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You Tube Gold: Norm Van Lier

The Chicago Bulls had an identity before Michael Jordan came along and it was primarily forged by the backcourt of Jerry Sloan and Norm Van Lier.

Both guys were renowned for their toughness. Van Lier was smallish at 6-1 but he more than made up for it.

He and Sloan may have been the toughest backcourt anyone has had. These are guys that Larry Bird, also legendarily tough, would have loved.

Van Lier came out of East Liverpool in Northeast Ohio and was not seen as a big prospect. He went to St. Francis and then had a 10-year career in the NBA.