Larry Bird

Larry Bird averaged over 30 points per game across three seasons and led Indiana State to a 33-0 regular season and the 1979 national championship game.

Larry Joe Bird was born in West Baden Springs, Indiana in 1956. He briefly attended Indiana University under Bob Knight before transferring to Indiana State — a small programme in the Missouri Valley Conference that had never been a national contender. He transformed Indiana State into one of college basketball's most remarkable stories. In the 1978-79 season he led Indiana State to a perfect 33-0 regular season and a run to the national championship game, where they lost to Magic Johnson and Michigan State 75-64. He was named the Naismith Award winner as national player of the year and won the Oscar Robertson Trophy. He averaged 30.3 points and 13.3 rebounds across his three Indiana State seasons. The magic of his final season — a small-school player from a small-conference team taking an undefeated team to the championship game — is one of college basketball's great narratives. Boston Celtics had drafted him in the first round of the 1978 draft and waited a full year for him to complete his senior season. His college career represents everything March Madness promises — an extraordinary individual elevating an overlooked programme to unprecedented heights.

Bird was a versatile forward with exceptional shooting range and basketball intelligence. He possessed outstanding fundamentals, court vision, and an uncanny ability to make clutch shots from anywhere on the court. His competitive drive and leadership qualities made him the focal point of Indiana State's offense.

Bird's college career helped elevate the profile of college basketball nationally and his rivalry with Magic Johnson began a relationship that would define basketball in the 1980s.

• Naismith College Player of the Year 1979
• Wooden Award 1979
• 2x MVC Player of the Year