Larry Bird discusses Indiana basketball and one of the biggest ‘what-ifs’ in program history

Larry Bird needs no real introduction. He’s a Hall of Fame player, won NBA Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year during his 13 years playing and 20+ years working in the NBA.  But, it was his time before he started his Hall of Fame career that will go down in history as one of the biggest ‘what-if’ moments. Yes, that is his time with the Indiana basketball program.

It has been well documented about the short stint that Bird was with Indiana basketball. The Springs Valley (Ind.) High School forward had a phenomenal senior season which led to then Indiana basketball head coach Bob Knight offering a scholarship. Then, it was decision time for Bird.

“I wanted to go Kentucky but Kentucky quit recruiting me,” Bird said in an interview over All-Star Weekend with Reggie Miller and Isiah Thomas on TNT. “So it was between Indiana State and IU, so I went to IU.”

Bird enrolled at Indiana in the summer of 1974 — but not even a month later, he left.

“Financially I couldn’t stay. It wasn’t that I was homesick or didn’t like the coach,” Bird said. “One thing about me, is I always say ‘the coaches coach, and the players play’. Whatever they tell you, you gotta do. You might not like it, but you’re gonna do it because that’s what they do. That’s their expertise.”

Could there have been a moment that may have changed the outcome of Bird and his college career?

Former Indiana basketball great Isiah Thomas — who has become very close with Quinn Buckner — said Buckner’s absence when Bird got on campus may have played a significant role in Bird leaving as well.

“Quinn to this day says to me the thing he regrets most is the when you (Bird) first went down to school, he wasn’t there,” Thomas said. “He still feels bad about not being there for Larry the first two weeks or so when he was there at Indiana.”

Regardless of how the story got started, it ended well for everyone. Bird went on to help the Sycamores reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history in 1979 with a 33–0 record. They would fall to Michigan State and Magic Johnson in the Championship game.

Indiana would go 31-1 during the 1974-75 season before a loss at the hands of Kentucky in the Elite Eight.

The following season? Indiana basketball went undefeated, winning the National Championship and remaining as the last undefeated team in college basketball.

But, Bird still believes he would have been just fine at Indiana.

“I don’t think me and Coach Knight would have had a problem, because I never had a problem with a coach.”

Below is the full interview. The segment about Indiana basketball begins at the 5:00 min mark.