Forty Years Ago, Indiana's Steve Alford Was Unstoppable In The Olympics

The 1984 Games are fondly remembered by the Indiana legend.

Aug 6, 1984; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; USA mens basketball head coach Bob Knight guard Steve Alford (4) on the sidelines against West Germany during the quarterfinals at the Forum during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. USA defeated West Germany 78-67. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports / USA TODAY Sports

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Since professionals have been allowed to play in the Olympic Games starting in 1992, the accomplishments of the amateur-era players are slowly disappearing from the USA Basketball Olympic record books.

There is one notable exception. Mixed in among records set by Carmelo Anthony and the Dream Team version of Michael Jordan sits Steve Alford.

In a game against France in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the-then-Indiana sophomore-to-be didn’t miss. He was 8-for-8 from the field in an 18-point effort. To the present day, Alford holds the Team USA Olympic record for field goal percentage in a single game.

Alford’s incandescent shooting performance also has him ranked 10th all-time in career USA Basketball field goal percentage after he converted 64.4% of his shots in the 1984 Olympics. Alford is the second-ranked guard on the list. He only trails his 1984 teammate, Alvin Robertson, who converted 65%.

40 years ago, Steve Alford and the USA Olympic Basketball Team beat China in their first game of the 1984 Olympics, marking the first of 8 consecutive wins en route to a Gold Medal 🥇

Coach Alford took a few minutes to reflect on the remarkable run by Team USA 🎥 #BattleBorn pic.twitter.com/vFfVKcgwwy

— Nevada Basketball (@NevadaHoops) July 30, 2024

Recently, Alford – who is now the head coach at Nevada – looked back on his 1984 Olympics performance.

“I wanted to be good enough to play collegiately, let alone at an iconic place like Indiana and for Coach (Bob) Knight. When that came to fruition, I thought I’d arrived. Little did I know, a year later, I’d have the opportunity to play for him as the Olympic coach,” Alford said in a University of Nevada interview posted on X.

For Alford, who was just 19 in 1984, the Olympic experience was just part of a heady period in his career.

Mar 1984; Unknown Location, USA; FILE PHOTO; Indiana guard Steve Alford (12) in action during the 1983-84 season. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports / Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

He was barely a year removed from winning Mr. Basketball at New Castle Chrysler High School in 1983. He played a prominent role as a freshman on Indiana’s Elite Eight team in 1984.

Alford survived the famous summer boot camp that Knight conducted in Bloomington to winnow down the list of candidates. Keep in mind that the summer of 1984 was the time when future icons like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were among the available players. Barkley famously didn’t make the team, but Jordan did and so did Alford.

Not that his choice was universally beloved. Some observers thought Knight showed favoritism in picking Alford. The guard shrugged it off.

“Criticism is part of basketball. I know I’ve been a valuable part of the team. And I know the other players feel the same way,” Alford said in a 1984 Olympics press conference.

“Defensively, I think I’ve made unbelievable strides. I’m more relaxed. My shooting has improved and I move better without the ball,” Alford noted.

With the Soviet Union having boycotted the 1984 Games, Team USA’s path to victory was easier. But early on, Team USA removed any doubt that they were anything but the prohibitive favorite. China (97-49), Canada (89-68) and Uruguay (104-68) were dispatched before Team USA faced France in its penultimate group match on Aug. 3, 1984, at the Forum.

Team USA held a 14-10 lead over France before it pulled away with an 18-2 run. In that surge, Alford drained four jumpers to help lead the way. France never recovered as Team USA prevailed, 120-62.

Alford didn’t miss and led the team with 18 points. He was the leading scorer for Team USA, beating out Micheal Jordan (16), Indiana Pacer-to-be Vern Fleming (15), Robertson (14) and Patrick Ewing (11).

“I never had a game where I went without missing a shot, so to do it on that stage and to do it against a foreign competition, that’s a game I’ll remember for a long time,” Alford recalled.

 Alford didn’t slow down. In the final Group B match, he was 6-for-8 from the field, good for 13 points in an 89-68 victory over Canada.

Alford was 7-for-12 from the field for 17 points in a 78-67 victory over West Germany in the quarterfinals as Alford played against then-Indiana teammate Uwe Blab. Alford also had four steals in that contest.

Aug 8, 1984; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; USA mens basketball guard Steve Alford (4) in action against Canada during the semi-finals at the Forum during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. USA defeated Canada 78-59. Mandatory Credit: Porter Binks-USA TODAY Sports / Porter Binks-USA TODAY Sports

Alford slipped slightly with a 3-for-8 shooting performance in a 78-59 Team USA victory over Canada in the semifinals, but he was back to form in the gold medal contest against Spain, Alford was 5-for-6 with 10 points and seven assists in a 96-65 Team USA rout.

“Beating Spain in the gold medal game was the memory I’ll know the most because you stand on the stage. To be on that top rung and then have the National Anthem with your United States American flag being raised. That will be something that I remember forever,” said Alford in the Nevada interview.

Alford would go on to win the 1987 national championship as a senior at Indiana and would enjoy a four-season NBA career afterwards, but one could argue that his time in the Olympic spotlight was the peak of his storied career.

Former Indiana center Walt Bellamy plays for Team USA in 1960. / Indiana University Arbutus

Other Indiana players in the Olympics

1960: Center Walt Bellamy was the first Indiana player to take part in the Olympic Games. The 1960 Olympic team featured four Hall of Famers. In addition to Bellamy, the roster included Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Jerry West.

No nation would come within 27 points of Team USA in an 8-0 run to the gold medal in the Games held in Rome.

Because of the accumulated talent on the team, no one player was dominant. Bellamy averaged 6.3 points and 7.9 rebounds on a team considered to be one of the greatest Olympic teams ever assembled.

1976: Fresh off their undefeated national championship season with the Hoosiers, forward Scott May and guard Quinn Buckner were key cogs on the 1976 Olympic team that competed in Montreal.

May’s highlight came in a group contest against Yugoslavia. He scored 24 in a 112-93 Team USA victory. May and Buckner were instrumental in a 95-77 semifinal win against Canada. May had 22 points and Buckner had 12 as the Americans won on Canadian soil.

May scored 14 in the gold medal rematch against Yugoslavia, a 95-74 victory for Team USA. May (16.7 ppg) was the second-leading scorer behind Adrian Dantley (19.3), and May’s 6.2 rebounds per game led the team.

Buckner averaged 7.3 points and had three assists per game.

1980: Isiah Thomas was named to the 1980 Team USA squad, but his Olympic moment was not to be. The United States boycotted the 1980 games in Moscow.

Thomas did play on a team that went 5-1 against a group of NBA All-Stars – Buckner among them – in the summer of 1980 in what was billed as the Gold Medal Series. Thomas averaged 9.7 points and a team-high 6.1 assists.

Thomas was also famously passed over for the 1992 Dream Team when professionals were allowed to compete for the first time.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• TIME FOR REFLECTION: Nevada coach Steve Alford looks back on his time at Indiana. CLICK HERE.

• KNIGHT LEGACY: Influence of former coach is still felt among his former players. CLICK HERE.

• KING EARNS THIRD GOLD: Another Indiana great, swimmer Lilly King, has continued Indiana's legacy of Olympic excellence. CLICK HERE.