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Larry Bird to get a statue outside Indiana State’s Hulman Center

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The most famous basketball player in the history of Indiana will be getting a statue placed outside the basketball arena at his alma mater, Indiana State.

Larry Bird, who led the Sycamores to the 1979 national title games where he was outdueled by Michigan State’s Magic Johnson, will be back in Terre Haute on November 9th for a dedication ceremony to unveil a statue of his likeness outside the Hulman Center, per the Tribune-Star.

“He was arguably one of the most important figures to attend ISU, both from a publicity perspective and from an athletic perspective,” ISU athletic director Ron Prettyman told Terre Haute’s Tribune-Star. “To honor him is something probably long overdue.”

The statue of Bird will be 15 feet tall, and the school will also launch a scholarship in his name.

By now, you surely know the story of Larry Legend. He grew up in French Lick, IN, before heading off to Indiana. But Bird ended up leaving the Hoosier program due to differences with Bobby Knight, enrolling at ISU where he eventually led the team to a 33-1 record in ’78-'79 while being named college basketball’s player of the year.

The 1979 title game kick-started one of the great rivalries in the history of sport, as it was the first time that Bird and Magic locked horns. The two hall of famers would go on to dominate the NBA during the ‘80s. Part of the reason that ISU is building this statue is to allow Bird to have the upper-hand. From the AP:

The idea of honoring Bird with a statue was spurred by dozens of ISU students who started the Larry Legend Foundation in 2005. The students wanted to pay tribute to Bird by having a statue taller than the statue of Johnson on the Michigan State campus.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.