Bird is one of those rare individuals that make his teammates better.  At six foot nine he can get his shot off whenever he wants and has range way past the three point line.  Bird can also get to the hoop off the dribble especially against some of the guys guarding him.  But he is just not a scorer.  He is terrific on the boards and may have the highest basketball IQ on the planet.  He is just as good of a passer as he is a scorer and is incredible kicking it out to open teammates off double teams.  As last year progressed his teammates got better and better as playing off the most double teamed guy in America.  These guys started not only getting open but making shots.  This supporting cast learned what supporting player meant down the stretch and played their roles to a T.  Walter Brennan would have been proud. 

Seniors Lenny Rzeszewski and Duane Klueh are stalwarts that had trouble adjusting to their new roles as background players as the Bird show took full flight.  This duo led this once dominant NAIA program down Glory Road and were offensive studs.  After their first year in the New World of Division One, Coach John Longfellow knew he had to make some changes and left it to his assistant, Bill Hodges, to go find some talent.  Hodges got lucky as he found Bird shooting baskets after he left Indiana University because he was homesick.  Hodges invited the blonde bomber to come to one of ISU’s practices which the kid showed up in wokr shoes and played.  After dominating the practive, Bird decided he liked it here and signed up to play for Sycamores.  Players like these two snior studs had to take on supporting roles.  Klueh became an effective wing and Rzeszewski became a valuable bench player.  Klueh came in from a small town in North Dakota and became the team’s first big star and helped put the Sycamores on the map.  Rzeszewski was part of the South Bend Shuffle (with Jim Powers and others who were coached at one point by legendary John Wooden) that decided to come to Terre Haute and he is the ultimate team player.  He did not even mind when he was put on the bench as Coach Longfellow let some of the kids get more playing time. These are true warriors that had to sacrifice for the team and that is not always easy when you used to be the man. 

How does it feel to be the second best player on a team with a superstar the magnitude of Bird?  Only one guy would and that is Sophomore John Sherman Williams.  Williams is a wing who can flat score.  He really helped Bird with his ability to drive and to shoot.  His emergence late on was the catalyst of this team’s improvement. As good as he was all year and Williams was good he did not get hardly any recognition from the national or even regional press.  He actually finished in the top ten of the MVC in scoring and did not miss a game.  But who knew? Williams only earned honorable attention acclaim from the media in the post season media all league teams.  He might not have been Walker to Bradley but Williams was every bit as good as 99 was to 86. With rumors of Bird leaving next year (The Celtics drafted him a year early taking advantage of a unique rule and boy will he fit in there).Williams will get his opportunity to be the man in Terre Haute.  Nobody is saying he will come close to Bird in the all-around game but as a pure scorer he is not far behind.  He combined with the two upcoming seniors to give the Sycamores solid wing play throughout the season.

Junior Carl Nicks played the point but also can score after a year in hiatus in Florida.  His responsibility was to get the ball to Bird and then let the man do his magic and to be ready to shoot a three when he kicks it out.  Bird basically developed this position in the half court set where he posts up from the angle about 16 feet away from the hoop and then does what he has to do to score or distribute.  It gives him room to shoot or drive and makes not only himself but his teammates like Nicks harder to stop.  Well there was more to it than just that but that you get the point.  Nicks is a gamer and was as clutch as they come.  Nicks is an intense guard who can shoot or go to the hoop.  He is not a terrific passer but does not need to be with Bird around.  Nicks plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder and actually went down to Florida to a JC for a year after barely leaving the bench as a freshman.  Old Coach Bob King wanted him to play more and refine his skills.  A few injuries and King brought him back up and he never looked back.  Once King put him back in Nicks was a huge force on this team.  His defense and his ability to complement Bird made him invaluable to the Sycamores.  He will be even better next season as he will be counted on to score more and he can do that.  An injury to Senior Bob Royer opened up the door for Nicks to step in and get some minutes at point.  Nicks showed he can play and was invaluable down the stretch with his ability to distribute and score and defend.  Will the smaller Royer, who goes 5’10 155, be able to earn his starting role back?  He was a huge part of this program’s success back in the NAIA days but his time here is in jeopardy if he can’t control his emotions.  Fellow senior Clarence Walker took the most of Royer’s injury and had a great junior year.  Walker is a legend in Terre Haute and should be a household name as he was first African-American to play in a national tournament when he qualified with the Sycamores (under John Wooden btw) for the NAIA.  Walker has been back and forth since then but this 5’10 157 pound guard can play.  Especially defense and he showed in limited minutes he is an asset to this Sycamore.  Whether or not he plays more or less this year for Indiana State, Walker’s status as a trailblazer is in tact.   Longfellow took over for Wooden led the Sycamores to an NAIA national title and kept these trees swinging and even took most of his team to the PanAm games and won a gold medal.  You see the history of this program is not just one player. 

Senior Jerry Newsom manned the most minutes at the post next to Bird.  Newsom can score and board but is a bit undersized at only 6’7.  Coming from the basketball hot bed of Columbus Indiana Newsom makes up for it with desire and was very productive though by the end of the year he was giving up some minutes to others as Hodges went younger and much bigger.  Donald McDonald (no relation to Ronald) is vastly undersized and though he was a big part of the team’s success in the NAIA, his days are numbered in Terre Haute and he will be lucky to get any minutes this year that are not of the clean-up variety.  DeCarsta Webster gives the Sycamores some size (6’11) and shot blocking but not much offense.  He played limited minutes throughout the season and is in every word a project with limited skills.   Webester was part of a large group of Juniors who got minutes up front but of course were stuck trying to beat out Newsom as Bird ate up more minutes than a 15 year old school girl on a cell phone with her first boyfriend.  Rick Williams, Carl Macon, George Pillow and boxing Bob Barker all contributed at one time or another.   Williams goes 6’8 and got some time at the post and can score and board.  He is not much defensively however and this team does not need much more than Bird up front on the offensive end.  Macon goes 6’7 and is tough and can defend but has seemingly fell out of favor with Hodges.  The other two are vastly undersized and have had a hard time adjusting to D-1.  Pillow is a terrific athlete but at only 6’2 is overmatched at times down low and is better suited for a wing though he is not much of a ballhandler.  He played well with Bird as his size is not such a disadvantage with the smooth passing big man around.  Barker’s frustration of losing minutes as the year progressed finally hit the fan as he blew up in a game against Wichita State.  His roundhouse against Nate Bowman will live in meme infamy but he was suspended for 5 games which includes a carryover for this year.  At only 6’4 this once starter has much work to get back even in the rotation but if the price is right he will play.   

Senior Butch Wade is a scorer from the perimeter and gave Hodges some solid minutes at one wing. He is limited athletically but plays hard and can score.  He is part of the Columbus Connection and has some size (6’4) on the wing and does not mind mixing it up.  Dick Atha is also in the mix for a starting role and is a terrific defensive player.  He goes 6’2 and does all the little things well but could score more for Longfellow’s liking.  Atha was elected team captain once again and really is the glue for this team.  Fellow seniors Sam Richardson and Ray Goddard are also in the mix though Goddard has a fall back spot as he is the starting shortstop on the Sycamore baseball team.  The Sycamores need more athleticism and shooting on the perimeter and Hodges is bringing in as many players as he can to find the right answers. 

The Indiana State Sycamores were not the best team in the Missouri Valley last year.  Heck, they were not even in the top half but they do have the best player in the league and possibly the Midwest.  Junior Larry Bird may have been the most complete player in the country and for sure was the most important to his team’s success.  He is a six foot nine forward who can shoot like Maravich, pass like Magic and board like Hayes.  The Sycamores rode the ‘Hick from French Lick’  to national recognition but now they want to fly with him to some success in the MVC.  And perhaps get an invite to the Big Dance.  Now, wouldn’t that be something if the Bird got to play in March against some of the other best.

As you might have noticed we have mentioned four different coaches for the Sycamores which is within itself one heck of a story.  Wooden started the tradition and the proud Boilermaker (an All-American guard BTW) now coaches in La La Land.  The next coach is a poet but don’t know it but Longfellow was just as successful as Wooden.  When he left, Bob KIng took over but the southwest desert was calling and he ended up in New Mexico coaching the Lobos who the Sycamores play this year in Terre Haute in a return of the, dare I say, the King.  Longfellow came back to the fold but left most of the duties up to young Bill Hodges as the older coach does not like to recruit and is not all that healthy.  As a matter of fact, Longfellow missed some games last year and Hodges filled in.  No one knows for sure who will be coaching the Sycamores this year but does it really matter?  The real coach of this team wears # 33 and will be running this team from the ‘elbow post’ for at least one more year.  The powers that be have put together a heck of a schedule to showcase this singular talent including a trip to Boston and games against Georgia, the aforementioned Lobos and even a game against the Michigan State Spartans in quite arguably the most anticipated game of the year in all of college basketball.  Now, let’s see if the Bird really is the word.  Or will the Magic Man be able to pull a bird out of his hat!