Talk:1978 NBA draft

A fact from 1978 NBA draft appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 7 October 2010 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that Larry Bird's hometown team, the Indiana Pacers, did not draft him in the 1978 NBA Draft because they could not convince him to leave college early?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2010/October.

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Untitled

Can anybody tell me why the Pacers didn't take Larry Bird? Jsg4242 (talk) 19:55, 30 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Pacers as well

I too would like to know why Bird was not drafted by the Pacers. He was from Indiana for goodness sakes! Also, how could he not have gone 1st overall? I thought the highest rated college game was when Bird faced Magic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dhyancraig (talk • contribs) 15:48, 3 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Red Auerbach selected Larry Bird while he was a junior at Indiana State. Bird enrolled first at Indiana University but quit before basketball season started. He enrolled at Indiana State the next year. So, after his third year at ISU, he had been out of high school for 4 years, making him eligible for the draft at that time. Auerbach took a risk because Bird could play his senior year at ISU, decline to sign with the Celtics, and go back into the draft. Bird had a terrific senior season, culminating in the Bird-Magic/Indiana State/Michigan State NCAA championship game. Had Bird gone back into the draft, Auerbach and the Celtics would have gotten nothing for the 6th pick wasted on Bird. But he opted to sign rather than to wait and see if he went with the #1 pick over Magic Johnson, or the #2. Auerbach outplayed the Pacers and everyone else in the '78 draft. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kilaclogher (talk • contribs) 05:58, 6 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The relevant information about why the Pacers didn't draft Bird and why Bird is eligible for the draft have been added to the article. — Martin tamb (talk) 07:36, 1 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Over-intro'ed

The introduction of this article contains nearly all of the article's text, a fair amount of which is devoted to the years-later career of Larry Bird. Anything more than a passing mention of that really doesn't belong in an article about the draft. The intro should be short and sweet, with further discussion in another section. I don't have the expertise for a major-re-write. --Piledhigheranddeeper (talk) 20:10, 7 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the comments. I've shortened the information about the draftees' coaching career. I will try to further reduce the unnecessary info in the intro when I have the time.