Sharp or Square - Legend of Larry Bird: From Indiana State to NBA Glory with Keith O'Brien
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
4.1 • 10.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 March 2026
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Larry Bird has one of the most unlikely paths to superstardom in the history of the National Basketball Association. On today's episode, New York Times best-selling author Keith O'Brien explains just how preposterous Bird's rise was. From southern Indiana nobody to legendary basketball icon, O'Brien lays it all out in his freshly-released book HEARTLAND: A FORGOTTEN PLACE, AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM, AND THE MIRACLE OF LARRY BIRD.
Fellow best-selling author Chad Millman and professional gambler Simon Hunter ask O'Brien about the adventures he took to write his latest book, building trust with Larry Bird's inner circle as he familiarized himself with the tiny community of French Lick, Indiana firsthand. We also hear about Bird's wild journey from blue blood Indiana University to also-ran Indiana State, and the serendipitous events that led to his fabled 1979 NCAA Finals matchup against Magic Johnson and eventual NBA arrival with the Boston Celtics. #Volume
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:05.0 | Welcome to Sharper Square presented by Hardrods Bat. |
| 0:09.2 | We are part of the Volume podcast network. |
| 0:12.2 | This is the show that makes the squares sharper and makes the wise guys pay attention all year long. |
| 0:20.1 | I am Shad Milman. |
| 0:20.8 | I am joined, as always, by my BFF, my companion, my compadre, my co-host, professional |
| 0:27.5 | better, Simon Hunter. |
| 0:30.0 | Hello, Simon. |
| 0:32.3 | Chad, it's always fun hearing from just new fans in general, but especially ones out who |
| 0:36.9 | just joined this year. |
| 0:38.5 | They really haven't heard our after football type of shows. |
| 0:41.7 | Oh, yeah? |
| 0:43.4 | The feedback is always hilarious from different people. |
| 0:45.8 | Obviously, you know, some people love us, some people hate us. |
| 0:49.0 | The biggest one is this Chad for the whole off season. |
| 0:52.5 | And I said to people, I don't know if Chad is always going to have such great stories like that, right? Like that was, you had to build up of really good stories. You had to get them all out on one show. But yeah, I said Chad, Chad's going to talk about Chad and tell some stories of the office. I mean, that's what we're doing here, people. But, yeah, I thought that was very funny from hearing from a lot of people where they're like, yeah, during the season, I get it. |
| 1:16.4 | It's like you guys are just doing quick stories and stuff. |
| 1:18.9 | But Chad was really, really on one last show. |
| 1:21.7 | And I was like, yeah, that's, that's all season, Chad. |
| 1:24.0 | That is so funny. |
| 1:25.0 | I can't tell, is this Chad for the whole off season? Is that, |
... |
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