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: Dick Barnett
Jeff Mullins: The Making of a Pro, 1970
For Mullins, the biggest kick in basketball is running and moving the ball. He says, “There’s no thrill like moving well, coming down the court five or six times in a row and getting the ball to the man with the easy shot.
The Secret Behind the Amazing Knicks, 1970
To many, who had become accustomed to the Knicks being have-nots unable to make the playoffs for seven straight seasons (1960-1966), their “instant success” seemed almost unreal.
The Ladies Who Love the Knicks, 1971
The newly discovered charm of the Knicks is undeniable, and as Ilene Goldman puts it, “For many of us, the game has become a very personal experience.”
Baltimore Bullets: Once Upon a Time in Madison Square Garden, 1971
The Bullets needed a change of luck in the Garden.
Red Holzman: A Humpty-Dumpty Situation, 1968
Holzman knows the game of basketball. And he probably knows it better now than back in 1957, when St. Louis fired him after a losing record.
Is Pro Basketball Getting Too Rough? 1964
Wilt Chamberlain might object to this observation, but a lot of the excitement and color of pro basketball lies in the bruising body contact between big men in action.
Willis Reed and the Icing on the Cake
So through it all, one shining fact evolves. Basketball and Willis Reed are so entwined, the two are one.
The Knicks—Pro Basketball’s Next Dynasty
Red Holzman criticized Willis Reed unmercifully in the early days. The team captain was generally the target when Holzman screamed: “Don’t turn your head . . . get back . . . pick up your man.” The Knick coach knew Willis had the temperament to handle the abuse while the other players learned the biggest and the smallest [players] would get the same treatment.
Pearl Time
Time for a quick Earl Monroe story. This one comes from the magazine Pro Basketball Special (1971-72) and an article titled “Ordeal of the Playoffs,” by the late-great Phil Pepe. The article begins with a quote from Bill Russell that goes like this, “When the playoffs come and the pressure is the greatest, you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what kind of a man you are, what are you really made of?” Pepe takes Russel’s quote and writes, “Things happen in the playoffs, strange and eerie things. It is a time when the unusual is the norm, the extraordinary is commonplace. And only the stoutest of heart come through under the pressure of the playoffs.” Pepe goes on to retell this unusual “loss of cool” during the 1970 NBA Eastern Division semifinals pitting the soon-to-be champion New York Knicks against Monroe’s Baltimore Bullets.
From Way Downtown 