- Title: Larry Legend Nostalgia Basketball
- Author: Cort Reynolds
- Publisher: Cort’s Court
- Form: 8½ x 11 Paperback
- Illustrated: Illustrations
- Number of Pages: 126
- ISBN: 0-9648665-5-2
- Price: $17.50 + $2.50 (Shipping) = $20.00
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REVIEW
Testimonial
Cort Reynolds's Larry Legend Nostalgia Basketball is a thorough and wide-ranging trivia game book that will appeal to both the casual fan and hardcore Bird admirer alike. Helpfully divided into categories of difficulty (from lay-ups to three-pointers), this in-depth look at Bird's career as player and coach not only poses questions about particular playoff series and individual games, it also delves into the enigmatic superstar's psyche and sense of humor. By offering 250 mini-categories, readers can choose either to play to their strengths or take their chances on more esoteric matters surrounding Larry Legend. Either way, those who play Larry Legend Nostalgia Basketball will come away from this comprehensive game book with a better appreciation for and understanding of one of the NBA's all-time greats.
Dr. Robert Scott, Professor of English,
Ohio Northern University
Insightful new game/book a must for Bird watchers and fans!
ADA, Ohio – Larry Bird’s 1992 retirement left a large void the NBA has never truly recovered from, but his fans now have a chance to re-live the legend’s career via a new trivia game book.
Larry Legend Nostalgia Basketball is not just a meticulously researched tribute and probe into the life and career of the all-time hoop great – it is also a fun, multi-layered simulated hoop game played through 1,000 far-ranging multiple choice questions sprung from the mind of a kindred Hoosier.
Author Cort Reynolds has penned five other trivia game books, but feels this is his best one yet. “First of all, Larry Bird is my favorite athlete ever and I feel a close kinship with him,” said the game’s creator, an accomplished player born in Bloomington, not far from Larry’s hometown in the hoops-crazed state.
That kinship, along with a serious, scout’s knowledge of basketball, players and a similar on-court game helped Reynolds gain unique insight to the Hoosier legend, which he tries to convey through his topics, questions and answers. The author’s love of fun competition, games and Bird’s versatile play then led to this unique book.
The questions, with correspondingly insightful and detailed answers on the back of each of the 120 pages, are separated into over 200 four-query mini categories such as Bird Buzzer Beaters, Larry vs. Magic, Terre Haute Couture, and Instant Classic: 1984 Finals.
Many other categories also closely trace Bird’s upbringing in poverty-stricken rural southern Indiana to his aborted stint at Indiana University and onto All-American status at Indiana State, then to his Hall of Fame career with the Celtics and beyond.
“One of the more challenging aspects of writing the book was to come up with good incorrect answers that don’t make it too easy or too incredibly hard,” said Reynolds.
A game board comprises the reverse side of the front and back covers, which are appropriately adorned by a replica of Bird’s front and back Celtic road jersey. The basketball court/game board also features several spots on it that denote exact places on the floor where Larry made some of his most memorable plays such as the steal in 1987 vs. Detroit in the final seconds of Game 5 vs. their fierce Eastern Finals, among his many other great moments.
Reynolds has at least 30 of Bird’s Boston games on tape and has watched and studied everything he can on the enigmatic hoops maven, from several biographies to articles to TV specials and other archives. He used all these and a prodigious memory as fodder for the over 1,000 questions, which are of varying difficulty just like different “shots” in a basketball game (see abbreviated version of rules after this article).
Bird’s repeated late-game heroics, from improbable buzzer beaters to great steals, are the stuff of NBA legend.
“But one of my most respected memories of Larry playing is that after he barely missed a hurried, off balance 24-footer at the buzzer of game 4 in the 1987 NBA Finals (which would have won the game and evened their series with LA 2-2), he was immediately surrounded by celebrating Lakers. He had just made a clutch three from the corner seconds before to give Boston a two-point lead and showed no emotion.
“Instead of crying foul, falling to the floor or throwing a tantrum after missing such a big shot that essentially ended their chance to win consecutive titles (with Boston legendarily banged-up with serious injuries), Larry just walked off the court and never broke stride or made an excuse.”
Bird’s legacy has only increased since his retirement after the 1992 Olympics.
“I think part of why Larry’s legend has grown is that he excelled in areas of the game that were in sharp decline after he retired, such as passing, shooting and unselfish play,” Reynolds offered.
“I have long felt Larry was the last great mythic player in basketball,” he continued. “He played just before the ESPN era started, so he was never on TV until the end of his senior year.
“What made Bird so great, in part, was that no matter how highly he achieved, people always said he wasn’t good enough to make it at the next level. And that really motivated him to practice harder and compete harder than anyone and never give up, through all sorts of adversity and injury.
“I think that constant lack of respect really hit him at his core, being someone who was pretty poor, very skinny, not prototypically handsome and from a very small town.”
The game questions also veer off slightly to Hoosier and Celtics hoop history, into his Boston teammates and biggest rivals. Many questions revolve around quotes by and from other great players and coaches about Larry.
“You could argue that the three greatest all-around players of the first (Wooden), second (Oscar Robertson) and third (Larry Bird) trimesters of the 20th century are from Indiana,” said Reynolds. “I am not sure any other state can legitimately make that claim, and it does not have a huge population base. You know, 17 of the 20 biggest high school gyms in the world are in Indiana, with the largest in New Castle being over 9,400 seats.
“So you can see how a very determined, proud guy from a hoops-crazy state, who suffered some unique problems, used them to motivate and will himself into a great player.”
The game/book should provide countless hours of fine memories and brainteasers for Bird watchers and aficionados.
“I liken Larry to a throwback in terms of his unselfishness, great fundamental skills and willful, no-nonsense, cerebral play – but also as a futuristic artist due to his flair for the dramatic and great improvisational skills when they were needed, especially in his passing and shot-making, his touch, feel and mind for the game.
“Like ex-Olympic coach/Celtic president Dave Gavitt said, no one played the game from the top of his head to the tip of his fingers like Larry. I like to think my book/game is a tribute to all of that, and more.”
LARRY LEGEND NOSTALGIA BASKETBALL
PARTIAL RULES OF PLAY Copyright Cort Reynolds 2008
There are many ways of playing Larry Legend Nostalgia Basketball, which contains over 1,000 probing, knowledgeable and intriguing questions on all aspects of Larry Bird’s career separated into over 200 mini-categories.
The most preferred method of play is to cut out the 50 play cards in the back (plus 10 overtime cards if needed in case of a tie), shuffle them and then place them upside down on the playing court, which is comprised of the detached inside cover. Then to start play you take the top card off the deck, with the younger player going first. They turn over the top card and do what it says as if playing a game of basketball…This continues on until the play card deck is exhausted. The player with the most points wins. Or you can use each play deck as a half, shuffle them again and start over. Questions are given in order throughout the book, with corresponding answers on the back of each page of questions. In case of a tie, shuffle and use the 10 special overtime play cards, with the older player getting first possession.
Sample questions with categories in bold
AMBIDEXTROUS BIRD
Dunk-True or false: Larry was once named the AP Left-handed Athlete of the Year in the late 1980s. A) True B) False
BIRD 7th GAMES
Free throw-Against what team did Larry Legend play his last game against in Game 7 of the 1992 Eastern Conference semifinals? A) Detroit B) Cleveland C) Chicago
NOTES & NUMBERS
Jumper-Whose retired jersey did Bird always stare at during the national anthem at the Boston Garden?*extra point-what number was it
A) Bill Russell B) John Havlicek C) Phil Esposito D) Bobby Orr
KNIGHT SCHOOL
3-pointer-What Hoosier hotshot spurned Bob Knight’s last scholarship offer to Indiana, which only then did he extend to Bird in 1974?*extra point-where did this player go to college instead
A) Roy Taylor B) Steve Collier C) Kyle Macy D) Walter Jordan E) Wayne Walls
Sample answers...
AMBIDEXTROUS BIRD
Dunk-A) True. Although he played right-handed, Larry does many normal everyday tasks left-handed and was a frequent ambidextrous passer and shooter.
BIRD 7th GAMES
Free throw-B) Larry Legend played his last game at Cleveland in Game 7 of the 1992 Eastern Conference semifinals, which the hot-shooting Cavaliers won 122-104.
NOTES & NUMBERS
Jumper-D) Bird always stared at the retired number 4 jersey of classy Boston Bruin hockey great Bobby Orr which hung in the rafters of the Boston Garden during the national anthem.
KNIGHT SCHOOL
3-pointer-B) Hoosier high school standout Steve Collier spurned Bob Knight’s last scholarship offer to Indiana in 1974, which the IU mentor then extended to Bird. Collier went to Cincinnati but didn’t achieve stardom. Macy, Walls and Jordan all went to Purdue. Indiana native Macy, who wanted to go to IU but was not recruited by Knight, ended up transferring to Kentucky and leading the Wildcats to the 1978 NCAA title. Knight later said it was a big mistake not to recruit Macy, and chose him to play for his USA team in the Pan Am Games at Puerto Rico in 1979.
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