Reminder: On ESPN tonight (5pm Pacific) "30 for 30 - Without Bias" examines the life and sudden death of 1st overall pick Len Bias. A must watch for hoop fans.
Wasn't he the guy, a long time ago, who blew his mind out on heroin? If so, why a special on him? Just another drug addict who hoops. The world is full of them.
Nope. Len Bias was Kevin Garnett before Kevin Garnett existed. He did blow once, at a party to celebrate being drafted by the Celts, and died. It took the Celtics two decades to recover from his loss. Part of Maryland basketball never has recovered. I know it destroyed Lefty Driesell's coaching career.
His game was not like Garnett's. In college, Bias played like a bigger Michael Jordan with a better outside shot. Of course, Jordan went on to become the GOAT. Bias would not have been a better pro than Michael, but he would have been damn good.
What I meant was that he was a big man who could do it all--score inside, score from mid-range, handle the ball, rebound and pass. He was also super athletic. Garnett redefined what a PF could be in the NBA, and I think people would have compared Garnett to Bias if he would have lived.
Bias would have been a SF in the NBA. He was 6'8", 210 with a good outside shot and the ability to put the ball on the floor. Pretty much the prototypical SF.
It is always a sad day when a young man dies too early and in such a way. However many have been drafted and not reach potential. A "Beasly" like or worse.
Len Bias played much more like Dr. J or Clyde Drexler than Kevin Garnett. Even more than Jordan, those are the two players I think of when I remember Len Bias. I lived in Raleigh, NC during the mod-1980s. NC State, UNC and Duke all won national titles while I lived there. The ACC was THE place for college basketball back then. I had friends/roommates that attended all three schools. So, I got to go to games at all three. The talent level in the ACC back then was off the charts. I also had two co-workers from Maryland. June 19, 1986 was a very sad day for them. I remember how devastated they were by Bias' death - after being so excited that he'd been drafted by the Celtics just two days earlier.
Another example of a high draft pack that failed to live up to his potential was the guy selected immediately after Len Bias in that 1985 draft draft - Chris Washburn out of NC State. Of course, Washburn was an idiot who had been in trouble in college. So, there were clear warning signs about making him a high pick. Bias was practically worshiped in college and it was a huge shock when he died of a cocaine overdose. If someone would have told me, on draft day 1986, that one of the top three players taken in the draft would die of a cocaine overdose within 48 hours, I would have bet everything I had on Chris Washburn.
I don't know why our recollections of his game are different. I thought he was 6'10" and played the four for UMD. I'm going to assume that you're right and I'm wrong. I'll have to check the special out. Thanks for correcting me.
weird memory for me...I was an 8-year old who had just gotten into following basketball (got hooked by the Blazers beating the Celtics at the Boston Garden to break their streak earlier that year), and not into the college game yet. But I liked the concept of the draft, and vaguely remember how a lot of the basketball fan grown-ups I knew were sad that this guy was the first "name" in sports to die from drug use.
