40 for 34 - #10 - May 25

Freshman Frustrations

Len Bias's first year at Maryland showed bits of brilliance,

but he still considered transferring

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 points per game, the best of any Terrapins freshman.

But Bias was far from content with his first year at Maryland. Mentor Johnnie Walker says that after a loss to UCLA in late December, Bias asked him to contact N.C. State coach Jim Valvano about transferring to the school. Bias was unhappy after Driesell subbed him out of the game after he took a shot, and felt that Driesell wanted him to focus more on defense than offense.

Also, Driesell was working to persuade Bias to change his shot by releasing the ball at the height of his jump, to take advantage of his superior leaping ability, and Bias admitted that it took him a while to adjust. It wasn’t until late in his junior year, he told the Washington Post that March, that he finally felt comfortable with his new technique: “Now when I go up to shoot, I don’t expect anybody to block me.”

Walker says Driesell called him shortly after the UCLA game to discuss Bias’s concerns. Walker says he talked bluntly with Driesell, saying Bias didn’t like the fact that he had to focus so much on defense and was clearly unhappy with what he felt were Driesell’s attempts to break him down and control him. He said Bias felt that he wasn’t supposed to take shots. Before the end of the season, Driesell met with Bias and worked out the problems. “After that, Leonard said everything was OK,” says Driesell.

Excerpted from the book,

Born Ready: the Mixed Legacy of Len Bias

Buy autographed copies

as a Father's Day Gift

The audio for this post was narrated by the author,

Dave Ungrady.

And listen to more about Len's early life in Episode 2 of the narrative podcast series, Len Bias: A Mixed Legacy