Can Connie Hawkins be satisfied starring in the second-best league? Can Connie Hawkins find happiness in the ABA? Asked these questions, Connie can say he’s satisfied. But is he sincere?
Tag Archives: Bill Bridges
Paul Silas: He Doesn’t Leave Fingerprints, 1972
“All of us in the league play with a part of a comradeship. This is our living. This is what we do. It doesn’t make sense to go out and get mad. This is a job. But you can be fierce.”
Bob McAdoo: Was He a One-Man Basketball Revolution? 1975
McAdoo is dangerous near the basket, but he also gets a lot of points on 15 and 20-foot jump shots, which he unleashes with a noticeable snap of the wrist, rather than a pushing maneuver.
Paul Silas: Shrewdness in Seattle, 1980
“In order to stay in this league for any length of time, you’ve got to be excellent at something,” Silas said. “Rebounding was my specialty, and I just worked at it.”
Sidney Wicks: Simply Awesome, 1974
Offcourt, the 6-foot-9 former UCLA All-American is as loose and easy as he suggests. But once involved in a game, his disposition changes, and he acts mean and hungry.
The Pistol and The Pressure
Pete Maravich, uptight but still able to laugh at himself, admits that unless he calms down soon, “I may have to get my stomach pumped out before games, same as I get my ankles taped.”
The Exhibition Blues
Though Maravich started out well, “a rumbling” soon caught his attention. “The rumbling started subtly. A rumor circulated that the rookies as well as the veterans would be out to work me over on the court and make me earn my salary the hard way.
The Pressure on Pistol Pete
Today, Pete Maravich is remembered as one of the iconic NBA figures of the 1970s. Less well known is that Maravich entered the 1970 NBA draft as the college superstar whom nobody wanted. For most NBA general managers, drafting Maravich seemed about as dangerous as volunteering to stand blindfolded before a firing squad. The danger came not from Pistol Pete. He was considered a good kid. It was the double-barreled barrage of attention behind him that would be unsurvivable.
From Way Downtown 