At Rupp Arena, Larry Bird? Playing at Kentucky was a dream of the legendary Boston Celtics player.

At Rupp Arena, Larry Bird?
Playing at Kentucky was a dream of the legendary Boston Celtics player.

The 1978 Kentucky Wildcats, led by all-time greats Jack Givens, Rick Robey, and Kyle Macy in the starting lineup, will always have a special place in the hearts of Blue Blue Nation as they won the school’s fifth NCAA championship.

Though he always dreamed of being a Wildcat, what Kentucky fans might not realize is just how close basketball superstar Larry Bird came to being on the team that year.

After graduating from French Lick, Indiana’s Springs Valley High School, Bird signed with Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers and averaged 31 points, 21 rebounds, and 4 assists per game as a senior. He later transferred to Indiana State University, where he won the 1979 Naismith Player of the Year award. However, Bird, who was up only 150 miles away from Lexington, patiently awaited an offer from Hall, the great coach Adolph Rupp’s replacement in 1972.

Bird claimed that Coach Joe Hall of Kentucky had visited him and informed him he was too sluggish.