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

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

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