 Van Lier with theChicago Bulls in 1971 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1947-04-01)April 1, 1947 East Liverpool, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | February 26, 2009(2009-02-26) (aged 61) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 173 lb (78 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Midland (Midland, Pennsylvania) |
| College | Saint Francis (PA) (1966–1969) |
| NBA draft | 1969: 3rd round, 34th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Chicago Bulls |
| Playing career | 1969–1979 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 23, 2, 4 |
| Coaching career | 1989–1990 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1969–1971 | Cincinnati Royals |
| 1971–1978 | Chicago Bulls |
| 1978–1979 | Milwaukee Bucks |
Coaching | |
| 1989 | Worcester Counts (assistant) |
| 1989–1990 | Worcester Tech HS |
| Career highlights | |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 8,770 (11.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,596 (4.8 rpg) |
| Assists | 5,217 (7.0 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Norman Allen Van Lier III (April 1, 1947 – February 26, 2009) was an American professionalbasketball player and television broadcaster who spent the majority of his career with theChicago Bulls.
Van Lier was born on April 1, 1947, inEast Liverpool, Ohio[1] to Helen and Norm Sr. Norm Sr. was the son of a Baptist preacher, and worked in a steel mill for decades (reported as 31 or 40 years). Van Lier was raised, along with three brothers and a sister, inMidland, Pennsylvania. Van Lier had six brothers in all, three of whom died after birth including a son Norm Sr. named 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.[2][3][4]
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 in Pennsylvania history,[5] and of all time,[citation needed] finishing 28–0 and easily winning theWestern Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) title. The Leopards won the statewidePennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) championship game (90–61). Van Lier won All-State honors that year.[6][7][8][9]
The team only lost two regular season games in three years.[4] One of Van Lier's teammates was future NBA and ABA playerSimmie Hill, who would later be drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the second round, with Van Lier taken in the third round of the same draft by the Bulls.[8][10] During weekends, Van Lier would hitchhike to the playgrounds in Harlem, once even playing with future NBA Hall of FamerBilly Cunningham.[2]
Van Lier was also a co-captain of his football team, where he played both as a standoutquarterback,[8] and atsafety. He was recruited to play for several colleges (such asNebraska,USC andAlabama), but none would have allowed him to play his desired position of quarterback, discouraging him from pursuing football. It is also reported that he did not choose football because his mother discouraged him from playing football.[8][4] Van Lier stated that when an Alabama assistant coach came to visit him at his high school, the coach said "'I heard you are quite a quarterback. ... Boy if I had known you was colored I would never had come.'"[11]
He also played high school baseball,[2] and had been on his high school and county all-star teams.[citation needed] Van Lier had received offers to play professional baseball as well, and turned down a $25,000 offer from the St. Louis Cardinals because his mother did not want him to play in the segregated south.[4]
Van Lier's modest 6 ft 1 in stature and his emphasis on defense kept him under the radar of stardom, and he was not recruited by major basketball powers. He attendedSaint Francis University inLoretto, Pennsylvania, playing on the basketball team from 1966 to 1969. At St. Francis, Van Lier was a standout defensive guard who also scored 1,410 points during his collegiate career. Over three years, he averaged 18.8 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game. As a junior in 1967–68, he set a then school record for assists, and as a senior he averaged 21.0 points per game.[7] He was a fierce competitor and excellent ball handler.[8] In 1969, he graduated with a double major in history and special education.[2]
In 1999, Van Lier was inducted into the Saint Francis Athletics Hall of Fame.[12] The school retired his number 12 jersey.[7][13] He was inducted into theCambria County, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.[14] He was inducted into theBeaver County, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.[9]
The Chicago Bulls selected Van Lier in the third round of the1969 NBA draft, but after training camp traded him to theCincinnati Royals for backup centerWalt Wesley.[2][3] Van Lier led the NBA in assists in 1971.[7] On January 5 of that year, Van Lier became the first player in NBA history to have a scorelessdouble-double with zero points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a victory against theLos Angeles Lakers. A scoreless double-double did not happen for another 50 years, when on December 26, 2021, rookieJosh Giddey of theOklahoma City Thundercompiled 10 assists and 10 rebounds in the Thunder's 117–112 win over theNew Orleans Pelicans.[15]
At Cincinnati, Van Lier flourished under the tutelage of coachBob Cousy, a Hall of Fame guard who had played for the greatBoston Celtics teams (even dating Cousy's daughter for over a year). Cousy focused on the team playing as a unit, instead of as individuals, which fit Van Lier. Van Lier was renowned for his physical and relentless defense, his fearlessness and hard-nosed play. He once got in a brawl with future Chicago Bulls teammate and close friendJerry Sloan, a similar style player, during and after an exhibition game between the Royals and Bulls.[3] Cousy called him a “‘coach’s dream’” and greatly motivated all his teammates by the example of his all out playing style.[4] After Van Lier's death, NBA CommissionerDavid Stern described him as a “'complete player, a wonderful passer, [and] a tenacious rebounder...."[8]
The Bulls reacquired Van Lier during the1971–72 season.[3] Coach Cousy told Van Lier the Royals backcourt of Van Lier andNate "Tiny" Archibald was too small, and asked Van Lier where he wanted to be traded. Van Lier told Cousy to trade him to the Bulls.[2] Van Lier remained with the Bulls until 1978,[8] appearing in threeAll-Star games (1974,1976,1977)[1] over the course of six seasons. Now paired up with Jerry Sloan (1971–1976), they formed "the roughest back court combination in the NBA" on defense.[3] Other "pundits" asserted the two formed the best defensive backcourt in NBA history.[7] He played under volatile Bulls coachDick Motta from 1971 through the 1975–1976 season.[2][16]
In game 6 of the 1973 playoffs between the Bulls and defending championLos Angeles Lakers, in a career highlight, he had 10 steals, and held the Lakers future Hall of Fame guardGail Goodrich to 4 points.[2][17]
Nicknamed "Stormin' Norman" for his tenacity and aggression,[18] Van Lier was one of the most popular Bulls players of the 1970s, being "worshipped all over Chicago".[2] During his ten-year career, Van Lier was named to three NBA All-Defense First Teams and five NBA All-Defense Second Teams.[1] He has the most selections to not be inducted into theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame.[citation needed] He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1974.[19] Van Lier was waived by the Bulls in October 1978.[20]
On January 19, 1977, Van Lier broke the record for thelongest successful field goal in NBA history at 84 feet; the record stood for 24 years untilBaron Davis eclipsed it on November 17, 2001, from a distance of 89 feet.[21]
After being waived in October 1978 by the Bulls, theMilwaukee Bucks picked him up. He only lasted two months, as Van Lier could no longer play at that level. However, Van Lier had become addicted toQuaaludes to deal with constant pain over the years, and Bucks coachDon Nelson helped Van Lier get the treatment necessary to overcome that addiction.[2]
Van Lier retired in 1979[8] with career totals of 8,770 points and 5,217 assists.[22]
In 1989, Van Lier was the assistant coach of theWorcester Counts in theWorld Basketball League.[2]
Van Lier was the head basketball coach for theWorcester Vocational Technical High School team during part of the 1989–90 season. His team reached the Massachusetts Division II championship game.[23]
Van Lier served as acolor analyst on Bulls radio broadcasts from 1980 to 1982. From 1992 to 2009, he was a television pre-game and post-game analyst for Chicago Bulls games, originally for SportsChannel, and later Fox Sports Chicago and Comcast SportsNet Chicago, winning an Emmy for the 1995–1996 season.[8][4] He frequently appeared on other Chicago television programs to discuss the Bulls, and co-hosted shows on sports talk radio, including "the Bull and the Bear" onWSCR-AM.[24][1] He also did afternoon sports talk onWMVP.[2]
Van Lier also served as a specialdisc jockey on the Chicagorock music station 97.9WLUP.[25] In 2002 and 2004, he had supporting roles in the moviesBarbershop andBarbershop 2: Back in Business.[26]
Van Lier was a member of Project Teamwork, a group formed by the Reebok Foundation working to improve racial and human rights sensitivity in school-age children.[1]
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."[24]
On February 25, 2009, Van Lier was unexpectedly absent from his scheduled television appearance onComcast SportsNet following a Bulls game.[8] He was found dead in his apartment in Chicago'sNear West Side neighborhood on February 26, 2009.[27] He had a pacemaker implanted five months earlier.[8] Fellow Bulls broadcaster and former Bulls head coachJohnny "Red" Kerr also died later that day.[28]
| 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 |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).New Pittsburgh Courier. July 3, 2008. Retrieved on February 27, 2009.| International | |
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