Jim Hadnot: PC’s First Big Man

By Craig Leighton
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Updated: February 13, 2015

Tomorrow afternoon during the game against Seton Hall, Providence College will be honoring two former players, John Thompson and Jim Hadnot, by having their names and jersey numbers raised to the rafters of the Dunkin Donuts Center.

While just about everyone knows all about John Thompson, very few people remember his teammate and fellow Friar great Jim Hadnot. Coming to PC from Oakland, CA the 6’10 Hadnot was the first great big man in PC history.

What is really an interesting story is how a 6’10 player from California comes all the way across the country to play for a small Catholic school in Providence, RI. It turns out that Hadnot wound up at PC because of one reason, Bill Russell.

During the 1958-59 season Bill Russell was already established as the star center for the Boston Celtics and was just at the beginning of a career which would lead him to 11 NBA Championships.

Jim Hadnot was finishing his career at Russell’s old high school, McClymond’s High School in Oakland. They both came from the same neighborhood and Hadnot’s sister and Russell were the same age. When Jim’s father had passed away Russell became a mentor to Jim and steered him to PC so he could keep a close eye on him.

Here is an excerpt from an article that Bill Reynolds did in May of 1999 about Russell becoming a mentor for Hadnot:

It was the late ’50s, and Russell already was a star for the Celtics. He already had led the University of San Francisco to back-to-back national titles, won an Olympic gold medal, won an NBA title, and revolutionized the game, the first quick athletic big man who used defense as a personal imprint, a sort of sneak preview of where the game would one day go.

What was not well known was he already was a mentor to Jim Hadnot, the first significant big man in Providence College basketball history, a relationship that had its roots in Russell’s youth.

“I knew his family,” said Russell. “His older sister was my age.”

Both Russell and Hadnot were from Oakland, Calif. They both had gone to McClymond’s High School. Russell was 6-foot-9, Hadnot 6-10. Russell already was the superstar. Hadnot was the unofficial protégé.

“I think his father had died the year before and his mother asked me for advice on what to do with Jimmy,” Russell said. “It just felt like something I should do.

“One of the things he did was arrange for Hadnot to attend PC, close enough to Boston so Russell could oversee him. Russell was married at the time, living in Reading, a suburb north of Boston. The summer of 1958, shortly before he entered PC, Hadnot lived with Russell.

“I remember he had to go to summer school at Reading High School and we got him a bike to go back and forth. It was quite a sight,” Russell said, with his signature cackle laugh.

Russell continued to mentor Hadnot throughout his career at Providence College and Jim frequently stayed with Russell on weekends while in college, although Russell did restrict him to campus for a semester after he got a D in an American Literature course.

Hadnot went on to have a great career at PC finishing as the Friars all time leading scorer and rebounder when he graduated in 1962 with 1462 points and 1299 rebounds.

During the 1960-61 season Jim Hadnot along with Johnny Egan, Vinny Ernst, and Ray Flynn led the Friars to their first NIT title. During the season he averaged 19 points and 15 rebounds per game. In the finals, PC defeated St. Louis 62-59 as Hadnot iced the game for the Friars with some late free throws. Back then the NIT was a huge deal in college basketball and the Friars were greeted by fans lining the route home from the Connecticut border all the way to downtown Providence where 10,000 more fans waited for their heroes.

“All I remember were those crowds of people waiting for us,” Hadnot told the Providence Journal in 1991. “We couldn’t believe it. The crowds just got bigger and bigger. When we got to Providence, all you could see were people.”

Here is a highlight clip from the 1961 NIT finals:

Here is what may be the most famous picture in PC history. No time left in the 1961 NIT semi finals against Holy Cross, score tied, Vinny Ernst at the line and the Holy Cross fans shaking the basket. Vinny missed but he then went on to score or assist on all 15 of PC’s points in overtime as PC advanced to the finals:

The following year the Friars added 6’10 sophomore center John Thompson Jr. to the team. This may have been the very first instance of a college basketball team having “Twin Towers” with 6’10 Hadnot playing center and 6’10 Thompson playing forward. It did not work out the greatest and was probably a little before its time. PC finished with a 20-6 record that year and in Jim’s last game the Friars wound up losing in the first round of the NIT to Temple 70-68 in overtime.

After his senior year Hadnot was drafted by the Celtics but he never made the team. He did play one season for the Oakland Oaks in the ABA where he averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds per game. Later on Hadnot served as an NBA scout for 10 years with both the Sacramento Kings and the New Jersey Nets.

Jim Hadnot was a very outgoing person who was loved by both his teammates and the Providence College community.

When talking to the Providence Journal’s Kevin McNamara about Hadnot head coach Joe Mullaney remembered Jim as an engaging, funny young man who was loved by the student body. He also loved to tease teammates.

“I always measured the boys then in their stocking feet to know just how big they really were,” Mullaney said. “Hadnot came in and said ‘how big was (John) Thompson?’ who then was the new big man. I said, ‘Thompson’s got you beat by half an inch.’ Jimmy’s face brightened and he said ‘Coach, that’s what I’ve been telling everyone else on campus. That man’s a freak.”

Tomorrow Friar fans can celebrate the career of one of the most under appreciated all time PC greats, Jim Hadnot, as his name and jersey finally gets raised to the rafters of the Dunkin Donuts Center.

email Craig at Craig.Leighton@friarbasketball.com

follow Craig on Twitter: @CraigL78

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8 Comments

Ron Hodgkinson

February 13, 2015 at 11:06 pm

I remember Big Jim. He was even better than John Thompson under the board.
Lou Zullo

February 13, 2015 at 11:26 pm

Can someone post ProJo story on JT?
Jim Jaques

February 13, 2015 at 11:26 pm

I remember his shot at Alumni Hall that beat I think it was Niagara at the buzzer.
Derec Lamendola

February 13, 2015 at 11:43 pm

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Sean Gleason

February 13, 2015 at 11:46 pm

Great story as was one on John Thompson in ProJo in today’s paper. Disappointed that JT not going to be at Dunk on Saturday. Don’t have digital access or would post.
Nick Motta

February 14, 2015 at 2:27 am

Helen Annarummo Motta
Anne Carroll

February 15, 2015 at 5:53 am

I remember Jimmy Hadnot !
Derec Lamendola

June 8, 2015 at 6:54 pm

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