R.I.P. Connie Hawkins

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The Bobster
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Re: R.I.P. Connie Hawkins

Post by The Bobster »

No cause of death was given, but the did acknowledge that he had been in poor health the last couple of years.

On a happier note - it was good to see Dick Van Arsdale at the 40th anniversary celebration for the 1975-76 team. He has not looked so well since he had his stroke.

It was disappointing to find out that John MacLeod (who's 80) couldn't make it to the reunion for health reasons, but as they say "Father Time remains undefeated."
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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The Bobster
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Re: R.I.P. Connie Hawkins

Post by The Bobster »

All of this makes what Al McCoy does at age 84 even more amazing.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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Nodack
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Re: R.I.P. Connie Hawkins

Post by Nodack »

RIP Connie. He was before my time and I never got to see him play. I hace certainly read about him and appreciate all he did for the franchise.

I'm another guy as old as that geezer Superbone and I feel great.

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Superbone
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Re: R.I.P. Connie Hawkins

Post by Superbone »

Nodack wrote:RIP Connie. He was before my time and I never got to see him play. I hace certainly read about him and appreciate all he did for the franchise.

I'm another guy as old as that geezer Superbone and I feel great.
Hey! Leave me out of it.
"Be Legendary."

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Superbone
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Re: R.I.P. Connie Hawkins

Post by Superbone »

Great article about The Hawk that I suggest everybody read.

http://www.nba.com/article/2017/10/10/d ... ed-peers#/

A couple highlights below:
Hawkins, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, once said of his style: “If I didn’t break the laws of gravity, I was slow to obey them.”
Hawkins’ deal with Phoenix brought him into orbit with Jerry Colangelo, the Suns’ general manager, interim coach and eventual owner. And as Haywood recalled from his own close relationship with Schulman, “With all the things going on with Connie at that time, God placed him with the perfect human being not only for that team but for his life.”

Colangelo was only 30 when Hawkins joined the Suns, and the two hit it off as friends beyond their work relationships. His instant success in the NBA, Colangelo’s work on the sideline before hiring Cotton Fitzsimmons and Hawkins’ impact on Phoenix’s record – from 16-66 as an expansion team to 39-43 and the playoffs, in what then was the league’s biggest one-year improvement ever – bonded the two.

“The Hawk, more importantly, put us on the map,” Colangelo said. “He gave us credibility immediately. That’s something you can’t ever forget.”
"Be Legendary."

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The Bobster
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Re: R.I.P. Connie Hawkins

Post by The Bobster »

Colangelo also brought Hawkins back in the Community Relations department a few years back.

I don't know if we can really overstate how important it was for the Suns to get Hawkins in 1969 - SPORTS ILLUSTRATED referred to them as the worst team in the NBA when they got his rights, and they probably would have lost a ton of money if they hadn't shown a lot of improvement that second year. But adding Hawkins and Silas helped make them good enough to increase the attendance from 4,300 a game to 7,600.

Otherwise, Colangelo might not have made it work here, the team might have moved, and it could have been years before we got another team.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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