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len bias: 30 years ago today

I remember pulling into a Fuddruckers parking lot in Arlington, Va, and hearing the news on my car radio. Hardly seems possible that it's been 30 years.
 
Grew up a huge UMd fan but was never a Bias fan. That Terp team was their dirtiest team ever, led by Fothergill, Veal and Bias. Though Bias' talent was undeniable.
 
cville deac said:
Grew up a huge UMd fan but was never a Bias fan. That Terp team was their dirtiest team ever, led by Fothergill, Veal and Bias. Though Bias' talent was undeniable.
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Bias was unquestionably the best player in a loaded ACC in '85 and '86. I don't recall him being a dirty player.
 
MSD Class of '86 and witnessed Bias' play against the Deacs- he was the real deal and likewise never thought of him as a dirty player at all.
 
morrison2951 said:
MSD Class of '86 and witnessed Bias' play against the Deacs- he was the real deal and likewise never thought of him as a dirty player at all.
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My favorite memory is seeing him play in February of 1984 in W-S. Of course, we had a great team that year, and I recall we won at the very end of the game.
I recall that Kenny Green held more than his own with Bias. Green may have been a knucklehead, but he was one of the greatest and underrated Deac's of all time.
I've read that Bias wasn't a junkie, and that he was messing with the stuff for the first time, but that may be a myth.
Very sad.
 
Deff wasn't his first time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Count me on #teamnotdirty too. Adrian Branch though...

Hearing of his death is one of those "I remember where I was when I heard..." moments for me also. The details are quite boring so I'll spare you, but it is vividly etched in my mind.

There was a game where Muggsy spent a lot of time guarding Bias. He frustrated him quite a bit, especially because he took away his ability to drive since he couldn't put the ball on the floor.
 
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I remember Bias being almost as elbow prone as Fothergill and Veal, though he was an amazing hoops talent. That was kinda the era of dirty hoops in the ACC - and even worse in the BE. And it wasn't limited to Md. UVA had Shehee and Merrifield (think it was Jim Miller who said all Shehee's teammates hated him too), Duke had Meagher then Bilas, and there may have been a few others.

Again, I grew up in Md and loved the Terps. I was in JH & HS when they had King Albert and his court, and my earliest hoops memories were of Lucas there. And loved those mid 90s to mid 00s teams - Juan Dixon is my favorite non-Deac player of all-time. But just didn't care for the Bias, Veal, Fothergill and Branch team. And that was also at the time when Lefty was calling Veal's victim multiple times on the phone to try to get her to drop the sexual assault charges. And when Lefty was quoted as saying cocaine could enhance a player's ability. That team just wasn't the cleanest era for Md hoops.
 
cville deac said:
I remember Bias being almost as elbow prone as Fothergill and Veal, though he was an amazing hoops talent. That was kinda the era of dirty hoops in the ACC - and even worse in the BE. And it wasn't limited to Md. UVA had Shehee and Merrifield (think it was Jim Miller who said all Shehee's teammates hated him too), Duke had Meagher then Bilas, and there may have been a few others.

Again, I grew up in Md and loved the Terps. I was in JH & HS when they had King Albert and his court, and my earliest hoops memories were of Lucas there. And loved those mid 90s to mid 00s teams - Juan Dixon is my favorite non-Deac player of all-time. But just didn't care for the Bias, Veal, Fothergill and Branch team. And that was also at the time when Lefty was calling Veal's victim multiple times on the phone to try to get her to drop the sexual assault charges. And when Lefty was quoted as saying cocaine could enhance a player's ability. That team just wasn't the cleanest era for Md hoops.
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IncredulousJaguarsfan.gif

Len Bias was a bad man on the court. I was (exactly) 10 years old the day he died. Had he become a Celtic, they might still be winning titles. Having since grown into a micro-old, how did the mid 80's Celtics get a draft pick high enough to get Len Bias?
 
jhmd2000 said:
IncredulousJaguarsfan.gif

Len Bias was a bad man on the court. I was (exactly) 10 years old the day he died. Had he become a Celtic, they might still be winning titles. Having since grown into a micro-old, how did the mid 80's Celtics get a draft pick high enough to get Len Bias?
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Trade rape for Gerald Henderson, Jr.'s dad. Well, in this case it turned out to be reverse trade rape.
 
Bias was a better version of Lebron. Absolute physical freak, but w/ the smooth athleticism of Jordan.

Don't recall him being a dirty player, but the Terp teams he was on were VERY physical. Then again, that was basketball in the mid-80's. Big East, ACC, Pistons Bad Boys...all of it.
 
Coach O said:
Bias was a better version of Lebron. Absolute physical freak, but w/ the smooth athleticism of Jordan
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Bias was never on the same planet in terms of Lebron as a passer or distributor, which is what makes Lebron so special. He also was a lot smaller - he played at about 210 pounds, whereas Lebron is closer to 260. Bias was a big scoring wing and a good one, but Lebron is some unholy combination of Karl Malone and Magic Johnson in the same body.

Basketball Reference broke him down a few years ago: http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=4011

However, in college Bias didn't rebound or contribute in non-scoring areas as much as his fellow prospects (historical, modern, you name it) did, and his NCAA efficiency numbers were sub-par. I'm not saying he would be a bust or even that it would have been impossible for him to be a star, but I am saying that we might have allowed Bias' tragic and untimely passing to distort the way we viewed his potential. Just like anyone who died before their time, there's the tendency to idealize the person and put them up on a pedestal, projecting onto them everything we wished and hoped they could someday be. In Bias' case, what my dad and so many other Celtics fans wanted was for him to become Larry Bird's heir at the helm of the Boston dynasty. Unfortunately, given his important performance indicators in college, that probably wasn't the most realistic expectation in basketball history.
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BobHWS said:
I attended the 1986 Carolina v. Maryland game in Chapel Hill when Bias led the unranked Terps to a 77-72 come-from-behind OT win over the number 1 ranked Heels. It was Carolina's first ever loss in the Dean Dome. Like Michael Jordan, Bias had the ability to take over a game, dominate it and will his team to a win.

Len Bias in Chapel Hill: February 20, 1986
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I was there too. Bias was amazing that night. Thanks for the memories.
 
morrison2951 said:
MSD Class of '86 and witnessed Bias' play against the Deacs- he was the real deal and likewise never thought of him as a dirty player at all.
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Remember when Staak put Muggsy on Bias in a box and one/zone defense?
 
vadimivich said:
Bias was never on the same planet in terms of Lebron as a passer or distributor, which is what makes Lebron so special. He also was a lot smaller - he played at about 210 pounds, whereas Lebron is closer to 260. Bias was a big scoring wing and a good one, but Lebron is some unholy combination of Karl Malone and Magic Johnson in the same body.

Basketball Reference broke him down a few years ago: http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=4011
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Bias was one of those transcendent players- much of what made him great were intangible and can't be quantified by statistics. He could very well have continued the Celtics dynasty into the 90's.
 
BobHWS said:
I attended the 1986 Carolina v. Maryland game in Chapel Hill when Bias led the unranked Terps to a 77-72 come-from-behind OT win over the number 1 ranked Heels. It was Carolina's first ever loss in the Dean Dome. Like Michael Jordan, Bias had the ability to take over a game, dominate it and will his team to a win.

Len Bias in Chapel Hill: February 20, 1986
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I was there too, and it was an Unreal performance. Believe it or not, even the UNC fateful applauded his performance after the game, he was simply unreal. However, before his death there were rumors of some halftime “self motivation” by Bias and some players. I always thought it was sour grape UNC fans, but after his death there were many more rumors that drugs were taken during games by this squad. Heard both coke & speed. Who knows the truth, but it was a damn shame we never got to see him play in Celtic Green.

Had Len Bias lived a healthy life and career in the NBA I honestly do not think the Michael Jordan we all know today would be considered by most as the greatest to ever play. Many of those highlights, endorsements, MVPS, and championships would have been shared with Bias. Would have been amazing to watch those two square off in the NBA.
 
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I grew up in Maryland, and was a huge Terps fan. Len died the day after I graduated high school. Spent my beach week in front of the tv in mourning with the rest of my friends. He was one of the best basketball players I've ever seen, and his death hit us hard.

To this day, I've never touched the cocaine and the only reason is Len's death.
 
cville deac said:
I remember Bias being almost as elbow prone as Fothergill and Veal, though he was an amazing hoops talent. That was kinda the era of dirty hoops in the ACC - and even worse in the BE. And it wasn't limited to Md. UVA had Shehee and Merrifield (think it was Jim Miller who said all Shehee's teammates hated him too), Duke had Meagher then Bilas, and there may have been a few others.

Again, I grew up in Md and loved the Terps. I was in JH & HS when they had King Albert and his court, and my earliest hoops memories were of Lucas there. And loved those mid 90s to mid 00s teams - Juan Dixon is my favorite non-Deac player of all-time. But just didn't care for the Bias, Veal, Fothergill and Branch team. And that was also at the time when Lefty was calling Veal's victim multiple times on the phone to try to get her to drop the sexual assault charges. And when Lefty was quoted as saying cocaine could enhance a player's ability. That team just wasn't the cleanest era for Md hoops.
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This was before the 3 point line and play under the basket was always a war.
 
Lee Garber was a good friend of mine. I can remember conversations with Lee about Bias. He said Bias was incredibly dirty and relentless with his elbows and shit-talking on the court. Said Bias would spit on him and other players. But at the time he said Bias was the best player he had ever seen and was actually a nice guy before and after games.
 
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