Larry Bird
Larry Legend was just 6’1″ as a freshman, but shot up to 6’8″ by his senior year, when he averaged 31 points, 21 rebounds, and four assists for Springs Valley High School in Indiana. Still, he had to be convinced by a pair of Indiana State University assistant coaches to pursue college basketball. “I thought I might do construction work. It’s hard work. It’s tough work. But I like that. I always figured if things didn’t work out, I’d go into construction,” Bird said in 2015. “Thank God that didn’t happen.”