Len Bias — 20 years later

A lot of busts in there. And a ton of drug problems. I wouldn't put Salley or Dawkins in that bunch, though. Salley was a pretty important piece on the Piston championship teams, and he retired with what, five rings? He wasn't a star, but he was solid at his peak. And Dawkins was a good floor leader. Obviously not great stats, but he did a lot more than he gets recognized for.

 

Yeah, but Bias, Bedford, Washburn, and Tarpley in the same draft is an all-time landfill. Any draft. Any sport. Ever.

 

Was Bias an early entry draft pick or did he play four years at Maryland? I don't recall.

 

Never mind them, John Williams, Pearl Washington and Walter ``The Truth'' Berry are three of the biggest stiffs of all time -- they didn't even need drug problems to kill their careers.

 

That's the point I'd been meaning to make in reading through all these posts. Bias was coming into the perfect situation for a rookie. I believe being mentored by not only Bird, but Parish and McHale, would have made a huge difference between Bias and the typical rookie trying to make an impact. In fact I remember right after the draft (before the death), Bird was incredibly enthuasiastic about Bias joining the team, so much that he offered to attend the team's rookie camp so he could get started working with Bias.

As far the where-was-I question: Well, today's my 38th birthday, which means that day was my 18th. Heard about it on CNN and, although I was a Laker fan and really, really, really hated the Celtics (back when I still had a healthy amount of interest in the NBA), I was truly saddened by that story.

Oh, and that draft: You might remember the 76ers had the first pick and ended up trading it to Cleveland to get the immortal, the legendary ............ Roy Hinson. I don't think that trade is in the Philly highlight book.

 

Great point, the Chief would have gotten him off coke and onto pot, which is much easier on the nervous system.

 

I was once beat up by Gerald Henderson.

He was a counselor at a basketball camp I attended (just prior to his first camp with the Celtics). Late in the week Henderson and the other counselors (Larry Zigarelli - all time assist leader at Yale was one of them) went out for beers and when they came back they decided to roust the guys in my cabin (we were a good crew and it was like big brother hazing). Anyway I ended up in a headlock by Henderson. A State Trooper was moonlighting as security guard came and broke it up.

 

Came out as a Junior.

Bias had Lefty as his coach. Lefty couldn't get the best out of great players, but was able to get the most out of players that weren't great. Jordan learned a hell of a lot from Smith, a chance that Bias didn't have.
I loved Lefty, I was there for the King, Buck Williams, Manning, Morley and Ernie "Does" Graham years. A great time to be at college, but Lefty was not a great coach.

 

According to the statistics linked to above, Bias played all four years at Maryland, averaged nearly 24 points his senior year, then left.

Also, as was asked above, Bias was not picked No. 1 overall because Cleveland held that pick and, well, Cleveland is Cleveland. Even when the Cavaliers played in Richfield, they were cursed like all other Cleveland teams. (Though, this time, at least, they got a little lucky because they wanted size over sheer athleticism.)

 

Len Bias played four years at Maryland, and came out as a senior.

Being a Maryland grad I would have plenty to say on this subject, but I would go on too far and long, so I'll spare all of you.

 

As long as you don't compare him to Jordan, I'd love to hear it. It's not like I'd discount anything a Maryland grad said.

 

You can't pull those type of swindles today as easily because at that time, there were only seven teams that didn't make the playoffs and each had an equal chance in the lottery. Today, the lottery is more complicated so you might trade for a first-round pick and get the 13th pick.