Gus Johnson - Honeycomb (NBA Hall of Fame Forward)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ต.ค. 2024
- Gus Johnson's game was so sweet he earned the nickname Honeycomb. He shattered 3 backboards in his NBA career. Unfortunately less than 1% of his career exists on film.
For more information about Gus, check out his bio:
www.jockbio.com... - กีฬา
The NBA does itself a great disservice by not promoting and showcasing its own history as other sports. Gus Johnson is virtually forgotten now and that's a damn shame.
Yea i would consider myself a basketball enthusiast and I had never heard of him. Hes a tremendous player. Love his style of play
They would have to also tell u how inferior the current game is compared to the true warriors from back in the day that still had 45" verticals and dropped 50pt, but did it in Chuck Taylor's
@DICK LONG Facts, or don't care, despite having It and having available that treasure.
@DICK LONG I don't know about his (D Tucker Sr) first unfair and old-head comment, but yours is definitely true and correct.
@@dusk6159 u can't agree to his comment and discredit mine. 'A can't equal C, if A isn't equal to B'
As a kid living in Idaho, seeing Gus Johnson in 1962 was seeing the greatest ball player that I ever saw. I saw Wilt. Jerry West. All of em'. Gus Johnson with good knees would be remembered today as one of the 5 greatest of all time. A great man.
🔥 jealous man
Gus Johnson was a phenomenal player, but he wasn't Wilt, Elgin, Big O, or Jerry West. It's actually disrespectful to their legacies to downplay what they accomplish to uplift Gus Johnson. It also does a disservice to Johnson because it takes the attention away from how special he was before the injury.
Wow. Gus Johnson and Nate Thurmond on the same high school team. Insane!!!
Yep...Akron Ohio has produced some talent. Also a kid names Lebron :)
Also
I grew up in Akron in the 70's and 80's. In 1989 I worked at Balch Street Athletic Club and Nate Thurmond was still playing pick up games at the age of 48/49 and was destroying everyone. As a 22 year old I couldn't understand how such an old man could do it. Today as a 57 years old, I understand.
Living in Baltimore I loved watching Gus Johnson and Earl Monroe. Gus could jump. Loved the Baltimore Bullets.
Gus Johnson is a forgotten name today. But he was a remarkable player. I remember the battles he and Dave Debusschre used to have. They would bang like crazy. Debusschre matched up surprisingly well with him. Gus liked to bully most forwards with his strength and Debusschre was somebody he couldn't do that with. So, they used to trade elbows, shoulders, and hand checks all night
Superb matchup, Gus and Dave. RIP both greats.
I used to watch him play at the old Baltimore Civic Center back in 1965-66 when he was with the Bullets.
There just was no one like him and nobody knows about him.
He was way ahead of his time and was the prototype power-forward with massive strength and the ability to do things on the court that other players simply could not do.
As far as I'm concerned, he paved the way for Dr. J, Dominique, MJ, Kobe, LeBron...all of them.
He was spectacular!
There was no greater show, and never will be, like when Earl Monroe and Gus Johnson played together. I idolized them both as a kid.
Some of those passes are insane. This is really, really great shit
Why is this guy so underrated?
@@mattveteska8559 because his stats were underwhelming, didn’t play well in the playoffs
@@mdhcccc interesting
I saw Gus Johnson in his prime. A very exciting player. I saw him dunk on Wilt once. Unfortunately for Gus, the next time he tried to dunk on Wilt, the big guy simply pushed back with his hand. Gus suffered a dislocated shoulder and fell to the floor. Gus was a tremendously strong PF, but going up against the Big Fella is another story.
Gus would be just as great today. A slightly larger Elgin Baylor, Gus also reminds you of Dr. J. and LeBron. It is too bad Gus spent most of his career in a low market city. Just watch him, though. Gus is just one of several reasons why I feel the 60s was the best era of the NBA except for the 80s and maybe the 90s.
+Sam73157910 He was the second high flyer after Baylor, but before Dr. J.
+JL He and Connie Hawkins.
Mick A Connie was nice.
Broken shoulder was the highlight of his career.
Was the nba soft then?
Man, what a player. He could sky. Some of those passes? whew. Very underrated
I was just getting into playing basketball in the late 60's; watching the games between the Knicks and Bullets, Gus & Wes, vs Willis and Dave, the wars underneath the baskets. Oh, wow. I wish I had tapes of those games. It's a shame the NBA doesn't market them, it's a huge untapped market.
And .... The Pearl vs Clyde!
The Knick and Bullet teams from 1968-69 through 1973-74 matched up very well. Dave Debusschere and Gus Johnson played like gladiators. They played hard against each other, but they didn't get into fist fights. They were a far cry from many players today who have difficulty playing aggressively without descending into fisticuffs.
@@kensmall6755 Well said, Ken.
@@kensmall6755 Those were the greatest games I've ever seen.
Gus Johnson was the first NBA player to blast a backboard.
Before Darryl Dawkins started smashing backboards the schoolyard term was "he gusjohnsoned that rim."
+JStarStar00 Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors tore down a backboard decades before Johnson, during his time with the Celtics.
+JStarStar00 No, Chuck Connors broke a backboard in the 1950's. he went on to be an actor. have you ever heard of the "Rifleman"?
+George Wagner Sorry, Dave Conley, did not see your comment until after I posted mine.
+George Wagner No problem, George. Just glad someone else knew!
Hey, Dave, did u know that he also played major league baseball for the Dodgers and Cubs. He was also drafted by the Chicago Bears of the NFL!
One of my favorites. Those Knicks and Bullet battles were great.
Wow.....this cat was no joke. he had serious hops and hang time.
Serious hands, power, .....
What's the difference between hops and hang time?
@@Romamb hang time is like Jordan & Vince Carter & some more great dunkers. But hops is like vertical and just jumping high. If you have hang time you can stay in the air for a certain amount of time go back and look at Dr. J highlights that's hang time. Hops is what most WRs in the NFL or track stars in the high jump have. People say I have crazy hang time but I feel like I have more hops than hang time.
This guy is incredible!!!! One of the greatest players ever to play in the NBA that hardly anyone ever talks about. He
Was most certainly way ahead of his time. Amazing!!!!!
Gus was NOT afraid of anyone, he even took it against the likes of Wilt, Russell, and Kareem and other big of that era. He worked hard, he was an underrated passer, he could rebound with the best!!!
I never got to see a healthy Gus Johnson play. Thankfully these videos present a good history of the early ball players.
dude was prototypical for 2021 in 1961
crazy genetics and tenacity
Gus Johnson did the Dr.J baseline reverse before Dr. J did the Dr. J baseline reverse had it not have been for channels like this i never would’ve heard of him and that’s a damn shame
He was a GREAT player!
I was a young basketball player from Akron going into my freshman year of college.
It was the summer of '75 and the best players in the area hooped at Tallmadge Middle School outside of Akron.
You showed up early and got your name on the list for "next".
Well, one day Gus Johnson and Nate Thurmond showed up to play. can you f'n believe it?
Well they ran with us, putting their pro level skills on full display and eclipsing all the talent on the court - even the D1 ballers from Akron.
One play, Gus grabs a rebound. Before he hits the asphalt he slings a behind the back pass to Nate who is in full stride to the other basket. Nate f'n throws it down.
What a day that was. I'm now in my 60's and can still that as if it was yesterday . What a day!
Gus and Nate were regular guys, just talking it up, appreciative of the respect we had for them.
2 of Akron's best ever.
Gus had some Doc, George McGinnis, and Elgin in his game and was probably a better defender than all those players. Gus was a beast with an excellent mid range game, he was a terror on the break, and he was a ferocious rebounder. He's one the greatest forwards ever. I suspect he would be listed in the 6'8" range today. Thanks for another fine video!
+Wei Qi He had great games covering Billy Cunningham offensively. That's what was so great about him. He could cover both big power forwards like Bob Pettit and quick explosive small forwards and even shooting guards like Cunningham and even the big O.
+Wei Qi Pretty good analogy.
The all-time underrated team has to be :
Gus Johnson
Dennis Johnson
Walt Frazier
Hondo
Baylor
@@brandonterzic Gus Williams aka The Wizard, Kevin Porter, Mo Cheeks, Bobby Jones.....
Im Glad this Video exist I told People He broke rims Waaay B4 Shaq nobody believed it they thought D.D. was first it was Great Players from tha 60's & 70's B4 all tha Hype MEN who Played Ball & didn't cry!!
Thank you so much for posting this great video of Honeycomb Johnson. It is ashame so little film exist of him and many of the other great players of the 60's like Reed, Unseld, Zelmo Beaty, Bill Bridges, Nate the Great, the Pearl and many other great and fantastic players from that time. Monroe, Unseld, Honeycomb are all in the HOF as is erstwhile Bullet Walt Bellamy.
It really is Dios. The 60's ushered in, more or less, "modern" basketball, the likes of which has been expanded upon by many. But the versatility and athletic ability began in the 60's.
Gus would've been great today too....it just shows how strong Wilt was to dislocate his shoulder. Gus died young from cancer I believe in 1987....guys like Gus and esp Wilt seem indestructible but they have both gone for quite awhile now. If anyone thinks there were no legends in 60s just watch those 2.
Gus is the most under-rated player in NBA history. Him and Elgin Baylor actually.
Lot more have heard of Elgin Baylor. Most never heard of Gus Johnson
@@tobingallawa3322 honeycomb!!
From Akron btw. Just like Lebron and nate thurmond.
crazy passing
Just based on physicality and size, Gus Johnson was the LeBron of the 60s
And agility and versatility.
Ironically both from Akron, along with Nate Thurmond.
I remember seeing him toward the end of his career; he was still very intimidating and entertaining
Gus and Nate Thurmond on the same high school team? DAMN!
like what the odds two tall ass dudes ball out in high school and meet later in the nba lol
My NICK name WAS Omar was a ballboy for the kent state golden flashes in the 70s and 80s before I made my high school team kent Roosevelt .GUS WAS MY BABYSITTER,MENTOR,BIGBROTHER ...RIP GUS
I was born and raised in Baltimore, and my father was a Bullets fan until they left, he told me no one played defense like Gus, and no one ever will. The guy was built like a brick !@#$-house and there were few that could handle his physicality. Thanks for the great video as usual.
John Bruns I had the fortune of seeing Gus play in his prime. A great defender and rebounder and just a very exciting player. There were three players in the late 1960s at the PF position who were oustanding- all of the same size- Gus Johnson, Dave Debuschere and Bill Bridges. But Gus was the most colorful. He was probably the best scorer of the trio, equal to Debuschere as a defnder, and equal to Bridges as a rebounder. Maybe the most exciting player of the 1960s, he would be just as good today.
+Sam73157910 Jumping Johnny Green, Jim Pollard, Billy Cunningham, Spencer Haywood, Chet Walker, and MANY others were just as athletic as the guys today. The main reason people don't know or think this is because there was such little media coverage in those days and the coaches and refs (who had much more control then than now) looked doen on "showboating", or "playground ball".
You didn't even mention Rick Barry, Elgin, the "Butterbean" Bob Love, the "Big E" Elvin Hays, John Havelicek, etc... There were so many great forwards in the 60s and seventies. To me that was the golden age of the forward position.
Wei Qi You are correct. I was just mentioning the "athletic" guys. As far as BB fundamentals, skills and IQ Rick Barry, Havlicek and dozens of others were BETTER than the guys today. Kids today never even heard of Jack Marin, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Tom Heinsohn, John Drew, dan Roundfield, Terry Cummings, Truck Robinson, Marques Johnson........ I know, they are from different eras, but you get the point.
Ok im from the same home town as Gus , and am proud of how he played and how he lived his life...and I'd be willing to argue Gus and Nate Thurmond were arguably 2 of the top 15 - 20 best defenders ever...but I can't put either as 1 or 2...id have to say Bobby Jones or Dennis Rodman...the only real difference was one was clean...
I remember I told some younger people that LeBron physically was like Gus and Larry Johnson. They laughed because they didn't know either name, and that's why basketball conversations are always so heated. The lack of knowledge
A beast😎
I've never heard of this guy before but found myself here. What an awesome player. He would definitely do well in todays game. Runs the floor, great rebounder and can drop some dimes. Always a spot for a guy like that on the floor. Reminds me of Karl Malone
Reminds me of Lebron, to a large degree. Too bad about the injuries ..... But that goes for Baylor, Maravich, Bernard King as well as many others. Penny, Grant, Walton. I could go on and on.
Gus wasn't as ripped as Karl Malone. However, Gus didn't do gym workouts.
@@kensmall6755 Still good comparison.
GREAT PLAYER AND AWESOME LEAPER AND DUNKER.HONEYCOMB
The honeycomb was a bad Motherfuck
Definitely an unknown quantity! I’m in my 40s and live in the vicinity of Baltimore, and I’d never heard of him until a few months ago. Since then I’ve heard his name EVERYWHERE. It all started with conversation on WEAA 88.9 (Morgan State University’s radio station). Then I found myself talking to a gentleman from MISSISSIPPI of all places about the greatness of Gus Johnson. His name just keeps popping up everywhere. I guess his anonymity these days is also because of his relatively early death.
Frankly, this guy was ridiculous!
Before Jordan, Dr J and Connie Hawkins, there was Gus Johnson. and Wilt put Gus out of a game for awhile by merely blocking a Johnson attempted dunk. Wilt blocked Gus so hard that Gus had his shoulder pulled out of joint. And Gus was a premier power man.
*BEAST!*
Great, great player.
A healthy Gus Johnson would have been a top-10 career rebounder and probably would have had 15,000-20,000 career points.
I totally agree with your assessment of his abilities. There were two factors that prevented him from putting up the higher numbers. Number One- he was 25 years old when he entered the league. Number two-Honeycomb was injured for part of the season 5 of the 10 years he played. A healthy Gus always put up the kind of elite numbers that made him one of the best players of this time. You can check them out here..www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsgu01.html
Completely underrated.
depends on who's doing the rating. look above at my comment,, ^^^^^^^^
Underrated hell, GJ has been forgotten and that is criminal.
He was a predecessor to Rodman in a lot of ways. The earliest forward and one of the few I can think of who they would play against any position. His strength and agility and speed were so incredible and he was so versatile it could pay to have him guard anyone.
This was a great video. Never thought a guy could do this
+33Poloboy Jumping Johnny Green, Jim Pollard, Billy Cunningham, Spencer Haywood, Chet Walker, and MANY others were just as athletic as the guys today. The main reason people don't know or think this is because there was such little media coverage in those days and the coaches and refs (who had much more control then than now) looked doen on "showboating", or "playground ball".
One of original great power forwards.
It is beyond me how the NBA DID NOT PLACE Gus on its 50 year team!!!!! How??
Gus missed a lot of games due to injuries. He never had a solid stretch of more or less, reasonably full seasons.
Heavenly Birthday "Honeycomb" R.I.P.
Listening to the end, to hear that Gus Johnson was a HS teammate of Nate Thurmond, Damn. That's a formidable front line no matter who had the wing role. You can't imagine there was a power forward to slip between those two.
@ Q The Golden Age for centers for sure
NO question, Joe Mc. NO question.
Glad to see him finally getting credit . .. absolute beast rebounder good scorer great outlet passer great passer on teams with guards who took most of the shots walker loughery Monroe. His battles with de Buschere were legendary. Two hight challenged big forwards who banged for 48 minutes . There was reverence in every voice who mentioned his name. You see that baseline drive where he is going to flip it up on the opposite side that is Dr. J BEFORE THE DR. Somebody else already made the point about he and Wilt but that's about the only person who could manhandle Gus.
I love all your videos, excellent footage from the past. thanks.
Out of Akron Ohio? Wow.. Before LeBron.. Before Jerome Lane....
yep...and dont forget Nate Thurmond...
Gus and Nate were teammates in high school. Now they are teammates in Heaven...RIP.
TheRealKingLewis23 and was a better defense player than LeBron James much better
Yeah, he was a good guy, he had a daughter who lived next door to me, used to see him frequently when I was a kid before he died. He even played a little ball at Patterson Park every now and then when he was in the neighborhood, and the fact that he wasn't hounded the whole time speaks to the difference in Era. Try seeing LeBron come and play at Patterson now, no way would it be respectful like it was back then
@@Diosprometheus central hower eagles!!!!🤙 then jimmy Gooden. Grady mateen
I remember seeing him late in his career in the ABA threw down an incredible dunk I will never forget it
Especially humorous is WiltChamberlainArchive's video clip of Wilt grabbing Gus by his upper arm and flinging him off the court like a discus. Thanks man.
clu4u Gus was very strong, but going up against the Big Guy (Wilt) is another story.
Wilt strength stories are legendary.And don't get him mad because then the strength becomes superhuman.
I never knew that this guy was that great of a player!
Bigger than Elgin Baylor and even more graceful! Gus is a joy to watch!
Much Gratitude
I remember dave Debuschere saying that after a game against Johnson you needed a full day to recover. And debuschere was one of the toughest players in the league
Akron Ohio has produced LBJ, Gus Johnson, Nate Thurmond
The more I look the more I see how stacked the '71 team was!
Now let me say this, being a native of Akron, Ohio we have 2 NBA greats the late Gus Johnson, and Nate Thurmond. Both went to old Akron Central High school, both late gentlemen are in the NBA fall of fame, yeah Lebron James from Akron, but Jerome Lane went to same high school Lebron did, and played in the NBA as well, but we also have football talent as well, The state of Ohio is very talented in track, Edwin Moses, Dayton Dunbar, and late Jessie Owens, Cleveland Technical High School, 1936 Berlin Olympics. Late pro-boxer, Michael Dokes from Akron too. not just Lebron too, and Butch Reynolds , Track star, Akron Hoban High School as well.
My favorite memory of Gus Johnson was a rebound against Bill Russel. Gus was so high he hit Bill Russel in the temple with his KNEE, knocking Bill out.
I was watching the broken rim game on tv. When I saw it, I ran and got my dad!
Too bad a current sports announcer capitalizes on Gus Johnson's name. There is only ONE Gus Johnson and he played in the NBA!!
The original Rodman energy with Lebron body....!
Perhaps without Rodman's hairstyles and odd dressing...
Im so glad this video is up Ive been telling all theese espn brainwashed edited highlight watchers that Shaq wasnt tha first nor tha second backboard breaker Gus Johnson & Darryl Dawkins Preceded him! now we need sum Connie Hawkins Earl tha Pearl Monroe David Skywalker Thompson ect ect
Pass away too early
Another Great 😃👍 PLAYER definitely deserve to be on the 50th and 75 Anniversary Team. EAT YOUR HEART OUT KARL MALONE.
wow he was athletic as fuck
Best passing forward ever doubtlessly. He was doing things in the same wheelhouse as Maravich, Cheeks, and Magic would later conceive of.
This guy is LBJ 40 years before LBJ.
Yeah. Too bad he couldn't put a good, healthy stretch together. That's ALL he lacked.
Gus Johnson did it 3 times...
Gus was a LeBron type player. Powerful man. Saw an All-Star game where Wilt took one hand and threw him off the floor. Wilt should have been called on it. But I don't think the ref saw the move.
From the highlights it looks like he could do dam near anything..This was just him naturally, imagine if he had the modern medicine and technology to stay healthier and define his skills further!!!
3:55 ayo look at them shoulders bro
And they said Russell and Wilt's competition were just unathletic plumbers and firemen
And for people who doubt Wilt's strength, see the 69 all star game where Wilt with one hand grabbed Gus's arm (not a push - more of a throw) and removed him from the telecast (still not sure why).
02:41 "He was AIR before air was AIR." 😲
Genesis 1:1 😀
So LeBron , Gus Johnson Nate Thurmond...the ALL Akron Front line.....
8 stupid kids cannot believe there was an athletic power forward that flies like the 'uber-athletic', devolved ballers of today
He was absolutely that.
A hook outlet pass.....!
Is this the player that Wilt blocked a flying dunk a little too hard against and he landed on his shoulder and dislocated it? I didn't get to see him play, but he looked great here. Jordan, nor Dr. J., had anything on him. I think there is footage where Wilt slung him about 15 feet off the court, from a back pic, with one arm. He must have pissed Wilt off a couple of times. Brave man.
Amazing Playmaking lock down glass cleaner
How did idaho recruit Gus to leave Ohio to go out their ?? That was a big time college - Gus should have went to A philly school . Maybe Temple or LaSalle , St Joe ? How did he do in college and who was his college coach ?
Woow dis is the first tI'mme i have heard his name ...his style is like high flying mj...he loooks something like .mj....before an mj
He was much more solid than MJ, body wise he was probably the closest thing to LeBron in the 60s.
@@JStarStar00 like a combo of LeBron (physique), Dr J, Hawkins (hands & jumping), Baylor (dribbling, passing on the break, rebounding) and MJ (hang time and shot adjustments).
Wtf is that highlight right at the end, that shit was unreal.
Now I see where Darryl Dawkins may have gotten his Gorilla Yank Rebound from ...Gus Johnson ? I've seen Dawkins do that rebound grab with the elbows swinging and a should shrug many a times. Very Powerful and intimidating way to get a rebound
Je connaissais pas il était très bon
that last shot was dis*gus*ting
This is Lebrons dad
4:45
A 3pt line ??? What ?? How ??
Maybe ABA
I heard the RoboCop theme.
When they said he was from Akron, I had a funny feeling and a sneaky suspicion that this is Lebron James biological father 🤷🏽♂️
N!ce
If the Chicago Zephyrs stayed one more year?
Gus played with Jalen Rose's dad..
Jimmy Walker did play when Gus Johnson was in the NBA, so yes.
@@kensmall6755 Jimmy was an exceptionally talented offensive guard.
“The Lebron of our day”. Seriously?
Yes
Casuals : wilt Chamberlain played against plumbers
Plumbers:
You would think they learnt to respect his jump shot more. NOPE.
I knew of his speed, power, jumping ability. That he could score, shoot, rebound. But the one handed rebs and passes! Like the Hawk, with power!
Like if Barkley played defense