1979 Pizza Hut All-Star Basketball Classic

Pizza Hut Basketball All-Star Classic

West All-Stars East All-Stars 92 107
Date	March 31, 1979
Venue	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas
MVP	Larry Bird
Network	CBS

The 1979 Pizza Hut Basketball All-Star Classic (also known as College East-West All-American Game^{[ citation needed ]}) was the 8th All-Star Game sponsored by Pizza Hut and sanctioned by the NCAA and NAIA. It was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas on March 31, 1979. The West All-Stars were defeated by the East All-Stars 92–107.

The Pizza Hut Basketball All-Star Classic started as a postseason event in 1972. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The 1979 edition was the only college All-Star Game that future Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Nick Galis played in. It was televised by CBS.

Larry Bird was named the MVP.

Voting

Arkansas player Sidney Moncrief was selected for the West All Stars.

Th ballots for the players' selection were available at all Pizza Hut restaurants of the country and the participating colleges. USA's top 100 senior College basketball players were eligible for election.

Eight players of each team (East and West) were elected by popular vote, while the remaining two were selected by a national coaching media panel. Larry Bird received 2 million votes nationwide. It was more than double than other college player received in the previous seven editions of the All-Star Classic. ^[4]

Magic Johnson was a Sophomore at the time and he was not eligible for election despite being voted in the first team 1979 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.

The 1979 All-Star Game

The game was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, like in all the previous editions. It started at 4 pm. ^[5]

Pizza Hut sponsored the college all-star classic annually each spring.

The Game

Larry Bird of the East All-Stars was the MVP of the game.

The East wore red jerseys and the West wore blue. The East All-Stars won the game by 107–92. ^[6]

Larry Bird ^[7] was the MVP having 5 assists and scoring 17 points, the highest scorer for the East. He was teammates with future Boston Celtics teammate Terry Duerod. Earl Evans was the game's topscorer with 21. Other scorers were: Terry Duerod 12, Dudley Bradley 12, Reggie King 12, Gary Garland 12. For the West Calvin Natt scored 14 and Larry Demic had 15. ^[8]

The 1979 College All-Star Basketball Classic was played for charity purposes and all the revenue went to the Pizza Hut Charities Foundation.

All-Star teams

Rosters

West All-Stars Pos. Number Player College team Previous appearances Team F #40 Earl Evans UNLV Runnin' Rebels C #52 Ollie Matson Pepperdine Waves G #20 Vinnie Johnson Baylor Bears G #12 Sidney Moncrief Arkansas Razorbacks C #52 Calvin Natt Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks F # Larry Demic Arizona Wildcats G #34 Lawrence Butler Idaho State Bengals Head coach: Abe Lemons (Texas)

East All-Stars Pos. Number Player College team Previous appearances Team F #45 Larry Bird Indiana State Sycamores G # Gary Garland DePaul Blue Demons F #41 Wiley Peck Mississippi State Bulldogs F #51 Jeff Tropf [9] Central Michigan Chippewas F #53 Reggie King Alabama Crimson Tide F #21 Terry Duerod Detroit Mercy Titans G # Dudley Bradley North Carolina Tar Heels G #15 Nick Galis Seton Hall Pirates F #55 Bruce Flowers Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head coach: Bill Foster (Duke)

Result

Team 1	Score	Team 2
West All-Stars	92–107	East All-Stars

Awards

MVP	Topscorer
Larry Bird	Earl Evans

Aftermath

Players like Larry Bird and Vinnie Johnson moved to the NBA after the 1978–89 season, while Nick Galis signed up for a Greek club and also enjoyed a lengthy and fruitful career with the national team of Greece. On May 5, 1979, Pizza Hut organised another All-Star Classic between Minnesota and Indiana All-Stars.

See also

• 1979 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
• 1973 Pizza Hut All-Star Basketball Classic
• 1982 Pizza Hut All-Star Basketball Classic

References

1. "Pizza Hut Basketball Classic". nytimes.com. April 5, 1972.
2. "PIZZA HUT BASKETBALL CLASSIC". thecrimson.com. January 1, 1973.
3. "1973 PIZZA HUT CLASSIC BASKETBALL PROGRAM". archive.org. February 17, 1985.
4. "Why Larry Bird played college all-star game injured: He promised the guys at Pizza Hut". indystar.com. March 1, 2022.
5. "1979 Pizza Hut All-Star Basketball Classic by CBS". books.google.com. The Free Lance-Star. March 31, 1979.
6. "Galis and Larry Bird (Pizza Hut All American Game 1979)". Youtube. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
7. Classic Larry Bird Games – greatgames77.com
8. "Bird guides East". books.google.com. St. Joseph News-Press. April 1, 1979.
9. Jeff Tropf – basketball-reference.com

Sources

• Stu’s Notes: Bring Back the Pizza Hut Classic