SAN ANTONIO (AP) The 1979 national final was the day Magic Johnson and Larry Bird gave college basketball a permanent spot among America's top sports events. It was also the day Bob Heaton got ''posterized.''
Heaton was a forward for Indiana State one of those ''other guys'' when the Sycamores played in the famous championship game against Michigan State. He stood under the basket, seemingly in good position, waiting to take a charge from Johnson.
Instead, Johnson dunked over Heaton, knocked him to the ground and pointed at him for emphasis. It was a signature moment in a signature game that found its way onto the cover of Sports Illustrated and the walls of kids' bedrooms nationwide.
''I didn't realize exactly what had happened until I saw all the replays,'' Heaton said.
Twenty-five years later, as Georgia Tech and Connecticut prepared for their title game Monday night, many of the players involved in the Magic-Bird matchup concede they didn't realize they were part of history at the time.
In 1979, Bird and Johnson were already stars, and the game was hyped as a showdown between them, but cable TV hadn't yet saturated the country with college hoops. In fact, several Indiana State players said they never saw Johnson play until the Final Four that season.
''The idea that Larry and Ervin went on to have such great pro careers, and that the rivalry didn't stop there, is what made it seem bigger in retrospect,'' said Greg Kelser, a forward on Michigan State who played in the NBA for six seasons. ''That's what magnifies the game.''
As is true in so many cases, it didn't live up to the hype.
Stifled by Michigan State's zone defense and a number of long-armed players, Bird shot 7-for-21 and Heaton went 4-for-14. The Spartans won 75-64 in a game that didn't seem that close, and while Johnson and Bird went on to change the NBA, most of the rest of those players soon ended up like Heaton, their playing days ending with graduation.
''I'm so grateful and humble that I just had a chance to be there,'' said Indiana State guard Steve Reed, who got his masters in hospital administration and has worked in that field since he graduated.
''These days, it blows my mind to think I was there,'' he said.
The memories that week weren't only on the basketball court. The Final Four was played in Salt Lake City, and as a special treat for the participants, the teams were given a special invitation to the Mormon Tabernacle.
Michigan State's Terry Donnelly recalls walking in with the other teams and hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir play the Indiana State fight song. After a brief break, the choir followed up with the Michigan fight song instead of Michigan State's.
''We might have been the only team to actually boo inside the tabernacle,'' Donnelly said.
While Johnson played a great game for Michigan State, going 8-for-15 and getting to the line 10 times for 24 points, it was Donnelly who was practically perfect. He went 5-for-5 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
The only miss? It came on the second of two free throws, when he looked to the bench and saw teammate Rick Kaye jokingly flashing him an obscene gesture.
''I started laughing. I missed the free throw because of that,'' Donnelly said.
It didn't matter. Michigan State had this game firmly in hand.
It always bothered Bird that he didn't play better, and he never really embraced his role in one of the most important college games ever. Not until this year, in fact, did Bird go back to Indiana State to have his jersey retired.
''I've always been heartbroken that I couldn't bring the championship back to Terre Haute,'' he told the crowd that day.
But really, that game was about more than who won and lost. NBC estimated 40 million people watched, the most for any college basketball game.
''I watch the game all the time on the VCR,'' Johnson once said. ''It's very interesting how people keep talking about it. I think about it much more now and appreciate it more. You're young and immature, you don't appreciate the magnitude of it.''
The players who were there on that history-making night from the big contributors to the role players to the guys who never got off the bench now recognize they were part of something special.
''I've had other people talk about what a springboard that game was,'' Heaton said. ''When I look back at what the Final Four was then, and what it is now, I think, 'Yeah, maybe there really was something special to that game.'''
Boston Globe.
Heaton was a forward for Indiana State one of those ''other guys'' when the Sycamores played in the famous championship game against Michigan State. He stood under the basket, seemingly in good position, waiting to take a charge from Johnson.
Instead, Johnson dunked over Heaton, knocked him to the ground and pointed at him for emphasis. It was a signature moment in a signature game that found its way onto the cover of Sports Illustrated and the walls of kids' bedrooms nationwide.
''I didn't realize exactly what had happened until I saw all the replays,'' Heaton said.
Twenty-five years later, as Georgia Tech and Connecticut prepared for their title game Monday night, many of the players involved in the Magic-Bird matchup concede they didn't realize they were part of history at the time.
In 1979, Bird and Johnson were already stars, and the game was hyped as a showdown between them, but cable TV hadn't yet saturated the country with college hoops. In fact, several Indiana State players said they never saw Johnson play until the Final Four that season.
''The idea that Larry and Ervin went on to have such great pro careers, and that the rivalry didn't stop there, is what made it seem bigger in retrospect,'' said Greg Kelser, a forward on Michigan State who played in the NBA for six seasons. ''That's what magnifies the game.''
As is true in so many cases, it didn't live up to the hype.
Stifled by Michigan State's zone defense and a number of long-armed players, Bird shot 7-for-21 and Heaton went 4-for-14. The Spartans won 75-64 in a game that didn't seem that close, and while Johnson and Bird went on to change the NBA, most of the rest of those players soon ended up like Heaton, their playing days ending with graduation.
''I'm so grateful and humble that I just had a chance to be there,'' said Indiana State guard Steve Reed, who got his masters in hospital administration and has worked in that field since he graduated.
''These days, it blows my mind to think I was there,'' he said.
The memories that week weren't only on the basketball court. The Final Four was played in Salt Lake City, and as a special treat for the participants, the teams were given a special invitation to the Mormon Tabernacle.
Michigan State's Terry Donnelly recalls walking in with the other teams and hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir play the Indiana State fight song. After a brief break, the choir followed up with the Michigan fight song instead of Michigan State's.
''We might have been the only team to actually boo inside the tabernacle,'' Donnelly said.
While Johnson played a great game for Michigan State, going 8-for-15 and getting to the line 10 times for 24 points, it was Donnelly who was practically perfect. He went 5-for-5 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
The only miss? It came on the second of two free throws, when he looked to the bench and saw teammate Rick Kaye jokingly flashing him an obscene gesture.
''I started laughing. I missed the free throw because of that,'' Donnelly said.
It didn't matter. Michigan State had this game firmly in hand.
It always bothered Bird that he didn't play better, and he never really embraced his role in one of the most important college games ever. Not until this year, in fact, did Bird go back to Indiana State to have his jersey retired.
''I've always been heartbroken that I couldn't bring the championship back to Terre Haute,'' he told the crowd that day.
But really, that game was about more than who won and lost. NBC estimated 40 million people watched, the most for any college basketball game.
''I watch the game all the time on the VCR,'' Johnson once said. ''It's very interesting how people keep talking about it. I think about it much more now and appreciate it more. You're young and immature, you don't appreciate the magnitude of it.''
The players who were there on that history-making night from the big contributors to the role players to the guys who never got off the bench now recognize they were part of something special.
''I've had other people talk about what a springboard that game was,'' Heaton said. ''When I look back at what the Final Four was then, and what it is now, I think, 'Yeah, maybe there really was something special to that game.'''
Boston Globe.
