Senior Struggles? Len Bias put up big numbers early in his senior season, but the team struggled. Listen to the story. As Bias began his senior season, Maryland returned three starters from its NCAA Sweet 16 team and was ranked No. 19 in the country. But, ominously, Bias sprained an ankle in a pickup game in late October and missed a few days of practice. In a season-opening win against Northeastern, Bias fouled out, but came back emphatically the next game with a career-best

Faith-Based Bias Len Bias showed a commitment to his spiritual faith while in college Listen to the story. Lefty Driesell, a devout Christian, was impressed that Len Bias became a born-again Christian at Maryland and resumed attending church services. The coach remembers the time he saw Bias sitting alone in Cole Field House reading a Bible. Sue Tyler, a former coach and associate athletic director at Maryland, recalled seeing Bias reading a Bible while leaning against a wall

Len Meets Tina In the fall of 1985, Len Bias met the mother of his son. Listen to the story Tina Maynard first saw Len Bias play basketball in 1982 when she was in the eighth grade. Bias was playing in the Maryland state high school basketball championship game. Maynard attended the game to watch a friend play on the opposing team. Maynard met Bias a few years later when Rena Watson, a friend since childhood, began attending the University of Maryland. Early in September 1985

Bias's Mystery Friend As He Became a Star, Len Bias Started to Spend More Time with Brian Tribble. Listen to the story Len Bias started spending more time with Brian Tribble during his junior and senior years at Maryland. Bias got to know Tribble during pickup basketball games on the Maryland campus. Their friendship grew quickly and perplexed some of those who knew Bias well. Tribble used cocaine with Bias the night Bias suffered a seizure and later died. He was the only per

Stay One More Year? One person had a strong influence in Len Bias' Decision to Stay at Maryland for His Senior Year Listen to the story Bias enjoyed a trio of post-season accolades in 1985: He was voted ACC Player of the Year, all-ACC and a third-team All-America, offering sweet redemption for not being named all-ACC the previous season and creating a swirl of speculation that he might enter the NBA draft the following summer. But on May 2, Bias settled the uneasy nerves of M

Bias Shuts Down Robinson The two All-Americans played a classic NCAA Tournament game Listen to the story In the 1985 NCAA tournament, Len Bias was Maryland’s leading scorer with 25 points in a one-point, first-round overtime win over Miami of Ohio. In the second round, against the Naval Academy, Bias led Maryland with 20 points in the 64-59 win. Perhaps more importantly, Bias showed how much his defense had improved since his freshman year when coach Lefty Driesell in the sec

Attitude Adjustment A more dedicated approach to his development helped Len Bias become a dominant player. Listen to the story Maryland’s center Ben Coleman was a senior on the Terps' 1984 ACC tournament championship team. He told the Washington Post midway through the 1984 season that one reason Bias improved as a player was because he’d become a better listener. “You couldn’t talk to Lenny his freshman year,” Coleman said. “Criticism or advice would go in one ear and out th

A RISING JUNIOR Len Bias Became a Dominant Force During his Junior Season Listen to the story During a three-game stretch in early January of his junior year that included four ACC games against teams ranked among the top 20 in the country – including No. 2 Duke and No. 5 North Carolina – Bias started to show why he would be named the top player in the ACC that season. He led Maryland in scoring in a two-point win over 17th-ranked N.C. State (17 points), a one-point loss to N

An MVP Season Len Bias helped Maryland achieve one of its best seasons ever in 1984 Listen to the story Len Bias cuts down the net after winning the 1984 ACC tournament. Maryland ended Bias' sophomore season at 24-8, finishing second in the ACC regular season standings with a 9-5 conference record. Despite his impressive numbers – he finished the year second on the team in points (15.2) per game and third in rebounds (4.5) per game – Bias was not selected for the all-ACC team

A Sophomore Surge Len Bias showed a strong sense of purpose during his sophomore year Listen to the story After his freshman year, Len Bias realized he needed to work on his main weakness – dribbling the basketball – if he wanted to be a dominant force in the NBA, so he asked incoming freshman guard Keith Gatlin for help. Gatlin and Bias worked together all that summer, playing one-on-one games in Cole Field House. Bias wore special dribble glasses that didn’t allow him to lo

A Commitment to Strength The summer after his sophomore season, Len Bias started working out in the weight room with Maryland’s football players. Listen to the story In the weight room, Len Bias spent a lot of time following the lead of Maryland tight end Ferrell Edmunds, a rising sophomore who later played seven seasons in the NFL and made two Pro Bowl teams. Edmunds remembers that college basketball players back then mostly avoided strength training, instead opting for extr

Freshman Frustrations Len Bias's first year at Maryland showed bits of brilliance, but he still considered transferring Listen to the story Bias showed flashes of brilliance during his freshman season at Maryland. In one highlight, he hit a 17-foot jump shot with two seconds remaining that helped unranked Maryland upset 15th-ranked Tennessee-Chattanooga by one point in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Bias ended up starting 13 games for Maryland and averaging 7.1 point

Capital Classic MVP Bias helped the Capital All-Stars beat a team of U.S. All-Stars in the top high school all-star game in the country Listen to the story In 1982, Len Bias joined Johnny Dawkins, later a star at Duke University, on a Washington, D.C. area all-star team that beat a team of U.S. All-Stars in the Capital Classic. The game was then the premier high school all-star event in the country. Dawkins had 19 points, and Bias 18 against a team that featured future NBA

Bias Picks the Terps But for a time, some thought he would attend N.C. State Listen to the story If any school stood a good chance of stealing Len Bias away from the University of Maryland it was ACC rival N.C.State. At the time, the Wolfpack featured Dereck Whittenburg and Sidney Lowe, teammates at DeMatha High School who were Bias’s good friends, as well as local basketball rivals. “By the end of [my] visit, I knew I wanted to go to State,” Bias said in a Washington Post s

Senior Struggles, Then Almost a Title Benched early as a senior, Bias later led Northwestern to the state tournament final Listen to the story At Northwestern, much was expected of Len Bias and the team during his senior season. But the Wildcats started off slowly, winning just one of their first five games. This was due in part to Wagner benching Bias for two weeks. First, Bias had approached him in tears, wilting under the pressure of choosing a college. Then, Wagner heard

Early Affinity for Maryland Len Bias was a big fan of Maryland as a Teenager Listen to the story Throughout high school, teammates Len Bias and Brian Waller would often walk about one mile from Northwestern High School to College Park and cruise the Maryland campus, dreaming about the days they would showcase their basketball skills at Cole Field House. Maryland coaches left home game tickets for Waller and Bias. The two relished the experience, sitting near courtside behind

Shining at Five Star Len Bias Stood Out at the Five Star Basketball Camp and Met His Future Rival Listen to the story During the summer after his sophomore year in 1980, Len Bias for the first time attended the Five Star Basketball Camp. There, the top high-school basketball players in the nation gathered annually to learn from NBA or college players as well as such luminary coaches as Bobby Knight, Chuck Daly and Hubie Brown. The best players received free tuition at the cam

Warrior Mentality Len Bias's high school coach Bob Wagner helped develop Len into a warrior Listen to the story To Bob Wagner, Len Bias' high school coach, Bias epitomized the warrior mentality he tried to instill in his troops. He was a battler, and he learned, as true warriors do, how to gain the upper hand without hurting his team. Len Bias's high school coach Bob Wagner Wagner remembers the time Bias was taking a beating in the first half of a game in Boston against a Cat

Showing Potential Len Bias developed into the intimidator on his youth basketball team. Listen to the story It took a while for Len Bias to grow into his body and develop his superior talents. “When he was young kids used to laugh at him when he played basketball,” said Lee Madkins, the director of the center during Bias’s youth, in a Washington Post report published soon after Len Bias died. “They never picked him on a team. Then he ended up with everyone wanting him on thei

Finding a Mentor Listen to the story While in the ninth grade, Len Bias meets Johnnie Walker, who convinced Len to start playing basketball with other boys at “The Rec”, where Walker was a coach. Walker played two years of varsity basketball at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, graduating in 1978. While putting off college for a year, he volunteered as a coach at "The Rec", monitoring basketball activities for neighborhood kids and preparing his players for