Connie Simmons would be proud of namesake
Connie Simmons was at the end of his life, living with his son and
daughter-in-law in Syosset. The former NBA player had such a
special relationship with his son, Neil, that the two were
virtually inseparable in the later years of Simmons' life.
The man who let his son play in pickup games with Al McGuire and
shared a wealth of pro basketball tales was slipping away. Neil
decided that his next child would bear his father's name.
Connie Simmons died at 64 in 1989. Two years later, Connie Simmons
was born. And it was a rebirth that would have made Granddad
proud.
His namesake grew up to be a star high school player at Syosset,
and the sophomore guard now is an integral part of the basketball
team at Dowling.
The women's team, that is.
The third child of Neil and Donna Simmons followed the basketball
tradition established by the patriarch, a 6-8 center-forward who
played 10 seasons in the NBA starting in 1946, when it was the
Basketball Association of America. Simmons played with several
teams, including the Knicks, Celtics and Bullets.
Connie has learned about her grandfather through her father. "I
went to where he played high school [Flushing High],'' she said. "I
played in his gym, got to see his picture hanging on the wall. My
dad pulled me aside. He brought me to the picture and gave me the
background story of how [her grandfather] played there and I'm
playing in the same gym as my namesake. It was an experience.''
It did not stop there. The family visited the Basketball Hall of
Fame and Connie saw memorabilia from her grandfather. "When I
visited, I got to see his tie and shoes,'' she said. "He also won a
championship with the Bullets. I got to see his name signed on the
championship ball.''
Neil Simmons has honored his father by having his entire family
absorbed in the sport. Daughter Danielle played for Franklin Pierce
and NYIT, and Bridget played for Cortland. The 5-10 Connie has been
blessed with the most talent.
Connie enjoys her heritage. "Some people come up to me and say, 'Do
you know who Connie Simmons is?' I say yes, that was my
grandfather. It's cool that I get to follow in his footsteps by
playing basketball. I was always around basketball, traveling for
my sisters' games. All I did was watch basketball. I understand it
better than I can play it.''
Dowling coach Joe Pellicane said, "I think role models are
important in all walks of life. Even though she never met her
granddad, she certainly knows her granddad. She's a basketball
player. She's multi-talented. Connie has impact on games without
scoring. She gets everybody involved. She's the leading rebounder
as a guard. She makes plays.
"At a camp years ago, Lou Carnesecca said, 'Show me a kid who knows
when to shoot and show me a kid who knows when to pass and I'll
give them a scholarship right now.' That's Connie. She's a young
player who knows how to play. She's got an instinct for the game;
she keeps the offense moving. She's getting better all the time as
a defender as well.''
Simmons, who is averaging 10.3 points and 7.5 rebounds, enjoys
watching men's and women's basketball. Her favorite team is the
Celtics, but "we were very big into [Syosset product] Sue Bird. We
watched her in high school, in college at UConn and now at Seattle
[in the WNBA].''
If she could talk to her grandfather, Connie said she would ask him
about going directly from high school into the NBA. "That was
huge,'' she said. "I would ask him about that.''
Her father has filled in some of the blanks. "My father's brother
[John] was playing for the Celtics,'' Neil said. "My father went to
drop him off at training camp. My father was in a pickup game with
some of the players. The coaches saw him and called the owner. He
played on the Celtics with Chuck Connors.''
(Connors, who also played pro baseball, later became an actor and
starred in the television series "The Rifleman.'')
Simmons led the Celtics in scoring with a 10.3 average in his
rookie season, the Celtics' first as a pro franchise. The first
game at home started an hour late because Connors splintered a
wooden backboard with a practice dunk before the game - thought to
be the first broken backboard in professional basketball
history.
As for those naming rights to Granddad, Neil's given name is
Cornelius, but instead of Connie, his middle name - Neil - became
the one everyone called him by.
"I have six sisters,'' he said. "My wife told me she is not having
seven kids so I [can] have a son.''
Neil said he never regretted having three daughters and no sons. "I
was grateful to have healthy kids, and that they loved basketball
was a plus,'' he said. "We spent so much time together. From CYO to
intramural to AAU, traveling all over the country.''
And his father's memory lives on. "My mother told the story that I
was brought out to the Garden when I was one month old . I remember
him from oldtimers games. I loved being around him. He was a nice
person, a gentle giant.''
And he sees his father in Connie, saying, "His love for the game directly filtered down to her.''
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