The Big E
Hayes Houston's hope
By MIKE WALKER
The biggest thing to hit Houston since the Astrodome is the way 6-8,235 pound Elvin Hayes has been described.
Up until two years ago when "The Big E" arrived at the University of Houston, football, baseball and oil drilling were the favorite sports. Now, all of a sudden, the town is hoop-happy. The fans turn out in mobs to see Elvin stuff basketballs into the nets.
Though just a junior, Hayes already has the pros drooling over him. He's that big, powerful, springy and quick. On defense he's just like Bill Russell. He hangs around the basket and stuff shots back into the shooter's face.
HIS MERE PRESENCE gives the opponents fits. Every time they lift the ball to shoot a little faster or a little higher—and that's no way to make baskets.
Thanks to Elvin, Houston had the greatest year in its history in 1965-66. The Cougars won 21 and lost 6, and licked Colorado State in the national championships before dropping a close one to Oregon State.
Elvin had the greatest sophomore year in the history of the Southwest. He rewrote every scoring and rebounding record in the Houston book, as follows:
Most points scored—789.
- Best scoring average—27.2.
- Most rebounds—490.
- Best rebounding average—16.9.
- Most points in a game—55.
- Most field goals in a game—24.
Most rebounds in a game----50.
And that wasn't all by any means. In the national statistics, Elvin ranked 11th in scoring, 10th in field-goal percentage (56.5) and fifth in rebounding. He was the only player in the land to make the top 15 in all three of these categories. Some year for a soph! Some year for anyone!
ELVIN HAS COME a long way since his days at Eula Britton High School in Rayville, La. As a freshman, he stood 6-2, but was cut when he went out for the varsity. The coach loved his size, but thought that he could never untangle Elvin's hands and feet. He told Elvin to go home, put up a basket and to practice.
"It sort of hurt my pride," the big boy says. "But I did what he said. During the summer, I practiced from 9 a.m. until noon, took an hour off for lunch, then went back to practice until 10 p.m. I practiced six days a week and seemed to keep growing all the time."
Success didn't come overnight. Elvin still failed to make the team his sophomore year. He had to content himself with beating the bass drum in the school band.
He finally made the team his junior year. By that time he stood 6-5. Everything seemed to come together his senior year. At 6-7 and 210 pounds, he towered over most of his opponents, and nobody could handle him.
HAYES WAS PLACED on the 1964 All-Southwest team made up of players from Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. On that team were a 6-5 forward named Don Chaney from Baton Rouge, La.; a 6-9 center named Ken Spain from Houston and on the all-America 1965 squad a 6-7 center from Clinton, Okla., named Marvin Bell.
All of these high school all-Americans—Hayes, Chaney, Spain, and Bell are now teammates at Houston. The Cougars also have two 6-6 players, one 6-7 player, and one 6-8 player. Is that going to make Houston tough to beat? Does a bear have hair?
14
Daily Kansan Friday, March 17, 1967
THE BIG E
Elvin Hayes, an all-America choice on the LOOK magazine team, holds every Houston scoring and rebounding record. Hayes has a 10" hand span and his arms measure 86" from finger top to finger tip. He is 6-8.
GIVE 'EM H... BIG
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Omicron Pi
We're With You...
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Sigma Kappa
Pi Beta Phi
...All The Way