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Norm Van Lier

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Norm Van Lier
Van Lier with the Chicago Bulls in 1971
Personal information
Born(1947-04-01)April 1, 1947
East Liverpool, Ohio, U.S.
DiedFebruary 26, 2009(2009-02-26) (aged 61)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight173 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High schoolMidland (Midland, Pennsylvania)
CollegeSaint Francis (PA) (1966–1969)
NBA draft1969: 3rd round, 34th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career1969–1979
PositionPoint guard
Number23, 2, 4
Coaching career1989–1990
Career history
As player:
1969–1971Cincinnati Royals
1971–1978Chicago Bulls
1978–1979Milwaukee Bucks
As coach:
1989Worcester Counts (assistant)
1989–1990Worcester Tech HS
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points8,770 (11.8 ppg)
Rebounds3,596 (4.8 rpg)
Assists5,217 (7.0 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Norman Allen Van Lier III (April 1, 1947 – February 26, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Bulls.

Early life

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Norman Van Lier was born in East Liverpool, Ohio to Helen and Norm Sr., who worked in a steel mill for 31 years. He was raised, along with three brothers and a sister, in Midland, Pennsylvania. Van Lier had three other brothers who died after birth; he named one of them Elgin Baylor Van Lier I. Van Lier would look back fondly to his childhood playing tackle football with a taped coffee can for a ball due to their circumstances. He would later credit this upbringing in forming his famed work ethic later in life.[1]

High school career

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Van Lier was a member of the 1965 Midland High School Leopards, considered by many to be one of the greatest high school basketball teams of all time, finishing 28-0 and easily winning the Pennsylvania State Championship.[2] One of Van Lier's teammates was future NBA player Simmie Hill.[3] During weekends, Van Lier would hitchhike to the playgrounds in Harlem, once even playing with Billy Cunningham.[1]

Van Lier was also a co-captain of his football team, where he played both quarterback and safety. He was recruited to play for several colleges, but none allowed him to play his desired position of quarterback. Van Lier had received offers to play professional baseball as well, after starring on his high school and county all-star teams.[citation needed]

College career

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Van Lier's modest 6'1" stature and his emphasis on defense kept him under the radar of stardom, and he was not recruited by major basketball powers. He attended Saint Francis University of Pennsylvania, where he eventually emerged as a standout point guard. He graduated from Saint Francis University in 1969.[4]

Professional career

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Cincinnati Royals (1969–1971)

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The Chicago Bulls selected Van Lier in the third round of the 1969 NBA draft, but immediately traded him to the Cincinnati Royals, with whom he led the NBA in assists in 1971. On January 5 of that year, Van Lier became the first player in NBA history to have a scoreless double-double with zero points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a victory against the Los Angeles Lakers. A scoreless double-double did not happen for another 50 years, when on December 26, 2021, rookie Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder compiled 10 assists and 10 rebounds in the Thunder's 117–112 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.[5]

Chicago Bulls (1971–1978)

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The Bulls reacquired Van Lier during the 1971–72 season, and he remained with the Bulls until 1978, appearing in three All-Star games (1974, 1976, 1977) over the course of six seasons.

Nicknamed "Stormin' Norman" for his tenacity and aggression, Van Lier was one of the most popular Bulls players of the 1970s.[citation needed] During his ten-year career, Van Lier was named to three NBA All-Defense First Teams and five NBA All-Defense Second Teams. He has the most selections to not be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1974. Van Lier was waived by the Bulls in October 1978.[6]

On January 19, 1977, Van Lier broke the record for the longest successful field goal in NBA history at 84 feet; the record stood for 24 years until Baron Davis eclipsed it on November 17, 2001, from a distance of 89 feet.

Milwaukee Bucks (1978–1979)

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After playing briefly with the Milwaukee Bucks, Van Lier retired in 1979 with career totals of 8,770 points and 5,217 assists.

Coaching career

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In 1989, Van Lier was the assistant coach of the Worcester Counts in the World Basketball League.

Van Lier was the head basketball coach for the Worcester Vocational Technical High School team during part of the 1989–90 season. His team reached the Massachusetts Division II championship game.[7]

Media career

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Van Lier served as a color analyst on Bulls radio broadcasts from 1980 to 1982. In 1989 he was the assistant coach of the Worcester Counts in the World Basketball League. From 1992 to 2009, he was a television pre-game and post-game analyst for Chicago Bulls games. He frequently appeared on other Chicago television programs to discuss the Bulls, and at one point co-hosted a sports talk radio show.[8]

Van Lier also served as a special disc jockey on the Chicago rock music station 97.9 WLUP.[9] In 2002 and 2004, he had supporting roles in the movies Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business.[10]

Legacy

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On June 21, 2008, Van Lier was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame. "Western Pennsylvania is football country, but my years are considered the golden era of basketball not only in the state but maybe the country," Van Lier said that night. "Uniontown, Midland, Schenley and Ambridge could play with anybody, anytime and in any era in the country."[8]

Death

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On February 25, 2009, Van Lier was unexpectedly absent from his scheduled television appearance on Comcast SportsNet following a Bulls game. He was found dead in his apartment in Chicago's Near West Side neighborhood on February 26, 2009.[11] Fellow Bulls broadcaster and former Bulls head coach Johnny "Red" Kerr also died later that day.[12]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1969–70 Cincinnati 81 — 35.7 .403 — .741 5.0 6.2 — — 9.5
1970–71 Cincinnati 82* — 40.5 .420 — .816 7.1 10.1* — — 16.0
1971–72 Cincinnati 10 — 27.5 .311 — .773 5.8 5.1 — — 7.3
1971–72 Chicago 69 — 31.0 .456 — .791 4.3 7.1 — — 12.1
1972–73 Chicago 80 — 36.0 .445 — .787 5.5 7.1 — — 13.9
1973–74 Chicago 80 — 35.8 .406 — .778 4.7 6.9 2.0 .1 14.3
1974–75 Chicago 70 — 37.0 .420 — .792 4.7 5.8 2.0 .2 15.0
1975–76 Chicago 76 — 39.8 .366 — .737 5.4 6.6 2.0 .3 12.6
1976–77 Chicago 82* — 37.8 .412 — .778 4.5 7.8 1.6 .2 10.2
1977–78 Chicago 78 — 32.4 .419 — .751 3.6 6.8 1.8 .1 7.3
1978–79 Milwaukee 38 — 14.6 .390 — .904 1.1 4.2 1.1 .1 2.8
Career 746 — 35.1 .414 — .780 4.8 7.0 1.8 .2 11.8
All-Star 3 1 12.3 .286 — .500 1.0 1.0 .7 .3 1.7

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1972 Chicago 4 — 36.0 .415 — .857 6.3 8.3 — — 14.0
1973 Chicago 7 — 36.9 .349 — .733 5.3 5.1 — — 14.4
1974 Chicago 11 — 42.4 .424 — .830 4.3 6.8 1.5 .3 14.6
1975 Chicago 13 — 42.1 .409 — .747 5.2 4.7 1.5 .4 15.1
1977 Chicago 3 — 44.7 .158 — .833 5.0 9.7 3.3 .3 5.3
Career 38 — 40.8 .389 — .784 5.0 6.2 1.7 .3 13.9

References

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  1. ^ a b Ben Joravsky. "Back in the Game". Chicago Reader. July 21, 1994. Retrieved on March 4, 2009
  2. ^ Cubbal, Kayleen. "Midland Sports Hall of Fame inducts seven athletes, 1965 basketball team". The Times. For the Times. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  3. ^ White, Mike (August 27, 2006). "WPIAL 100 years: These are the athletes who have helped define it". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  4. ^ 2005 Saint Francis University Alumni Directory p. 319.
  5. ^ "Thunder's Josh Giddey posts scoreless double-double, becoming second NBA player in history to do so". December 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "Chicago Bulls All-Time Transactions". NBA.com.
  7. ^ Van Lier Goes Back To Basics
  8. ^ a b Jim Frasier. ""Midland's Norm Van Lier inducted into WPIAL Hall of Fame"". Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). New Pittsburgh Courier. July 3, 2008. Retrieved on February 27, 2009.
  9. ^ Feder, Robert (June 10, 2005). "Familiar voice helps WXRT cut to the Chase". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 73.
  10. ^ "Norm van Lier". IMDb.
  11. ^ "Ex-Bulls great van Lier found dead in Chicago". February 26, 2009.
  12. ^ "Sad day for Bulls: Van Lier, Kerr die". STLtoday. February 27, 2009. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
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