Len Bias

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Len Bias bigraphy, stories - American basketball player

Len Bias : biography

November 18, 1963 – June 19, 1986

Leonard Kevin "Len" Bias (November 18, 1963 – June 19, 1986) was a first team All-American college basketball forward at the University of Maryland. He was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft on June 17, but died two days later from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose. He is considered by some sportswriters to be one of the greatest players not to play at the professional level.

College career

From Landover, Maryland, Bias graduated from Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, and subsequently attended the University of Maryland.

As a freshman, he was viewed as "raw and undisciplined", but developed himself over time into an All-American player. In his junior year, he led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring and was named the ACC’s Player of the Year. His senior season was highlighted by his performance in an overtime victory against top-ranked North Carolina in which he scored 35 points, including 7 in the last 3 minutes of regulation and 4 in overtime. At the end of the year, Bias collected his second ACC Player of the Year award and was named to two All-America teams. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-11-20/news/bal-len-bias-rick-maese-20-years_1_senior-season-basketball-hoops-len-bias

Bias impressed basketball fans with his amazing leaping ability, his physical stature and his ability to create plays, and was considered one of the most dynamic players in the nation. By his senior year, scouts from various National Basketball Association teams viewed Bias as the most complete forward in the Class of 1986. According to Celtics scout Ed Badger, "He’s maybe the closest thing to (Chicago guard) Michael Jordan to come out in a long time. I’m not saying he’s as good as Michael Jordan, but he’s an explosive and exciting kind of player like that." June 18, 1986 Jordan was then in his second professional season with the Chicago Bulls.

Aftermath

Trial

On July 25, 1986, a grand jury returned indictments against Bias’s friend Brian Tribble for possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and Bias’s Maryland teammates Terry Long and David Gregg (both for possession of cocaine and obstruction of justice). Long and Gregg were both suspended from the team on July 31. All three defendants entered not guilty pleas in August.

On October 20, 1986, prosecutors dropped all charges against Long and Gregg in exchange for their testimony against Tribble. On October 30, the grand jury added three more indictments against Tribble—one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Also on October 30, Kenneth Mark Fobbs, Tribble’s roommate, was charged with perjury for allegedly lying to the grand jury about the last time he saw Tribble. The state ultimately dropped the perjury charges against Fobbs on March 24, 1987, and a jury acquitted Tribble of all charges related to the Bias case on June 3, 1987.

In October 1990 following a two-year undercover sting operation, Tribble pleaded guilty to being a major drug dealer. He cooperated with the government and so was not sentenced until October 15, 1993. He was sentenced to ten years and one month of confinement.

In 1988, the U.S. Congress passed a stricter Anti-Drug Act that is known as "The Len Bias Law." It was backed by both parties and reinforced the previous drug law with stiffer penalties and expanded the DARE program.

University of Maryland

The circumstances surrounding Bias’s death threw the University of Maryland and its athletics program into turmoil. An investigation revealed that Bias was 21 credits short of the graduation requirement despite having used all his athletic eligibility. On August 26, 1986, State’s Attorney Arthur A. Marshall Jr. stated that in the hours after Bias’s death, Maryland head basketball coach Lefty Driesell told players to remove drugs from Bias’s dorm room. Two days later, Bias’s father, James, accused the University of Maryland, and Driesell specifically, of neglecting the academic status of its athletes. The National Collegiate Athletic Association subsequently began its investigation into the affair that fall.