1979 Pizza Hut All-Star Basketball Classic

1979 College-organized Basketball All-Star Game November 2025 November 2025 Pizza Hut Basketball All-Star Classic West All-Stars East All-Stars 92 107 March 31, 1979 Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas Larry Bird CBS The 1979 Pizza Hut Basketball All-Star Classic (also known as College East-West All-American GameNovember 2025) 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.https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/05/archives/selling-with-charlie-chaplin.html April 5, 1972 Pizza Hut Basketball Classic nytimes.com https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1973/1/9/pizza-hut-basketball-classic-pthe-balloting/ January 1, 1973 PIZZA HUT BASKETBALL CLASSIC thecrimson.com https://archive.org/details/1973-PIZZA-HUT-CLASSIC-BASKETBALL-PROGRAM-FOLDER-and-game-notes-scoring-snorkelbob99/3.jpg February 17, 1985 1973 PIZZA HUT CLASSIC BASKETBALL PROGRAM archive.org 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 thumb|upright|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.https://eu.indystar.com/story/sports/nba/pacers/2022/03/14/larry-bird-indiana-state-college-all-star-game-pizza-hut/9327052002/ March 1, 2022 Why Larry Bird played college all-star game injured: He promised the guys at Pizza Hut indystar.com 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.https://books.google.com/books?id=lABOAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=1979+Pizza+Hut+All-Star+Basketball+Classic&article_id=4761,4410016&hl=el&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjz6_Cgh_yQAxWVVfEDHQFdJv0Q6AF6BAgQEAM#v=onepage&q=1979%20Pizza%20Hut%20All-Star%20Basketball%20Classic&f=false March 31, 1979 1979 Pizza Hut All-Star Basketball Classic by CBS The Free Lance-Star books.google.com Pizza Hut sponsored the college all-star classic annually each spring. The Game thumb|upright|right|alt=Bird jumping into a layup|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.Galis and Larry Bird (Pizza Hut All American Game 1979) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUdOiTjIcxo https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/PUdOiTjIcxo 2021-12-21 live Youtube 2010-03-10 Larry BirdClassic Larry Bird Games – greatgames77.com 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.https://books.google.com/books?id=GulbAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA40&dq=1979+Pizza+Hut+All-Star+Basketball+Classic&article_id=1446,177005&hl=el&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKps79m_yQAxVuBNsEHfkhLv8Q6AF6BAgNEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false April 1, 1979 Bird guides East St. Joseph News-Press books.google.com 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 USA Earl Evans UNLV Runnin' Rebels C #52 USA Ollie Matson Pepperdine Waves G #20 USA Vinnie Johnson Baylor Bears G #12 USA Sidney Moncrief Arkansas Razorbacks C #52 USA Calvin Natt Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks F # USA Larry Demic Arizona Wildcats G #34 USA Lawrence Butler Idaho State Bengals Head coach: Abe Lemons (Texas) +East All-Stars Pos. Number Player College team Previous appearances Team F #45 USA Larry Bird Indiana State Sycamores G # USA Gary Garland DePaul Blue Demons F #41 USA Wiley Peck Mississippi State Bulldogs F #51 USA Jeff Tropf Jeff Tropf – basketball-reference.com Central Michigan Chippewas F #53 USA Reggie King Alabama Crimson Tide F #21 USA Terry Duerod Detroit Mercy Titans G # USA Dudley Bradley North Carolina Tar Heels G #15 USA GRE Nick Galis Seton Hall Pirates F #55 USA Bruce Flowers Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head coach: Bill Foster (Duke) Result Team 1ScoreTeam 2West All-Stars 92–107 East All-Stars Awards MVPTopscorer USA Larry Bird USA 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 33em Sources Stu’s Notes: Bring Back the Pizza Hut Classic Category:Pizza Hut All-Star Basketball Classic Category:1978–79 in American basketball