For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
Bird was enshrined Nov. 22 along with Michigan State’s Magic Johnson and coach Jud Heathcote on the 30th anniversary of the 1979 NCAA championship game.
In addition to supporting Bird, it was a chance for Larry Legend’s former teammates to be fans of the game.
The ISU team that finished 33-1 and was national runner-up to Johnson and the Spartans was well represented in Kansas City.
Bob Heaton of Clay City, Tom Crowder of Cayuga, Bob Ritter and Leroy Staley were in attendence along with ISU coach Bill Hodges and team trainer Rick Shaw.
The chance to talk 30 years later with the charismatic Johnson was a phenomenal experience, Heaton, Crowder and Staley all agreed.
Heaton recalled Johnson embracing a shy autograph-seeking boy during the weekend, and the former Sycamore spoke about getting Magic’s autograph on a Hall of Fame program being a highlight of the trip for him.
“It was fun to finally meet up with Magic and talk with him a little bit,” said Heaton, who is especially known for two game-winning shots during that magical season.
One was a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer of regulation that forced overtime and helped the Sycamores move to 19-0. The second was a left-handed shot in the NCAA Tournament regional final against Arkansas that sent ISU to a 73-71 victory and a berth in the Final Four.
Crowder, a reserve forward, took pleasure in the fact that some things stay the same 30 years later.
“He was typical Larry Bird, cordial but not outgoing,” Crowding said, “unlike Magic Johnson, he was happy to see us as much as anybody.”
Staley, who now works with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Pearl, Miss., and was known for his leaping ability on the basketball court, was impressed by Magic’s memory and ability to put a smile on someone’s face, particularly his own.
“What amazed me, about seeing Magic, he asked me, ‘You still got those ups?’ If he remembered that about me, that made my whole trip,” Staley said.
Staley said he thought Bird enjoyed himself, and the former Sycamores said Bird was glad to have his teammates and former coach around. When the hype was building around the nation in ‘79, Bird refused almost all interview requests until the Final Four in homage to his teammates.
“It was really great being around Larry again,” Staley said. “We were always in the limelight with Larry. He got to really sit back and enjoy himself.”
The 1979 team was also honored in Hulman Center in February of 2009, although the turnout wasn’t quite as strong as it was for the 25th anniversary in 2004.
“We were all in the right place at the right time,” Crowder said a few days before Christmas. “It’s like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ If you take anybody on that team and take them out of that picture, things would have been different.”
One single college basketball game will never be as celebrated as that 1979 game, which still has the largest TV share of all time for an NCAA game.
Like Heaton, basketball fans in Kansas City were thrilled to do it again.
“With Magic and Larry, the people got a big treat out of it,” Heaton said.
• Another former Sycamore great, David Moss is playing well for LaFortezza Bologna in the Italian League.
Through 12 games, Moss is averaging 13.7 points, 4.8 rebounds 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals. He’s shooting 49 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from 3 and 79.5 percent at the free-throw line.
With 1,562 career points, Moss is the fifth-leading scorer in ISU men’s basketball history.
Craig Pearson can be reached by e-mail at craig.pearson@tribstar.com or by phone at (812) 231-4357.
Given to Fly
January 6, 2010
'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores
- Given to Fly
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GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
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GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
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FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
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'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
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'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
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'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
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'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
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'Til It's Over: Hansbrough, Hibbert give Pacers glimpse of future
You might have heard of the Indiana Pacers’ 2009 first-round draft pick. He was on the television once in a while during his four-year career at North Carolina.
- 'Til It's Over: Bertoli, Moore put on show in abundance of events “Anthony and Erica” may not have the marketing capability of “Dan and Dave,” but neither of Indiana State’s outstanding multi-event participants had let-down performances this weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
- ‘Walking wounded’: ISU seniors return to provide spark All three ISU seniors will graduate in May, and all three will be in uniform today as Indiana State battles Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.
- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
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Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
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Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
Indiana State graduate Dani Prince made her debut in the event with a victory in the Columbus Marathon on Sunday.
Prince’s goal was a time under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and she ran a 2:48.56. -
Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
It was an extremely busy weekend for Indiana State athletics this weekend.
- Footnotes: Here’s hoping perfect weather is still around for Nationals in November The weather made for a perfect fall afternoon Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course. For what it’s worth, the Farmer’s Almanac calls for more sunny conditions from Nov. 20-24, with the NCAA Championships falling on the 24th this year.
- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
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Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
The Oregon men and women were almost both unanimous picks as the No. 1 teams in the nation in the preseason cross country national rankings released recently.
- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
- Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo This week, Indiana State signed its most highly-touted football prospect in years, and former quarterback Julian Reese is ripping it up for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena2.
- Indiana State track sending strong group to NCAA regional Three sophomore women and three senior men lead a large Indiana State contingent of track and field athletes into the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend at Fayetteville, Ark.
- Given to Fly: Sycamores embracing underdog role at MVC Tournament The frustration of not living up to expectations can cause problems within any sports team, from the coach down to the players at the end of the bench.
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