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Hall of Famers

Hopper

Banned
I'll start. Anybody remember the Bed-stuy homeboy, and Rucker Park regular, Connie Hawkins? He ROCKED!

"As a result of the investigation, despite not being charged or arrested, Hawkins was expelled from Iowa. No other college--either in the NCAA or NAIA--would offer him a scholarship. NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy let it be known that he would not approve any contract for Hawkins to play in the league....With the major professional basketball league having effectively blacklisted him, Hawkins played one season for the Pittsburgh Rens of the American Basketball League and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. When that league folded, Hawkins spent three years performing with the Harlem Globetrotters....

Connie Hawkins hit the ground running in his first season with the Suns, 1969-70, where he played 81 games, and averaged 24.6 points per game,10.4 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game. In the final game of his rookie season, Connie had 44 points, 20 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks, and 5 steals. The Suns finished third in the Western Conference, and were knocked out by the Los Angeles Lakers in a great seven-game series, in which Connie Hawkins carried the Suns against a team that had Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West. Connie Hawkins averaged 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists per game....Despite being unable to play in the NBA when he was in his prime, his performances in the ABL, ABA, and NBA helped him get inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

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Well it appears that nobody has any interest in, knows, or cares about the best globetrotter to ever hit the NBA, eh? A pity, that. Connie brought a lot of globe-trotter methods to the game and was very entertaining. He had huge hands and could handle a basketball about the way an average person can hold, throw, and catch a softball. He would snatch a rebound out of the sky about 2 feet above the rim with one hand and it would just stick there in his hand. He would then swivel his hand/arm and hit a teamate with a pass, or simply flush it on his way down. On the floor, he would hold the ball high above his head with one hand while pivoting, feinting and surveying the floor, then suddenly flick the ball to a teammate or into the basket.
 
To elucidate, Connie would have the ball way over his head, in one hand. Then he would make a strong arm motion, like he was throwin a baseball, to his left...but the ball would just stick there in his hand. Then he would do the same thing to his right. It didn't take much before the defense was utterly confused, which was when Connie would make his real pass/shot.

Well, I guess ya kinda had to be there, eh?
 
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