear to Bird that the Kentucky players were used to having the best.
Robey, who a year later became Bird's closest friend in the NBA, was funny, generous, and outgoing. He was difficult to dislike, but it was the situation that irked Bird, not the people involved. He objected to the way Hall doted on the Kentucky players and overlooked the others.
"We were kind of separate from the rest of the group," Robey acknowledged. "I'm sure there were better players than the Kentucky guys, but Joe already knew we could play together."
Because Magic was only 18, his body hadn't filled out yet. He was the youngest member of the World Invitational team, but he felt certain that once Hall spent some time with him he'd fall in love with his game and put him in the starting lineup where he belonged. The first two days of practice, Johnson dominated Macy, forcing turnovers, taking him to the basket, and running past him in the open floor. Yet, when the team played Cuba in its opening game on April 5 in the Omni, the starting lineup was Kentucky across the board.
"I'm thinking, 'Well, wait a minute,'" Magic said. "Sidney Mon-crief was sitting next to me on one side. James Bailey was sitting next to me on the other. Larry Bird was sitting next to James. Larry said, 'Forget about it. He's going with his own guys.'
"But when we scrimmaged at night, we were blowing 'his guys' off the floor. We embarrassed them. Macy and Robey and them couldn't keep up with us. And this was happening every time, not just once in a while."
The United States trounced the Cubans, who had only two players who were 6-foot-6 or taller. Bird grabbed 7 rebounds in 14 minutes of playing time, while Magic contributed 4 points and 3 assists in 13 minutes of a 109–64 win. News accounts of the game failed to mention either player. In fact, much of the ink was devoted to describing the spectacular pregame warm-up dunks of James Bailey, Sidney Moncrief, and Louisville star Darrell Griffith, who was also on the team.
In the first few hours he practiced with Magic and Larry, Moncrief recognized their exceptional court sense. Their pass-first, shoot-later approach was refreshing—and needed with a lineup of scorers who weren't used to sharing the ball.
"They were both so unselfish," said Moncrief. "It was a little unusual."
After their first win, the team was walking up the staircase to exit the arena when they spotted Celtics general manager Red Auerbach descending on the other side.
"Hey, look, it's Red Auerbach," said O'Koren, nudging Bird.
"Who?" Bird asked.
After the opening game, Hall settled on a starting quintet of Givens, Macy, Robey, Moncrief, and Bailey. The Americans squeaked past Yugoslavia, the runner-up to the United States in the 1976 Olympic Games, 88–83. Although Kentuckians Macy and Lee were credited the following morning with helping the team pull away, it was the Indiana State forward who rattled in a 16-footer with five and a half minutes left to tie the game 72–72. Magic played 11 minutes in the game and tallied just one assist. He was pressing, trying too hard to impress in the short minutes he was given.
"You could see he was frustrated," Bird said. "I don't blame him. It was a joke. Kyle Macy over Magic? C'mon."
"It was crystal clear what was going on," Bailey said. "We just couldn't understand how Joe B. Hall could play those Kentucky guys when he had all this better talent in front of him—especially Magic and Larry.
"It was unfair. But if those two guys were disappointed, they never showed it."
During one practice when the starters were drilling on how to break the press, Bird