Greatest NCAA College Basketball Careers of All Time: Larry Bird Larry Bird was born on December 7, 1956, and grew up in Indiana. In a small town called French Lick, Bird’s picture still hangs at the high school where he left as the all-time leading scorer, on a street that is now called Larry Bird Boulevard. In 1974, Bird received a scholarship at Indiana University, one of the premier college basketball programs in the country. Under coach Bobby Knight, Bird was at first overwhelmed by the University scene and quickly dropped out to head back home. Shortly after he would enroll at Indiana State. An important rivalry began in college for Bird. In his senior year, Bird would lead his Indiana State Sycamores all the way to the NCAA tournament finals, however it was here where he would meet and lose to Magic Johnson and the Michigan Spartans. However, in 1984 Bird would get his revenge. He helped lead the Boston Celtics to an NBA championship over Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers. At Indiana State in 1979, Bird would lead the Sycamores to a 33 and 1 record, at the same time individually winning the USBWA College Player of the Year, the Naismith and the Wooden awards. When he left Indiana State for what would be a Hall of Fame NBA career, Bird was the fifth highest scorer in NCAA history. He averaged 30.3 points over the three-year span of his collegiate career. Scripted by Derek Allen