Norm Van Lier

At 61 years old, Norm Van Lier has this physical status:

Norman Allen Van Lier III (April 1, 1947-1991 – February 26, 2009) was an NBA basketball player and television analyst who spent the majority of his time with the Chicago Bulls.

Early life

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 born in Midland, Pennsylvania, with three brothers and a sister. Van Lier had three other brothers who died after birth; one of them, Elgin Baylor Van Lier I, was named after her. Since they were deprived of a taped coffee can for a ball, Van Lier would remember playing tackle football with a taped coffee can for a ball. Later in life, he would credit this upbringing in his famed work ethic.

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High school career

Van Lier was a member of the 1965 Midland High School Leopards, regarded by some as one of the best high school basketball teams of all time, finishing 28-0 and clinically winning the Pennsylvania State Championship. Simmie Hill, a former NBA player, was one of Van Lier's teammates. Van Lier would hitchhike to the playgrounds in Harlem over the weekend, once more with Billy Cunningham.

Van Lier was also a co-captain of his football team, where he competed in both quarterback and safety. He was recruited to play for a variety of colleges, but no one would have allowed him to play for his dream position of quarterback. Since appearing on his high school and county all-star teams, Van Lier had offers to play professional baseball as well.

College career

Van Lier's modest 6'1" stature and his focus on defense kept him under the radar of fame, but he was not chosen by major basketball powers. He attended Saint Francis University of Pennsylvania, where he later emerged as a top-notch point guard. In 1969, he graduated from Saint Francis University.

Professional career

Van Lier was drafted in the third round of the 1969 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, but he was eventually traded to the Cincinnati Royals, with whom he led the NBA in assists in 1971. Van Lier became the first NBA player to scoreless double-double, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on January 5 of this year. Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder had 10 assists and ten rebounds in the Thunder's 117-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on December 26, 2021.

Van Lier was recalled by the Bulls during the 1971-1972 season, and he remained with the Bulls until 1978, playing in three All-Star games (1974, 1976, 1977) over the course of six seasons.

Van Lier, nicknamed "Stormin' Norman" for his tenacity and violence, was one of the 1970s Bulls' most popular Bulls players. Van Lier was selected to three NBA All-Defense First Teams and five NBA All-Defense Second Teams over his ten-year tenure. He has the most picks alongside Michael Cooper, who will not be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1974, he was admitted to the All-NBA Second Team. In October 1978, Van Lier was waived by the Bulls.

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

Van Lier retired in 1979 after playing briefly with the Milwaukee Bucks, earning 8,770 points and 5,217 assists.

Coaching career

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

During the 1989–90 season, Van Lier was the head basketball coach for the Worcester Vocational Technical High School team. His squad advanced to the Massachusetts Division II championship tournament.

Media career

Van Lier was a color analyst on Bulls radio broadcasts from 1980 to 1982. He was the assistant coach of the Worcester Counts in the World Basketball League in 1989. He was a television pre-game and post-game analyst for Chicago Bulls games from 1992 to 2009. He appeared on other Chicago television shows to address the Bulls, and he even co-hosted a sports talk radio show at one point.

Van Lier has also appeared on the Chicago rock music station 97.9 WLUP as a special disc jockey. In 2002 and 2004, he appeared in the films Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business.

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