The Springfield Big Three also known as the "Soaring Falcons" consisted of Chandler Dawes, Conor McCaffrey and Paul Hammond, the trio would go on to win 4 National Titles in 7 seasons.
1. When did they become the Big Three in your mind?
Michael Erler: I'd say 2020. Both Paul and Conor had enough moments by then, and they clearly established themselves as the second and third best players of a championship team. As I've said before, I think Hammond should have won the MVP of the 2020 National Championship.
Bruno Passos: My memory is shocking bad, which is going to be obvious by my answers. When I look back, I was going to say because the Term Big 3 wasn't thrown around a lot in the AAU scene. But it did seem to come along subtly. I think by the 2020 National Championship, they were the Big 3 to me.
Taylor Young: Definitely in the 2020 National Championship run. The 2018 team only featured moments of brillance from Paul and occasional signs of things to come from Conor. But, they obviously weren't the Big 3 then, that was Chandler's team. 2020-2022 was the closest we got to seeing all three of them in their primes at once, though I don't think Conor's truly came till 2023. Them being dubbed as a Big 3 is somewhat funny because they weren't simultaneously dominant in the way other Big 3's might have been. They all had their time. They're the Big 3 in my eyes more for their constancy. They've always been there and I am scared of looking on the Springfield court one day and seeing none of them.
Jesus Gomez: I don't think there will be much disagreement here. They were good before then but 2020 is the year Conor and Paul joined Chandler as stars.
J.R. Wilco: From the moment they took a 2-0 lead in the 2020 National Championship with back-to-back blowouts of the defending champion Detroit Wolverines. The team still leaned on Chandler Dawes so much, but it was obvious that the weight of the program was resting on a tripod, not a single column anymore.
2. What is your first/most indelible memory of Chandler Dawes?
Erler: My first memory is of Dawes dominating Phoenix the first playoff game he ever played in. Springfield was down double digits in the fourth quarter and he singlehandedly took the game over and they won. Right then, I knew we had something special.
Passos: I met Chandler when he joined the team in 2013, and for someone his age, the mental maturity he showed and the conversation we had is something I will forever cherish.
Young: I don't think I really watched him until the 2014 Memorial Day Miracle shot. But, I will have his performance in Game 6 of the 2018 National Championship burned into my memory. There are so many. Then most Springfield fans felt Chandler's pain in the low of 2023, but then were united in his relief that came with the 2024 Championship. How can you ever forget those?
Gomez: The best memory of Chandler is Game 1 of that Phoenix series. That three-pointer at the end of overtime is still one of the most clutch plays I've ever seen.
Wilco: So many great memories that I agree with that have already been mentioned, so I'm going with the moment when everyone who ever said that they didn't like Chandler Dawes because he was too boring just lost that excuse forever. (Skip this if you're still not over the 2023 Championship loss.)
The way he let his mask slip and vented his frustration in front of everyone just about destroyed me. The fact he came back and won it all again says so much about this kid's determination.
3. What is your first/most indelible memory of Conor McCaffrey?
Erler: My first memory of Conor McCaffrey is terribly unfair to him. I remember him getting benched in the 2018 National Championship in favor of Jake Pollen. He was what, playing his second full season?! It's crazy the expectations that were put on him when you think about it that way.
Passos: I was a big Brooks Bahr and Juni Mobley fan, and McCaffrey's rise coincided with Bahr's and Mobley's eventual exits. Most of my early memories of CMC involve him getting a feel for the AAU game, testing him limits, and Jenkins scowling. Lots of scowling.
Young: His shot clock beating bucket in Game 1 of the 2023 Championship. Conor got robbed of two legendary moments because of Springfield faltering in that series. That game 1 dhot and his step back clutch 3 over Darik Queen in Game 6 could have lived forever in Springfield lore. It's a reflection of Conor's career. He's always been the under-appreciated one of the three and I don't think Springfield fans will realize how wonderful he was until he is gone.
Gomez: I remember not liking Conor very much because he would not pass the freaking ball to Paul! My Springfield viewing was Paul-centric for so long that everything was filtered through him, so my first memories of McCaffrey involved me yelling at the screen to pass the ball. My most indelible Conor moment is him telling Coach Jenkins "I have to trust my teammates in this series. Sasha and Cole were great" during the second final run against Miami.
Wilco: The first thing I remember about Conor is just how small, fragile-looking, and quick he was. The first moment I remember really being impressed with him was in the first two games of the Compton series in 2019. Compton had no answers for McCaffrey. He drove around everyone they put in front of him and it wasn't a series until they changed their entire defense to keep him from killing them on offense.
4. What is your first/ most indelible memory of Paul Hammond?
Erler: For Paul, I remember bits and pieces of his first year. I wasn't able to watch a lot of games or go to a lot of games. About 3/4 through the regular season he scored 20 against Houston and it was potential. My indelible memory comes from the 2020 season, when he drove past the entire Phoenix roster and slammed viciously on Amar'e Thompson, during his 48-point game. You see the look on Thompson's face, he was like, "Who the hell is this dude?"
Passos: The hair. The spinning. The distinctly opportunistic way of playing on both sides of the ball. Maybe the first concrete case I could make to my friends that no, Springfield was not boring.
Young: I first saw him live in a regular season win over Boston during his first season. He had a few moments that made you hold onto your seat and your eyes get big. Foreshadowing. I remember calling him Pauly too. Paul is so far from the perfect player, but he was so loved. Fan's relationship with him is like a friendship with any real person. There's moments where you want to kill them. hug them, stay away from them or be with them for hours. Paul is real, he brings out real emotions and he's just Paul.
Gomez: My first Paul memory is from before he joined Springfield. I watched him in Indiana in 2017. I'd never seen someone play the game like him. My most indelible Springfield-related Paul moment came in his first game of his AAU career. I was kind of worried he would struggle in the AAU. Watching him play without fear that first game against Compton erased any doubts I had.
Wilco: First round of the playoffs in Paul's rookie season, 2018. Late in the fourth quarter of Game 6 against Phoenix with the game on the line, Paul gets a steal on the baseline -- a part of the court where he had no buisness being on that play -- and takes the ball up the court. Springfield won by two points. I just remember watching in disbelief that we had a wing who combined athleticism with fearlessness and the ability to know where he needed to go to make a play even if it didn't make sense to anyone else on the planet.