Connie Hawkins highlights:

[CavaliersFTW]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4Q1L3aDHs

*EDIT updated, a few new clips

[SyRyanYang]

What time zone do you live in:wtf:

First highlight: Blocked by Wilt

[andgar923]

I've actually been wanting to watch some Connie highlights from all the stuff I've heard thx

[CavaliersFTW]

What time zone do you live in:wtf:

First highlight: Blocked by Wilt
East U.S. - yep, it's late... or rather... early

That clip was supposed to be taken as an example of him looking "past his prime" as was being narrated at that moment

[SyRyanYang]

East U.S. - yep, it's late... or rather... early

That clip was supposed to be taken as an example of him looking "past his prime" as was being narrated at that moment

Yeah I see but it is funny considering you have a history of being Wilt stan

[CavaliersFTW]

Yeah I see but it is funny considering you have a history of being Wilt stan
It's a coincidence

[andgar923]

His hands size are as legend has it

[La Frescobaldi]

[QUOTE=andgar923]His hands size are as legend has it

[CavaliersFTW]

His hands size are as legend has it…. huge paws!!!

I also heard about his acrobatic shots and incredible hang time, I saw some nice shots, but hang time wasn't noticeable (at least not from the clips). I also heard about his jumping ability, but that I saw nothing of the sort. The dude was 6'8 with extremely long arms, so he didn't really have to jump high and you can see it on some clips.

I was impressed with the crossover he did on the top of the key.

If you were to compare him physically to a modern player who would it be?

Tmac didn't have his wingspan, nor his huge hands. I remember Otis Thorpe having huge hands as well, but he had a bigger frame and had shorter wingspan.

And although it's hard to tell what sort of player he was with just a few clips, much props!!!!

I did notice he had a good turnaround which many players had back then, but his also looked close to MJ's in some clips. Not that MJ is the GOAT but he had similar mechanics in a clip or two. When you see the old school clips of players, they move awkwardly. The Hawk in some clips had a turnaround that could be comparable to a modern era.
Ignore dunking and pay particular attention to his layups if you want to notice his hang time. It's impossible to miss I don't know how you could miss it considering practically nobody in the league today floats around to the hoop like that.

Hang time is just an illusion. It's body control and it is not how high a player jumps or a measure of jumping ability - Connie Hawkins wasn't a power leaper, he was a hang time artist - same with Elgin Baylor - they are both masters of in-air body control, creating the illusion of staying afloat through hesitation shots and such. For some reason (probably because there aren't a lot of finesse hang time artists in the league anymore) people keep confusing hang time with leaping ability and they always look for the wrong things in highlights when they hear about athletes who had "hang time". You can have one or the other, or a combination of the two - or in rare cases have both on tap (like MJ). But really, you don't need a power leap to be a hang time artist, nor do you automatically get hang time just because your a power leaper (like say, Blake Griffin). The hang time stands out like a sore thumb in Connie's around-the-basket footage. An example is his layup at 5:24 (and the dunk, and layup that immediately follows) - that is exceptional hang time. I actually don't understand how you missed it

Hawkins is Hawkins physically. I don't think there is anyone in the modern league that has his body type. I would say a 1 inch shorter Durant with massive hands and an ever so slightly broader frame.

[steve]

Something you also have to keep in mind when watching the majority of those clips on Hawkins is that by the time he reached the NBA his knees were basically shot due to playing on poor surfaces and little medical attention in the prior decade or so.

The reason it's practically impossible to compare Hawkins to any sort of modern is that not only are his physical dimensions just unlike anything basketball has really seen before or since, but he also had an innate flair and creativity for the game coupled with a high basketball IQ (this is something that pros noticed about Hawkins playing against him when he was only 17). He really is one of the more unique basketball players to come through and basketball fans are lucky they got to witness even a little of him, even if it was probably in a diminished form from what he could've been.

[Mrofir]

I shared this on facebook. Hopefully you get more hits. This is an awesome video. I agree that it's every so slightly confusing with the Wilt block in the beginning, but only cause I didn't have my volume turned up when I first watched it... probably not that uncommon. But this is awesome regardless.

[BoutPractice]

Great job as usual, thanks a lot!

That poster at 5:08 is nasty, nasty stuff.

Also love the Dr.J-esque finger roll at 5:31.

Other than the spectacular plays and huge hands, he seemed to have a deadly turnaround...

Too bad there's no footage from his greatest years.

[Alan Ogg]

I love your vids, but the music is dreadful. This time I opted for some James Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5jY00z_Sk substitute.

[Pointguard]

You see a lot of the ABA players in him, Gervin, Doc, Mcginnis and Larry Kenon. All of whom had their own claim to fame but their styles all can be seen in the Hawk. Among the older guys in Harlem the Hawk had the earliest claim to street ball and Rucker Park. Great video.

[La Frescobaldi]

I love your vids, but the music is dreadful. This time I opted for some James Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5jY00z_Sk substitute.
whereas I think the music is pretty cool tho

[La Frescobaldi]

You see a lot of the ABA players in him, Gervin, Doc, Mcginnis and Larry Kenon. All of whom had their own claim to fame but their styles all can be seen in the Hawk. Among the older guys in Harlem the Hawk had the earliest claim to street ball and Rucker Park. Great video.
Special K is totally forgot. Not just mostly forgot like Hawk but totally forgot. He was terrific

[CavaliersFTW]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4Q1L3aDHs

found a new source for a few clips and added them - re-uploaded newer version

[WillC]

Hawkins is one of the best old-school players to watch. So smooth.

I love your video (nothing new there, they're always amazing) but I miss the Marvin Gaye soundtrack that accompanies someone else's Connie Hawkins video on YouTube. That's one of my favourites - the music matches it perfectly :rockon:

[La Frescobaldi]

Hawkins is one of the best old-school players to watch. So smooth.

I love your video (nothing new there, they're always amazing) but I miss the Marvin Gaye soundtrack that accompanies someone else's Connie Hawkins video on YouTube. That's one of my favourites - the music matches it perfectly :rockon:

I don't KNOW anything about this.... but I suspect CAVS is avoiding the fate of a legendary youtube poster of Wilt Chamberlain films.... by staying away from using 40+ year old songs that some record executive insists is a copyright infringement.
They must have that very last drop of blood even if that means they lick it off the pavement.

There are lower things on Planet Earth than record executives but you have to go to some mighty smelly places to find them. Fecal devouring bacteria is an apt description.

[jongib369]

I don't KNOW anything about this.... but I suspect CAVS is avoiding the fate of a legendary youtube poster of Wilt Chamberlain films.... by staying away from using 40+ year old songs that some record executive insists is a copyright infringement.
They must have that very last drop of blood even if that means they lick it off the pavement.

There are lower things on Planet Earth than record executives but you have to go to some mighty smelly places to find them. Fecal devouring bacteria is an apt description.



:roll:

[Rake2204]

I just finished Foul!, the book documenting Hawkins' life up until '71. I intentionally held off watching clips or looking up statistics until I completed the literature. It was great to see the story come to life in the video here. Were some/any of those clips from '70? That layup at 3:20 around Wilt looked like the one described in the book during their playoff series that year.

Either way, very good stuff here. Connie dropping 25, 10, and 5 in his first NBA season is none too shabby, even on a rickety knee.

[Rake2204]

And sorry for the double post, but for any fans of vintage footage, I thought this amateur floor cam from a 1970 Suns/Lakers regular season matchup was pretty freaking cool. Very nice quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omknPNShOOI

[CavaliersFTW]

And sorry for the double post, but for any fans of vintage footage, I thought this amateur floor cam from a 1970 Suns/Lakers regular season matchup was pretty freaking cool. Very nice quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omknPNShOOI
Elgin Baylor, Connie Hawkins gahh, footage like this is priceless even if it is only a few minutes of it! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[La Frescobaldi]

And sorry for the double post, but for any fans of vintage footage, I thought this amateur floor cam from a 1970 Suns/Lakers regular season matchup was pretty freaking cool. Very nice quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omknPNShOOI

This has just about gotta be 1970.
Mel Counts is playing the whole time at the C for the Lakers in that clip, and that would mean almost for certain it was the year Wilt Chamberlain was out with a season-ending knee injury... because 13 always played just about every minute. Also Wilt was a huge star so you would think a guy that had got a camera in to a game would have some footage of him.

Counts was Chamberlain's backup. Pretty much an average center, 7 footer who could run the floor some and get a few rebounds. He wasn't ever going to see an all-star game, but he was alright.

Also I'm calling it 1970 because that would have basically been Baylor's last season. He played in just 12 games in '71 and '72 and he didn't look anything like he does here. He looked about like Kobe Bryant did this season. There was a kind of a sad silence whenever he went in a game because it was..... well, like it was when Kobe went in this last season. Real bad.

[LAZERUSS]

James Worthy before there was a James Worthy.

[L.Kizzle]

Is there any ABL footage available of his?

Also of topic, would love videos on Maurice Stokes, Johnny Green? Is there footage of the Easter League with Hal Lear?

[Helix]

whereas I think the music is pretty cool tho


As do I.

[Rake2204]

This has just about gotta be 1970.
Mel Counts is playing the whole time at the C for the Lakers in that clip, and that would mean almost for certain it was the year Wilt Chamberlain was out with a season-ending knee injury... because 13 always played just about every minute. Also Wilt was a huge star so you would think a guy that had got a camera in to a game would have some footage of him.

Counts was Chamberlain's backup. Pretty much an average center, 7 footer who could run the floor some and get a few rebounds. He wasn't ever going to see an all-star game, but he was alright.

Also I'm calling it 1970 because that would have basically been Baylor's last season. He played in just 12 games in '71 and '72 and he didn't look anything like he does here. He looked about like Kobe Bryant did this season. There was a kind of a sad silence whenever he went in a game because it was..... well, like it was when Kobe went in this last season. Real bad.I think it was narrowed down to being early December of the 1969-70 regular season.

[Helix]

Something you also have to keep in mind when watching the majority of those clips on Hawkins is that by the time he reached the NBA his knees were basically shot due to playing on poor surfaces and little medical attention in the prior decade or so.

The reason it's practically impossible to compare Hawkins to any sort of modern is that not only are his physical dimensions just unlike anything basketball has really seen before or since, but he also had an innate flair and creativity for the game coupled with a high basketball IQ (this is something that pros noticed about Hawkins playing against him when he was only 17). He really is one of the more unique basketball players to come through and basketball fans are lucky they got to witness even a little of him, even if it was probably in a diminished form from what he could've been.


Good post. It truly is a shame about The Hawk.....had he entered the NBA when he should have in '63 or '64 no doubt he would be looked on as one of the great legends of the game. He was a great player and a joy to watch.

[Helix]

Is there any ABL footage available of his?

Also of topic, would love videos on Maurice Stokes, Johnny Green? Is there footage of the Easter League with Hal Lear?


Yea.....Johnny Green............Jumpin' Johnny Green. Interesting how you NEVER hear anything about him. He played 14 years and his per 36 averages were over 18 ppg and 13 rpg. I used to listen to Royals games on the radio back in the late 60's when Jumpin' Johnny played for them. I remember the announcers saying he could take change off the top of the backboard. Hehe, not bad for a guy 6'5" or 6'6" IF it was true.

[FKAri]

Buncha short, skinny, clumsy ass dudes. Would be lucky to step foot onto a blacktop without losing the court let alone play professionally. Couldn't start on my highschool team.Connie Hawkins is a great forgotten player from the past. Glad you could post highlights of him.

[LAZERUSS]

Buncha short, skinny, clumsy ass dudes. Would be lucky to step foot onto a blacktop without losing the court let alone play professionally. Couldn't start on my highschool team.Connie Hawkins is a great forgotten player from the past. Glad you could post highlights of him.

Just saw the white...