Why did Larry Bird drop out from Bob Knight's legendary Indiana Hoosiers program? Exploring Celtics legend's difficult college life

Larry Bird stands among the greatest NBA players of all-time and his success and playing style revolutionized the game of basketball and the league.

Bird spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics (1979-1992) and was a part of the franchise's impressive run in the 80s. Bird played 13 years for Boston and won the NBA title three times (1981, 1984, 1986) and Finals MVP twice (1984, 1986). He was also a three-time NBA MVP (1984-1986) and 12-time All-Star.

However, his career wasn't that illustrious early on. Five years before moving to the NBA (1979), he decided to join the Indiana Hoosiers and play under coach Bob Knight.

Back in 1974, Larry Bird's time with the Indiana Hoosiers lasted only for a month. It seems two reasons led to him leaving.

Firstly, he didn't like the way he was being treated by some in the program, with Bird recalling in his 1989 book, "Drive: The Story of My Life," that Kent Benson went as far as to try and prevent him from playing. The second reason was that he didn't have enough money to stay in town and play college basketball, so he had to find other ways to get money and live.

Thus, he decided to leave the school after just four weeks and return to his hometown, where he joined Northwood Institute. As his mother couldn't afford to support him financially, he had to work multiple jobs to earn some money while at Northwood Institute. However, his time with the school was limited and he quit again after a few weeks.

Indiana State University saved Larry Bird's college career

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Dropping out of two schools could have led to Larry Bird ruining his college career. Fortunately for fans and the game of basketball, this didn't happen.

A year later, he joined Indiana State University, where he stayed until 1979 and had an impressive college career.

He played a total of 94 games in the NCAA, winning 81 of them. He led Indiana State to the NCAA Final Four in 1979 and an impressive battle with Michigan State and fellow NBA legend Magic Johnson. Bird was the superstar of the league that year, as Indiana went to the Finals undefeated (33-0).

The 1979 Championship Game set a new TV record for a college basketball game, as fans wanted to see the battle between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

Johnson eventually stood tall and led Michigan State past Indiana State and to the title (75-64). However, it was Bird that was named the MVP of the season in the NCAA.

Larry Bird averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists during his time with Indiana State University. His No.33 jersey has been retired by both the Celtics and the Sycamores.

His battle with Magic Johnson moved to the NBA and headlined the rivalry between Boston (Bird) and the LA Lakers (Magic).

The two franchises dominated the league in the 80s winning multiple titles and creating a rivalry that remains intact until today. The Celtics and Lakers have won a total of 34 NBA championships, 17 each, and are still on the lookout for a record 18th one.

Following the end of his illustrious career, Larry Bird was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame and the NCAA Hall of Fame.