“I don’t think me and Coach Knight would have had a problem,” said Larry Bird of his brief time at Indiana University.

“I don’t think me and Coach Knight would have had a problem,” said Larry Bird of his brief time at Indiana University.

There was a great deal of regret about Larry Bird’s brief time at Indiana University.

That makes sense, too, given that he went on to win three NBA Most Valuable Player awards during his Naismith Hall of Fame career.

The basketball icon moved from French Lick, Indiana, to Bloomington in the summer of 1974. But it was over in an instant.

As to the official documents, Bird enrolled at Indiana University on August 26, 1974, and left on September 18, 1974.

Isiah Thomas spoke with Bird during an NBA on TNT interview meant to coincide with All-Star weekend. “Quinn (Buckner) to this day says to me, the thing that he regrets most is that when you first went down to school (at IU), that he wasn’t there,” Thomas said. The entire interview, which features former Pacers great Reggie Miller, is available to watch below.

After a season in which Bird averaged 31 points, 21 rebounds, and four assists as a senior at Springs Valley High School, IU coach Bob Knight extended an offer of scholarship to Bird.

Bird stated in the TNT interview that while Kentucky was no longer pursuing him, he still wanted to attend, so he had to decide between Indiana and Indiana State.