When Benson traveled to Boston for a game in 1985, The Legend made sure he was thoroughly embarrassed.

After feeling mistreated by a college teammate, Larry Bird made it his mission to severely humiliate him upon joining the NBA.

With the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird rose to become one of the best players in NBA history. His fight with Magic Johnson and his modest beginnings at Indiana State are almost equally legendary. But it’s frequently overlooked that Indiana University is where Larry Legend started his collegiate career.

For a brief while, Bird played for Bob Knight’s Hoosiers. However, he didn’t stay in Bloomington for very long for a number of reasons.

Kent Benson was one of those causes.

Kent Benson and Larry Bird were Indiana teammates.

Bird was a fantastic basketball player in high school. But he was poorer than all his teammates and a shy person.

That put the future Hall of Famer and his Hoosier brothers at odds right away. Not even Dave Bliss, his chief recruiter at Indiana, could establish a genuine rapport with him.

As to a story on SI.com, Bird’s favorite pastime of mushroom hunting was the only personal information he ever disclosed to Bliss.

Under Knight, Larry played scrimmages against more experienced players in his early years. Benson was the worst of those Hoosier veterans, in Bird’s opinion, who mistreated him.

The Milwaukee Bucks selected 6-foot-10 center Benson as the first overall pick in the 1977 NBA Draft. He devolved into a mediocre league player.

But The Hick from French Lick was obviously above ordinary. And he took full, profound revenge on his former Indiana teammate by using that talent.

When Benson traveled to Boston for a game in 1985, The Legend made sure he was thoroughly embarrassed.

Benson entered the Boston Garden at the pinnacle of both Bird’s and his Celtics dynasty’s abilities.

The center was tasked with covering Bird’s colleague Kevin McHale, another future Hall of Famer.

It’s safe to assume that Kent’s experience was not good.

Benson was fed by Larry when McHale posted him up, and the Black Hole got to work.

That evening, the seven-time All-Star scored 56 points, a record for the Celtics. Bird’s former Hoosier teammate was the opponent for nearly all of his points. According to an article on ESPN.com, the three-time MVP made it a point to repeatedly send the ball inside to McHale, allowing him to smash Benson.

Larry seemed to be trying to give the impression that Benson had no.

The native of French Lick had 13 seasons in the NBA, scoring nearly 22,000 points. In addition to winning three MVP Awards, he guided the Celtics to three titles and was selected for ten All-NBA teams.

Nevertheless, Bird is almost as well-known for his trash talk as he is for his skill.

The former Spring Valley High School student utilized slights like Benson, which he took personally, to completely destroy his opponent. That’s exactly what he and McHale did for one night in 1985.

After working at a local newspaper for several years, Andrew Hanlon joined Sportscasting in 2021. With a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in English from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, he was well-suited for a career as a sports writer.

Andrew is an Everton fan and plays basketball and recreational soccer. In addition, he listens to podcasts religiously, which influences his work. A couple of his favorite athletes are Ryen Russillo and Bill Simmons.