Writer with Peoria connections mentions Hersey Hawkins

[Da Coach]

The writer of this article mentions he recalls an epic matchup between Hersey Hawkins and Xavier McDaniel in 1985.
He uses that memory to bring up other epic matchups between relatively obscure players at the time.
Interesting read for those who were around back then. He does a good job with his articles.--

http://slamonline.com/online/2008/09/uncelebrated-epic-matchups/

[Braves4Life]

Good article DC. I've seen a lot of great players come through the Fieldhouse and PCC -- Mo Cheeks, Darrell Griffith, Junior Bridgeman, Theus, Bird, World B. Free (then called Lloyd), Levingston, Carr, X. Daniels, and the list goes on and on. Hey, not to mention all the great Bradley players.

Ah, those were the days......................

[Missouri Brave]

The article is good, though the writer's memory is a touch cloudy. While Xavier McDaniel scored 43 points for Wichita, a Carver Arena record for an opponent, Hersey couldn't have scored more than 24 points since that was high game as a freshman (looked it up in an old Bradley media guide). The fact that the writer thought The Hawk was close to 40 tells me he probably hit some big shots in that game. Unfortunately, 25th-ranked Wichita won the game, 82-79.

Interestingly re: The Hawk, he didn't have his first 30 point game until the first game of his junior year, a 37-point effort at Michigan in the Preseason NIT. His first 40 point effort was later that season when he had 43 vs Indiana State at Carver.

Man, he was fun to watch. Bradley will likely never see another like him.

[Double D]

The article is good, though the writer's memory is a touch cloudy. While Xavier McDaniel scored 43 points for Wichita, a Carver Arena record for an opponent, Hersey couldn't have scored more than 24 points since that was high game as a freshman (looked it up in an old Bradley media guide). The fact that the writer thought The Hawk was close to 40 tells me he probably hit some big shots in that game. Unfortunately, 25th-ranked Wichita won the game, 82-79.

Interestingly re: The Hawk, he didn't have his first 30 point game until the first game of his junior year, a 37-point effort at Michigan in the Preseason NIT. His first 40 point effort was later that season when he had 43 vs Indiana State at Carver.

Man, he was fun to watch. Bradley will likely never see another like him.

Agree here. Hawk's "also ran" teammates included future NBA draft picks: Voise Winters, Mike Williams, and one Jim Les in 1985. Hawk (frosh), JL and Massive Mike (juniors), Voise (senior and leading scorer).

Nice blog, but as mentioned the memories must have been a little cloudy.

DD

[Da Coach]

The article is good, though the writer's memory is a touch cloudy. While Xavier McDaniel scored 43 points for Wichita, a Carver Arena record for an opponent, Hersey couldn't have scored more than 24 points since that was high game as a freshman (looked it up in an old Bradley media guide). The fact that the writer thought The Hawk was close to 40 tells me he probably hit some big shots in that game. Unfortunately, 25th-ranked Wichita won the game, 82-79.

Interestingly re: The Hawk, he didn't have his first 30 point game until the first game of his junior year, a 37-point effort at Michigan in the Preseason NIT. His first 40 point effort was later that season when he had 43 vs Indiana State at Carver.

Man, he was fun to watch. Bradley will likely never see another like him.

I emailed the writer, and got a reply. I initially had it wrong, he actually never lived in Peoria, but had a lot of family here and visited frequently. He saw a few games during that era, and like all of us, he may have mixed a couple of the memories of those games he saw. Yes, Hersey's game-high his freshman season was against Tulsa and Kent State, not against Wichita State.

Hersey did have perhaps the best freshman season in Bradley history. He was named Newcomer of the Year in the MVC, averaged 37.5 minutes per game, 14.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, and 1.7 steals per game, and shot an amazing 58% from the floor as a guard. The three point line had not yet been put into the college rules.