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Banhammer'd
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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.
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.
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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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?
Bias was a better version of Lebron. Absolute physical freak, but w/ the smooth athleticism of Jordan
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.