Len Bias

He was a very hard nosed player that could blow by anybody.

 

I'm pretty sure he can't be very good at this point...

 

I was too young to have watched him play but i've seen the highlight reels and know that both Coach K and Dean Smith have been quoted saying that Bias and Michael Jordan are the best two players to ever go through the ACC. Granted, this quote was in 2003 before Duncan won 3/4 of his championships but you still get the point about Bias.

 

He could have been a great player in the NBA but nobody knows what would have happened. His tragic death placed him on a higher pedestal than he deserves to be, IMO.

Seems like whenever famous people die prematurely, they are remembered much more fondly than reality merits.

 

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MJ vs. Bias would have been a great rivalry in the 90s.

 

Sorry, but I HAD to laugh at that.

 

I guess they don't remember Ralph Sampson.

 

I would have to agree here. With all due respect to Len, if Glen Robinson had died before draft day, he would be Len Bias.

 

Ahhh forgot about Sampson. Don't know how, but I did.

 

Yeah nice to see how nice and such a kind and great person he was from the video, too bad he died from overdosing on COCAINE. I'm sure he was such a great awesome person, though.

 

Len Bias is why I've never tried anything harder than weed (and a half tab of E once in college).

 

don't forget Michael Ray Richardson. He was up there with Magic (Magic even said so) until the white powder.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Bias

Looks like he was on his way to make millions. His parents after his death sued several parties including Adiddas, all lost. They probably got nothing from their son's death. Sad twist.

Lesson learnt, kids at home dont do drugs.

 

Some ppl are saying he would be better than MJ.But as some1 said Glen Robison would have been MJ if he did die before NBA draft.

 

i guess we will never know, but better than MJ,I just cant picture how. Never seen him play, but he was a human right?

 

I disagree. Robinson had a great shot and was fun to watch in college, but Bias was on another level. I lived in DC at the time and caught several Maryland games. He had "it." The same "it" that hit me in the face when I saw Drexler play in HS. The same "it" that floored me when I watched Earl at UT.

Bill Simmons saw it too...

Len Bias was a great basketball player. Not a really good player. A great one. I don't care if he never played a game in the NBA. Watching him in college, I knew he was and would have been great. He had extreme talent that made the best players in the world look ordinary.

On draft day, I remember thinking, "well, you can't hate the Celtics as much anymore because you know you'll have to watch Bias dunk on people after getting a great pass from Bird."

Sigh. The whole story is damn depressing...

 

i watched him live....i went to the Univ of Maryland and was there the year he died. The guy was as good as any college player I have ever seen. Tough to say whether or not he would have become as good as MJ (obviosuly no one is as good as MJ, but u get my drift) or just a "decent" 10 year pro so to speak.

He was a big guy who could beat a PG off the dribble and get to the hoop...and he could post up a guy who was bigger than he was and run circles around them.

One of the things he was so amazing at was passing. He could always find the open man....I have to think that was on of the things that the Celts loved about him...I remember them comparing his passing skills to Bird's.

He was an explosive player as well....he could turn any half court situation into a drive to the hoop followed by a dunk.

He was a lot of fun to watch...and I can still remember that day when they rolled that stretcher out of his dorm like it was yesterday

 

I watched him a lot in college on the tube and also saw him live as Phi Slamma Jamma took down Maryland in the "boring" game...Lefty taking the air out of the ball.


Bias had the total game outside/inside defense/offense.He had a legit chance if he had stayed healthy to become the top PF of all time.

"Man among boys" is the term that comes to mind.

 

I really don't know either way all I remember unfortunately was his death. I wouldn't trust bill simmons on a celtic article though. just saying. I saw len bias on espn classic a couple of years ago and he was definitely a man among boys in college as far as strength and explosiveness.

len bias however was the face of the anti-drug movement. there is a great column on how all those circumstances came together to really jump start nacy reagan's DARE program. Playing in the D.C. area, being drafted by the Celtics (nba royalty) who had just defeated the Rockets in the finals, and the rockets just had their potential dynasty hurt by drugs.

I commented in the michael vick thread that vick's dog fighting woes weren't a perfect storm, this was a perfect storm. everything that happened made him larger than life in his death, he was young and famous, and an athletic freak and he was cut down by drugs on his way to play for the nba champions after playing ball near the nation's capital. it provided high drama.