Top Five Players Coached by John Wooden

The word legend gets used a lot these days, but there is little doubt we lost a legendary basketball coach when John wooden died on June 4 at the age of 99. Many people believe that Wooden was the best coach who ever lived, including those at the Sporting News. Just allow me to rattle off the stats; 10 national championships, an 88 game winning streak, never having a losing season as a coach, and four perfect seasons. Wooden helped to mold dozens of young men, in more than just basketball. Here is my list of the five best NBA players that were lucky enough to be coached by John Wooden during his tenure at UCLA, 1948-1975.

5. Sidney Wicks: Wicks was a forward for UCLA from 1968-1971 and won three titles in his three years. Wicks was the second pick in the 1971 draft by the Portland Trailblazers and won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award that season. He was a four time All Star and averaged over 20 points per game his first four seasons. He also was a decent rebounder who had four seasons averaging over 10 per game. Wicks lasted 10 seasons in the NBA.

4. Jamaal Wilkes: A guard that played on 3 national champions in college, he played almost 33 minutes per game in his pro career. He averaged nearly 18 points a game during his 12 year NBA career. Wilkes was also known for his defense making the NBA's all defensive second team twice. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1975 and was a three time NBA champion, once with the Golden Sate Warriors and twice with the Los Angeles Lakers.

3. Bill Walton: Walton played at UCLA the same four years that Jamaal Wilkes did 1970-1974. The 6 foot 11 inch center was the first overall pick in the 1974 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Walton helped lead the Blazers in 1977 by leading the league in rebounds and was the NBA's Most Valuable Player the next season. During his MVP season Walton broke his foot and this was the beginning of the foot injuries that would shorten his career. In 1985 he was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Boston Celtics and he would play a key role for the Celtics as they won the NBA title in 1986. Walton played only 468 games in the NBA, but he was a defensive force who also had a scoring touch. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

2. Gail Goodrich: Goodrich played for Wooden at UCLA from 1962 to 1965 and he was part of two national championships. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1965. Nicknamed Stumpy, he was just 6 feet 1 inch tall, Goodrich was a guard that could score or set up others. He averaged over 18 points a game in his 14 year career and also averaged 4.7 assists. He was a five time All Star, including four straight appearances from 1972-1975. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1996.

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Known as Lew Alcindor in his days at UCLA, 1965-1969, Abdul-Jabbar was an integral part of three national championships. His NBA career was even more impressive. He was drafted first overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1969. He was traded by the Bucks in 1975 to the Los Angeles Lakers, even after winning 3 MVP awards and a NBA title. In Los Angeles Abdul-Jabbar would collect four more MVP awards and five more NBA titles. He was a 19 time All Star who averaged over 24 points a game throughout his 20 year NBA career. He also was a great rebounder with 11.2 boards per game. Abdul- Jabbar was the career leader in points and games played when he retire in 1989, he has since been passed by Robert Parish in games played. Kareem entered the Hall of Fame in 1995.

Sources:

All stats from basketball-reference.com