Leonard "Len" Bias November 18, 1963-June 19, 1986

He could have been the greatest of all-time, he was Michael Jordan before there was Michael Jordan. He had potential beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. For a short period of time, he had the world at his feet. He was Len Bias.

Leonard Kevin Bias was born in Landover, Md. On November 18, 1963. Bias attended Northwestern High School in Hyattsville. During his time at NHS, Bias set many school records and became known as the best basketball player in the state.

It was only natural that he would attend the University of Maryland, which is located directly down the street from his high school in College Park. Bias was a two time All-American during his time at UMD. He was also twice named ACC player of the year in 1985 and 1986. Bias impressed basketball fans with his ability to score at will and his athleticism. During his college career Bias was considered one of the most dynamic players in the nation. Bias was considered by many draft experts as the most complete player ever to come out of college. Bias was the first player ever to be compared to Michael Jordan, even though MJ himself was only in his second NBA season.

Bias was selected by the defending NBA champion Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. Bias and his father flew to Boston, from Washington, DC. To meet with Celtic officials. He returned to Maryland the next day to celebrate with family and friends. Bias arrived to campus at around 11:00 p.m. Shortly after, he left campus nad drove to an off-campus gathering, which he attended briefly before returning to his dorm at 3:00 a.m. Bias took a lethal dose of cocaine which, because of its location and method of ingestion, went immediately to the autonomic nerve center of the brain. There, it shut down the nerve signals that tell the diaphragm to allow the body to breathe.

Bias was rushed to the hospital, but was dead before his arrival. He was pronounced dead at 6:32 A.M. on June 19^th 1986 of a cardiac arrhythmia caused by a cocaine overdose.

The impact of Bias’ death was felt across the nation. Four days after his death, 11,000 people packed Cole Field House in College Park for a memorial service. Those speaking at the service included Boston Celtics president Arnold "Red" Auerbach, who said he had planned for three years to get Len onto the Celtics, and that “the city of Boston had not been so shaken since the assassination of John F. Kennedy.”

Local Athlete: Rudy Gay

/ˈfinɒm, fɪˈnɒm/ Pronunciation Key

phe·nom /ˈfinɒm, fɪˈnɒm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ʹfee-nom, fi-nom]–noun Slang.

1. A phenomenon, esp. a young prodigy: a twelve-year-old tennis phenom
2. See RudyCarlton Gay Jr.

Not many athletes to come from this area could have been able to draw comparisons to NBA superstars at a young age. Rudy Gay did.

Ever since the Baltimore city native was a young child, it was known that Gay was destined for greatness.

Gay played two seasons of varsity basketball at Eastern Technical High School in Essex, Md. After his sophomore season, Gay transferred to basketball powerhouse Archbishop Spaulding High School. There, Gay became one of the nation’s top basketball prospects. Gay was named to first team All-Baltimore catholic league as a junior and as a senior. Gay was also honored as the Baltimore Sun's co-player of the year. He was a McDonald's All-American, and a Parade First Team All-American in his senior year after averaging 21.2 points per game, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks.

After graduation, Gay took his talents to University of Connecticut, where his talent paid instant dividends. He was a co-winner (Jeff Green of Georgetown University) of the 2005 Big East Conference Freshman of the Year award. Rudy was also named ‘National Freshman of the Year’ by The Sporting News.

In the summer after his freshman year, Gay was invited to play for the U.S.A. Men's Under-21 World Championship Team. He averaged 10.5 points a game and 5.5 rebounds. In the same summer, Gay was nominated as Big East Preseason player of the year.

During his sophomore season, Gay was one of four division one college players nominated for the Naismith Player of the Year Award. Despite not winning the award, he received many accolades that year. Gay was a unanimous choice as a first team All- Big East and All-American. He averaged 15.2 points per game during his sophomore season, leading the Huskies to a 30-3 record and a berth in the Elite 8.

Gay entered the NBA draft the next year and was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 8^th overall pick. His draft rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies the same night in exchange for Shane Battier.