The Lopes did not join D-1 until a decade ago but hit the ground running, as they have made it to a postseason tourney 7 times in the past 10 years. They were not too shabby before then either, making 7 straight D-2 tourneys from 1992-1998 and winning 3 NAIA national titles from 1975-1988. 1 of the stars of their 1st title-winning team was Bayard Forrest, who was named tourney MVP after having 16 PTS/12 REB/4 BLK in a win over Midwestern State in the 1975 title game. He was picked 19th overall in the 1976 draft and later helped the Suns reach the 1979 Western Conference Finals. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Bayard about winning a title and getting drafted. Today is Bayard’s 69th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
You grew up in Prescott, AZ, before moving to Oregon: what was it like to get recruited by Hall of Fame coaches Bobby Knight/John Wooden? It was pretty funny. My 1st recruiting letter was from Digger Phelps at Notre Dame, which was exciting. I got 1 the following week from Bobby Knight…but I did not want to play for a guy who yelled at his players! It was an honor for a guy like Wooden to be interested in a small-town guy like me but I figured that LA would not be a good call for me. He was such a gentleman and I had stars in my eyes: I had never even been on a plane before.
Your uncle worked at Grand Canyon: how big of a factor was he in your decision to go there (if any)? It was a big factor, as was the fact that my dad had played at Grand Canyon. I was not 1 of those guys who had the overconfidence of thinking that I would play in the NBA. My uncle asked me if I wanted to come to Grand Canyon and I told him that I had gotten a call from UCLA: they did not send letters to out-of-state players back then. My uncle was in charge of promotional affairs: he just suggested that I pray about it. I realized I was not really seeking God the way I should have been, and when I did He made it clear that He wanted me at Canyon—which was exactly where I needed to be. I do not regret it at all and made some great memories. My coach (Ben Lindsey) knew how to get the most of his players and was a great recruiter despite not having a budget. He had to raise the money just to fly up and see me. He guaranteed me that we would win a national title…and we did! His wife is on our board of directors and we stay in close contact.
In the 1975 NAIA tourney title game you had 16 PTS/12 REB/4 BLK in a win over Midwestern State en route to being named tourney MVP: what did it mean to you to win a title, and how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? I remember getting ready to play Alcorn A&M in the semifinals and was worried after seeing them jump out of the gym…but we ended up beating them by 20-25 PTS. We had 2 other All-Americans in Mike Haddow/Dave Everett, which changed everything because our opponents could not double-team everyone. We did not care who scored as long as we won. Midwestern State was a big school so it was quite the challenge. We had 3 guys on the all-tourney team but what was very cool was that we also won the sportsmanship award by a unanimous vote. I received my trophy from Hall of Fame coach John McLendon.
That summer you were selected by the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Draft and by the Kansas City Kings in the ABA Draft: why did you decide to play 1 more season of college basketball instead of going pro? I was trying to decide what would be right for me to do. I felt like God just put it on my heart to see what my word was worth. I never dreamed about coming out early in the “hardship” draft. I had teammates who were counting on me and I thought that we would win it again. There were also a lot of rumors at the time that the ABA would join the NBA, but I probably needed that extra year so I have no regrets at all.
In 4 years at Grand Canyon you averaged 18 PPG/12.7 RPG: how did you balance your scoring with your rebounding? I loved rebounding. The hardest thing for me was that I played during the Lew Alcindor rule during high school/college so I was not allowed to dunk despite my 35” vertical. I could out-jump almost everyone I played against and it made us a better team when my teammates could score as well.
You were a 1st-team NAIA All-American for 3 straight years from 1974–1976: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? I did not understand all of the recognition back then but my coach made sure to keep me in the game so that I would get my PTS. We did not know what to expect during our 1st year at nationals but were much more prepared for that 2nd year. My career-high was 42 PTS but I was never able to break Coach Lindsey’s school record of 43 PTS! I have always joked with Coach Lindsey that he would not leave me in the game long enough to break his record but I do not think that he really did that: he was a great player himself and an amazing supporter of our ministry even today!
In the spring of 1976 you were drafted 19th overall by Seattle (4 spots ahead of Alex English): did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? I think that it was a combination of the 2. We were the 1st title-winning team in the state of Arizona so it really put Grand Canyon on the map. It was good for the school but also validated my decision to go there rather than attend a major university. Many coaches at big schools said that I would never make the NBA if I went to a small school so it was a nice pat on the back. Seattle coach Bill Russell called me on the phone and said, “Yo, Bay, this is Bill Russell, and we just picked you at #19!” To hear him tell me that he liked the way I played was pretty exciting. I ended up playing with Athletes in Action for 1 year and we became the best amateur team in the world even though we lost to Russia on a last-second call. Wooden was our color commentator that night and was screaming at the Russian referee. I was having the game of my life but actually went into cardiac arrest after being elbowed by 7’3” Vladimir Tkachenko. The Suns bought my rights the following year and Big Bay was my nickname when I played for them: it stuck so “Bay” is what I have gone by since then.
In Game 7 of the 1979 Western Conference Finals as a player for Phoenix you scored 4 PTS in a 4-PT loss at Seattle: how close did you come to upsetting the eventual champs? I have to pull the knife out of my heart just hearing you mention that! We were up 3-2 in the series but lost Game 6 at home. Jack Sikma was really hard to stop but I was having a good game against him. I caught a rebound and dunked it over him and our fans went crazy. Coach John MacLeod pulled me because he thought that I was too inexperienced and put in Gar Heard instead, who was a great player…but was only 6’6”. It was pretty embarrassing to hear the fans screaming for me to be put back in the game. My coach would have preferred to have a 7-footer so I did not get as much playing time. If we had beaten Seattle then we knew that we could have beaten the Bullets in the Finals.
Your nephew Caleb played basketball at Washington State: who is the best athlete in the family? He was a pretty good athlete but was only 6’8”. I do not think that anyone would argue against me: I pushed him pretty hard in high school.
You and your wife Peg currently run FOCUS Ministries: how did you get into it, and how does it compare to the NBA? People ask me if I miss the NBA and I say no way: I was not a partier and just wanted to get home to my wife/kids. When I hurt my back it was a slap in the face because we thought that we would win it all in 1980 but I spent the entire year on injured reserve. When the doctor checked me out during the preseason he said that I had to quit before I ended up in a wheelchair. I went from an NBA player to an unemployed cancer victim 2 days later. I became a youth pastor for 7 years and then my wife/I went to Kenya as missionaries. After 5 years we felt called back to the US by God to start a youth ministry that grew from 22 people to more than 300. My wife worked at Arizona Christian University and speaks at events all over the world. I speak at men’s events, conferences, and churches all over the world and absolutely love what I do now!