Another Bird Tries to Take Flight in NBA

SALT LAKE CITY —  He reminds a lot of folks of Larry Bird, what with that Indiana twang and the familiar court moves. But Eddie Bird isn’t fooled by the comparisons.

Ten years younger than his famous brother and gunning for the NBA in his own right, Eddie has dodged Larry’s shadow most of his life but knows he probably can’t outrun it.

“It used to bother me, but not anymore,” he explains in a friendly drawl to yet another questioner. “It’s probably better to be his brother than not. It’s opened a lot of doors for me.”

It’s also created some pressure for a young man who respects Larry Bird as both a kid brother and a basketball player eager for the same stardom.

The shadow has dogged him from Springs Valley High School to Indiana State, and again this week at rookie-free agent camp, where the 24-year-old forward has been trying out with the Sacramento Kings.

Larry will earn more than $7 million on the Boston Celtics next season, but to hear Eddie talk, the $120 he won in a shooting drill at camp may be the only money he ever earns in the NBA. More likely prospects, he believes, are a European team or the Continental Basketball Association.

“I don’t think I’m good enough. I’m not ready for the NBA. I need to be stronger and quicker,” he said.

Friends have heard that tune before.

“It seems that he really underestimates his talent. Everybody tells him that -- his coaches, everybody,” said Jill Leone, executive vice president of Bob Woolf & Associates, agents for Larry and Eddie.

“I know that Larry does not heap praise on him when he’s around because he wants Eddie to learn for himself. But when he’s not around he’ll say that Eddie is very good, and he’s very supportive of him.”

Larry has stepped in when needed to offer guidance, help out financially or kick Eddie’s tail when the work ethic starts lapsing. But he’s also careful to let Eddie be Eddie.

“He don’t give advice really. He just lets me do what I think is best. He wants me to make it on my own first,” Eddie said.

But it was Larry who suggested that Eddie seek a slot on the Sacramento roster during the Rocky Mountain Revue here. The 11-day camp has drawn rookies and draft picks from Utah, Sacramento, Golden State, Denver, Phoenix, Portland and Seattle.

Leading up to a camp tournament playoff Wednesday, Bird had played 62 minutes and scored 22 points in five of Sacramento’s six games. He shot 10-for-24 from the field, with seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and three blocked shots.

In one game against the Trail Blazers, he played 12 minutes, scoring three points. Carl Thomas, Reid Newey and Pete Chilcutt led the Kings’ charge, but it was Eddie Bird the young fans besieged for autographs afterward.

Many eyes have scrutinized No. 42 throughout the week, and there has been a bit of joshing from other players about “Bird II.”

“It’s just weird because his brother’s so famous and he talks just like him,” said Beau Reid, a Nebraska product also hoping to join Sacramento.

It started in French Lick, Ind., when 16-year-old Larry taught 6-year-old Eddie a hook shot to amuse his friends. By second grade, Eddie was telling teachers he would break Larry’s high school scoring record and be a better ballplayer.

“I was better than him in high school,” chortles Eddie, who still holds the scoring record at Springs Valley High.

The one man who coached them both never saw such talent again.

“There’s a lot of natural ability there, not only in basketball but in baseball and other sports, too. All the Bird boys were just very competitive,” said Gary Holland, who began coaching at Springs Valley when he was not much older than Larry and stayed 19 years.

“Larry had a little bit harder time than Eddie did, but Eddie had to play behind Larry’s name,” Holland said.

When Larry turned pro, the media began paying attention to little brother. “And I think a lot of times he thought ‘Are they here for me or are they here for Larry?”’

The worst of it came during college when Eddie followed Larry to Indiana State, 10 years after Larry led the Sycamores to the NCAA championship game in 1979.

“Everybody thought I was going to come in and be a savior, that I would score 100 points a game. They thought I was going to be just like Larry, but it’s not that way,” he said.

The 6-foot-6 Eddie led ISU in scoring all four years and ended up the fifth all-time scorer at Indiana State with an average of 14 points a game. Larry had attended State for three years after transferring from Indiana. His average: 30.3 points.

Eddie had his best and worst games playing under his brother’s gaze. A road game against Boston University his freshman year was his first collegiate outing with Larry in attendance. Eddie went 0-for-11 from the field.

“He just came up afterwards and said, ‘That’s the way it goes sometimes,”’ Eddie recalls.

At home against Boston U. the following year, Eddie scored a career-high 39 points. “I was really fired up because I’d played so bad the year before.”

Sycamore assistant coach Phil Hopkins says drive was and is the main difference between the brothers.

“The desire to work in the off-season with weights and conditioning and off-season workouts -- that’s the thing Larry has, and I don’t think anybody else -- Michael Jordan or anybody -- has that more than Larry does. There’s not another Larry Bird,” Hopkins said.

Opinions are mixed on Eddie’s NBA future. Past coaches say he has strong passing and driving ability, and he has a complete knowledge of the game.

“I always thought he did have what it takes,” Holland said. “I think if he worked at it, he could do it.”

But Eddie admitted his main reason for coming to Utah was to be seen by overseas scouts and coaches.

“I probably think Eddie would need a year or two in Europe against that kind of competition, and then I think he could be ready for the NBA,” said Hopkins, who has promised Eddie an assistant’s job if he ever obtains a head coaching position.

“I don’t know Larry personally, but Eddie’s as fine a young man as you could have. If Larry’s as good as Eddie off the floor, then Larry’s a good guy,” Hopkins said.

Agent Bob Woolf believes Eddie could earn a six-figure salary in Europe.

“We’ll see. Eddie Bird has the talent. If he will give it the same dedication as his brother, he would go all the way. Larry says in many ways Eddie can do many things better than Larry could at that age. Larry loves his brother and it’s charming because sometimes he’ll show up at games and Eddie won’t know he’s there,” Woolf said.

Georgia Bird encourages both sons equally, but she cut Larry off cold once on the telephone when a game of Eddie’s came on TV.

“Larry said it felt funny for her to hang up on him to go and watch Eddie,” Leone said.

Much as he yearns for the big leagues, Eddie insists his most pressing goal is finishing the last credit needed to get his recreation management degree from Indiana State.

He felt he was victimized by the NCAA rule forcing scholarship athletes to sit out a year if they don’t pass the SAT test or maintain a C-plus average. Eddie didn’t have to wait because Larry paid the first year’s tuition, but the thought still rankles.

“When I get that degree, I want to shove it in the NCAA’s face to show them and the other people who didn’t believe in me that I could get a degree,” he said.

Bird said he likes working with kids, but if the price is right he will go to Europe.

“It sounds like all I really want is money, but I like the game. It’s the best thing in life that I do,” he said.