My own personal story about Larry Bird - about the only little piece of information that didn't pop up in Keith O'Brien's superb new book, "Heartland" - centers on a baseball player.
I was talking to someone around 1981 who was playing baseball in Glens Falls, N.Y., in the White Sox organization. (Naturally, I've forgotten the name of the person in question.) It turns out he was part of the Indiana State University's Class of 1978 - meaning that he exited the school a year before Bird did. My new friend said he had the chance to play basketball with Bird there. It probably came in a pickup game.
"You know how you hear about playing your best basketball when you are with good players?" the player said. "I've never played better basketball than I did when Larry was on my team. If I got open, Larry would pass me the ball. What's more, he'd get the ball to me where it was in perfect shooting position. I'd didn't have to move at all to put it up."
The story about the relationship between Larry Bird and Indiana State was quite unlikely back then. One of basketball's all-time greats turned up on the roster of a school that had never been accused of being a basketball powerhouse. Before Bird, Indiana State might have been remembered as where John Wooden coached before he left for UCLA in 1948. Once the 6-foot-9 forward arrived, the Sycamores went on a very eventful ride that led them to the national championship game in 1979. Bird didn't even leave for the pros a year early in 1978, although he could have done so in that era when it was difficult and/or rare to make that jump.
But consider what would have happened to someone like that today. Bird would have displayed his talents for Indiana State for a year, and then almost every school in the country would be after him - asking to transfer and promising major Name/Image/Likeness money. He would have wound up at one of those powerhouses, leaving Indiana State with a brief nice moment.
Looking back, that makes Indiana State's brief rise to the top of the basketball world something of a fairy tale from the perspective of today. It's something that won't be repeated in the foreseeable future, and that's what makes it so much fun to read. "Heartland" is the full account of a wonderful ride.
The outlines of the story are well known in basketball circles. Bird was a very good high school basketball player, and picked Indiana University (and coach Bobby Knight) for his college career. But the size of the school and the campus overwhelmed him, and he wasted little time in dropping out. Bird was playing pickup ball around his home when Indiana State scooped him up.
The Sycamores became immediately better, reaching the National Invitation Tournament in 1978. As a transfer, Bird was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the first round ... but decided to stay put. Indiana State went on a dream regular season, going undefeated and earning a No. 1 national ranking at the end of the season. There were some close games along the way, but Bird and Indiana State always figured something out. Off the court, Larry didn't really trust reporters and went out of his way to avoid them - which wasn't easy as the legend grew. Occasionally he'd give a clue that there was an interesting person underneath all that ... but only a clue. Just to add a little drama, head coach Bill King became sick before that season and was replaced by journeyman coach Bob Hodges.
Students of college basketball history know how the story ended. Indiana State made it to the NCAA Finals, only to run to Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Michigan State. The Spartans won rather easily before the biggest basketball television audience in history. And the Golden Era in Indiana State basketball was over instantly. It took 21 years before the Sycamores returned to the NCAA tournament, and 22 years before it won a game in it. (That's been it to date.) Bird, of course, showed us what the fuss was about in a Hall of Fame pro career.
O'Brien made some good decisions here. The first one was to ask everyone connected with the program to talk about that era. Happily, almost everyone was willing to do so. The biggest exception was, of course, Bird. But it's not as if Larry has been under-publicized over the years. From there, the level of detail really makes this work. The stories about that brief era really put the narrative into vivid colors. The whole team has the chance to reflect on what happened to it, which at this point must seem like a dream.
When it comes to books, sometimes you know immediately you're in for a good time. O'Brien reaches that distinction within a couple of chapters. "Heartland" seems destined to reach the 2026 list of best sports books.
Five stars
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