When the Game Was Ours - Larry Bird [17]
Indiana State was projected to finish in the middle of the pack in 1978–79 when head coach Bob King suffered a heart attack and brain aneurysm and was replaced by assistant Bill Hodges. Up until that point, Staley, who had clashed with King, was planning to transfer to Florida State to play for coach Hugh Durham. Once Hodges received the promotion, Staley decided to stick around.
Transfers Nicks, Bobby Heaton, and Alex Gilbert brought new life and a fresh approach to the team and quickly became key components of the Sycamores' nucleus.
Nicks was a cocky guard from Chicago who went hard to the basket and wasn't afraid to take on anyone—defensively or offensively. Heaton, Indiana State's sixth man, was a savvy player with good court sense and a perimeter shot that would prove to be pivotal during ISU's remarkable run. Gilbert was a rebounder and shot blocker who possessed incredible leaping ability.
The other starters included defensive stopper Brad Miley and point guard Steve Reed, an inexperienced yet unselfish player who had great range but was a hesitant shooter.
The Sycamores' bench was short; the only other player besides Heaton who played significant minutes was Staley. The limited rotation earned the Sycamore regulars the nickname "the Magnificent Seven." And when a local car dealership featured them in one of their advertisements wearing blue cowboy hats, jeans, and boots, it became their signature look.
In the second game of the season, Bird led ISU to a 63–55 upset over Purdue, burning the Boilermakers for 22 points and 15 rebounds. Five days later, he dropped 40 points on Evansville, and then, on December 16, he punished Butler with 48 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 assists.
It was a remarkable string of basketball and Hodges, only 36 years old, drew great comfort from Bird's decision to play for ISU in his final season rather than bolt to the NBA. Hodges knew he was watching a once-in-a-lifetime player at work.
The previous spring Bird had become "junior eligible" for the NBA draft. Since Bird's career technically began in 1974 when he spent three and a half weeks at Indiana, he was considered a member of the class of 1978 in the eyes of professional basketball, even though he had never played a second for the Hoosiers and still had a year of eligibility left at Indiana State.
Under new guidelines of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement in 1976, a player could be drafted, return to college and play his final season, and then negotiate with the NBA team that had selected him. If an agreement was not reached by draft day, the team would forfeit its exclusive rights and the player would go back into the NBA draft pool.
Bird was unaware of the rules that had so direct an impact on him. In fact, he was blissfully ignorant of almost everything that had to do with the NBA.
"I just didn't care about the pros," Bird said.
The Indiana Pacers held the number-one pick in 1978, and their coach, Bob "Slick" Leonard, called Bird and invited him to Indianapolis for a visit to discuss his future.
Bird drove to meet Leonard with Ed Jukes, a local banker and trusted family friend. The meeting was held in downtown Indianapolis at the Hyatt Regency. As they walked into the hotel, Bird was struck by the long escalator that led to the second floor.
"It was the first time I had ever seen one," he said.
As they got situated in the hotel restaurant, Leonard asked Bird if he'd like a beer.
"Sure," Bird answered. "I'll have a Heineken."
Leonard gulped. He was a Terre Haute native and had grown up, as he liked to say, "walking the same dirt floors as Larry did." Yet even after becoming a professional player and NBA executive, Slick still drank Champagne Velvet beer, the locally brewed ale that was popular because it was inexpensive.
"On Friday nights it was Pabst Blue Ribbon, because we were probably going to drink a lot of 'em and that was the economical way to go," Leonard said.
"Only wealthy people drank Heineken. But I figured, 'Oh, what the hell.' I had one with