why did larry bird wear 33

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If one wants to attempt the more difficult All-Star version of the test, attempt to respond to the questions without consulting the multiple-choice options.

Layup-Which hand was Larry Bird’s natural strong hand?

A) Right hand B) Left hand

Dunk: True or false? Throughout his professional career, Bird averaged almost one blocked shot per game despite being known as a non-leaper.

A) True B) False

Layup: *Who was Larry’s roommate? *Why did Larry leave Indiana University after only 24 days as a freshman?

A) Homesick/overwhelmed by size of IU

B) Dispute with Bob Knight

True or false: After his final college basketball season concluded, Bird declined the Celtics’ unique offer to join the team and play a few games in the 1978–1979 NBA season.

A) True B) False

Over the head layin: True or untrue: When gangster Al Capone paid him a $100 tip at the renowned French Lick spa and resort in his prime, Bird’s grandfather was there.

A) True B) False

Free throw: In the 1981 Celtic championship parade, after boasting that he and four guys from his hometown of Virginia could defeat Boston, which Rocket center did Bird say “does eat sh-t”?

A) Ralph Sampson B) Hakeem Olajuwon C) Moses Malone

Free throw: In what way did Bird’s summer 1985 back injury begin?

A) Constructing and excavating a driveway at his mother’s house

B) Undercut in a pickup game

C) In a minor car accident

Free throw: Which university did Bird wish to attend after graduating from high school in 1974, but the coach rejected him because he wasn’t good enough to play there?

A) Louisville B) Kentucky C) Notre Dame

Free throw: According to his mother Georgia, which Celtic Hall of Fame teammate did Bird most look up to in high school? A) Pete Maravich B) Dave Cowens C) Bill Walton

Free throw-Why did Larry Bird wear jersey number 33?

A) Because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wore #33

B) His older brother Mark wore #33

C) Rick Mount wore #33

Jump shot: *What was the nickname of the Southern Indiana high school from which Bird graduated?

A) Bloomington South B) French Lick C) West Baden

Jump shot: When Larry Bird joined the NBA, how many inches was his measured vertical leap?

A) 19 B) 23 C) 28 D) 30

Jump shot: In the summer preceding his rookie season with the Celtics, how did Bird sprain his right index finger?

A) Lifting weights B) Playing softball

C) Playing in a pickup basketball game

D) Repairing his lawnmower

Hook shot-Why did Bird turn down Slick Leonard and his home state Indiana Pacers, who wanted to make him the number one pick in the 1978 NBA draft as a junior eligible?*what future Celtic teammate did the Pacers select instead

A) To get his college degree

B) Did not want to play for the Pacers

C) Wanted to play college baseball

D) Did not like Slick Leonard

Jump shot: During their famous altercation in the 1983–84 preseason, Bird scored six points to Julius Erving’s six. *Who held Bird from behind while Erving took multiple pot shots at Larry’s face?

A) 29 B) 33 C) 42 D) 47

Jump shot: Before attending Indiana State, Bird attended which school while working for the village of French Lick, picking up trash among other jobs, after dropping out of Indiana?

A) West Baden College B) Indiana-Martinsville

C) Northwood Institute D) Keiser University

3-pointer-Which sportswriter gave Bird his famed “Larry Legend” nickname?

A) Bob Ryan B) Dan Shaughnessy C) Peter Vecsey

D) Jim Murray E) Will McDonough

3-pointer: *What former Pacer star was also an assistant on the ISU staff? *Why did Indiana State AD/head coach Bob King name Bill Hodges as his temporary replacement when King suffered a stroke and a heart attack prior to Bird’s college senior season?

A) He thought Hodges was experienced and ready

B) Bird was very friendly with Hodges

C) Head assistant Stan Watts would be harder to replace

D) Bird threatened to leave school if Hodges wasn’t appointed

E) Bird did not like assistant coach Watts

3-pointer-What player, named Indiana co-Mr. When Bird was a senior in high school in 1974, he turned down Bob Knight’s scholarship offer to attend another school, which allowed him to accept a scholarship at Indiana University. *To what college did he subsequently enroll?

A) Roy Taylor B) Steve Collier C) John Garrett

D) Jerry Sichting E) Mike Flynn

The maximum possible score is 41 points; bonus points are awarded only in the event that the right response is provided first.

Answers

Layup-B) Bird was a left-handed typist by nature and signed autographs with his left hand.

Dunk-A) True. Bird averaged 0. 84 blocks a game and 755 shots swatted in 897 games during the regular season In 1984-85, the quick-handed Bird averaged a career-best 1. 2 blocks per outing.

In 164 playoff games, Larry was also noted for having 145 blocked shots (0 88 pg).

Layup-A) The large Bloomington, Indiana campus with more than 33,000 students overwhelmed Bird, who was homesick. He left campus after just 24 days. Indiana guard *Jim Wisman of Quincy, Illinois was Larry’s roommate. Wisman gained national attention when he was featured in a well-known picture of Knight yanking his IU jersey forcefully while arguing a point during a game.

Lefty layup-A) True. Bird declined the unusual Celtic offer because he wanted to complete his student teaching and play baseball at Indiana State after his senior basketball season concluded.

Over the head layin-A) True. Capone tipped Bird’s grandfather generously for carrying his bags. The French Lick resorts were a well-liked destination back then for famous people who wanted to gamble, vacation, and take advantage of the natural springs. This included politicians, movie stars, and spring training athletes.

Free throw-C) Moses Malone had to eat his words among other things after the supposedly “untalented” Celtics whipped Houston in the 1981 Finals, 4-2. The Celtics also finished with a whopping 22 more regular season victories than Malone’s Rockets, 62 to 40.

Bird strongly agreed with a fan’s homemade sign during the title parade, which stated that Moses eats “crap.” Then, to the applause of the audience and the laughter of his teammate Chris Ford, he famously declared that the only place he would rather be at that moment was his hometown of French Lick.

Free throw-A) In the summer of 1985, while constructing a driveway at his mother’s French Lick home with crushed rock, Larry hurt his back. Trainer Dan Dyrek did everything in his power to help Bird play the last part of his career, but Bird struggled with back issues for the remainder of his career.

Bird (free throw) was keen to attend Kentucky, a state steeped in tradition, but head coach Joe B Bird was not athletic enough, in Hall’s opinion, to play in the SEC. Bird later played for Hall on the U. S. Earvin Johnson was a teammate on the SECOND team he coached at the 1978 World Games. Hall played his UK players ahead of Bird and Johnson.

Free throw-C) Bill Walton, who played for UCLA as a cager in high school in Indiana, was a dominant three-time NCAA Player of the Year. Larry respected Bill’s selfless passing, winning strategies, all-around abilities, and enthusiasm for the game. They were the greatest center-forward passing combination in NBA history when they won the championship in 1986.

Free throw-B) Larry chose to wear number 33 because his older brother Mark, a talented high school athlete, did. Mark wore 33, according to rumors, to imitate the legendary Hoosier supershooter Rick Mount, who took home the coveted Mr. 1966: Lebanon, Indiana won a basketball championship while sporting number 33. Because of his immense popularity, Mount was the first high school student to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Mount continued his career as a high-scoring All-American at Purdue, where he captained the Boilermakers to the 1969 NCAA championship game while wearing number 10. He later played several years in the ABA.

Jump shot-D) Bird received his diploma from the merged French Lick and West Baden high schools, Springs Valley High School, in 1974. Their nickname was the *Blackhawks.

SVHS consolidated in 1957, and advanced all the way to the Indiana state final four that first school year before losing to eventual champion Ft. Wayne South Side. The basketball team’s first-year success was credited with making the consolidation between rival schools go much more smoothly.

Jump shot-C) 28. However, a lot of casual fans mistakenly believe that Bird was a complete non-leaper because they only saw him in his later years, when he struggled with a bad back, growing older, and having two Achilles repaired.

Jump shot-B) During a summer softball game, Bird made a diving catch in the outfield and severely injured his right index finger. He kept the injury a secret from the Celtics, and because of how badly it was broken, there was some worry that he might not be able to play with it.

Bird even thought about playing left-handed if needed. In an attempt to make up for the injury, he continued to work on his shot, but his release was never as high or pure as it was in college.

Hook shot-A) As the first member of the family to attend college, Bird made a vow to his mother that he would complete his education. In addition, he was having fun at Indiana State and knew they had a strong squad returning for his senior year.

After being rejected, the Pacers sent guard Johnny Davis and the third overall pick to Portland in exchange for Bird’s future Celtic teammate, Kentucky center *Rick Robey. Portland selected Mychal Thompson, a future rival of the Laker, with the first overall pick.

Following that, Boston used its sixth overall pick to select Bird as a junior eligible, but they had to wait a year to sign him.

Jump shot-C) There is a rumor that Bird said “42 to six” during their fight, but it has never been confirmed. *Moses Malone, Bird’s longtime adversary, grabbed Bird from behind as Erving repeatedly attempted to punch Bird with his right hand, mostly missing. Red Auerbach, furious, stormed out of the Boston Garden stands to take Malone on.

Jump shot-C) From 1966 to 1983, Bird attended Northwood Institute in West Baden, a satellite campus of NI, for a brief period of time. Formerly housed in the former West Baden Springs Hotel, Jesuits ran a seminary known as West Baden College from 1934 until its closure due to low enrolment. NI then held its business school classes there until 1983.

3-pointer-C) Author Peter Vecsey bestowed upon Bird the memorable, alliterative, and true moniker “Larry Legend.”

3-pointer-C) King first assigned inexperienced assistant Bill Hodges, who tenaciously enticed Bird to ISU, to take Bird’s place temporarily. King wanted to be able to return to coaching the Sycamores because he knew he had a special team and believed he would be back by mid-season. At the time, King reasoned that Hodges would be much easier to replace as interim coach because Watts was a far more capable and experienced coach. An angry Watts resigned when he was passed over.

Hodges continued in his role as coach after the team went undefeated under him until the championship game, when King’s health prevented him from playing again.

Started for coach King at New Mexico in college, former Pacer great *Mel Daniels served as an assistant at ISU from 1977 to 1979. The floor at New Mexico, known as the Pit with affection, was the location of the renowned 1983 N C. State’s 1983 NCAA Finals upset victory over Houston is known as Bob King Court.

3-pointer-B) After sharing the coveted Hoosier Mr. Basketball, Hanover Southwestern’s Steve Collier de-committed from Indiana and attended Cincinnati* Basketball award with Roy Taylor of Anderson, Indiana.

As a senior at Springs Valley High School, Bird averaged 31 points, 21 rebounds, and four assists per game. However, he hardly made the all-state team due to prejudice against players from small schools in southern Indiana and a lack of awareness or belief following his erratic, unexpected rise to fame.

Collier, a 6-4 southpaw, played four seasons at Cincinnati, where he averaged 11 points per game and helped the Bearcats qualify for the NCAA tournament in 1975–1977. His finest campaign was in his rookie year, when he averaged 13. 8 points per game as the Bearcats finished 23-6 and made it to the Sweet 16

As a junior, he helped Cincinnati beat Knight’s defending NCAA champion Indiana squad at the Sugar Bowl tournament in New Orleans.

However, his post-high school career was nothing like Bird’s, as were nearly all of them. In 1978, he was not selected by the NBA, but he and Larry both went on to be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

To contact the quizmaster directly, contact Cort Reynolds at cdrada2433@yahoo.com.

Early life edit

Growing up in the neighboring French Lick, his mother supported Larry and his five siblings by working two jobs. [12] According to Bird, his childhood poverty continues to inspire him “to this day.” [13] When Larry was a high school student, Georgia and Joe got divorced. About a year later, Joe took his own life. [14].

In popular culture edit

In 1975, Bird married Janet Condra. They remained married for less than a year. Bird and Condra tried to make amends, and in 1977 they had a daughter named Corrie. [141].

Bird married Dinah Mattingly in 1989. They have two adopted children, Conner and Mariah. [141].

Bird resided in the Brookline, Massachusetts, suburb of Boston for the duration of his professional career with the Celtics. [142].

FAQ

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