The Enduring Legacy of UCLA Bruins Basketball

The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, representing the University of California, Los Angeles, stands as a monumental force in the history of college basketball. Established in 1919, the program boasts a record 11 NCAA titles, a testament to its enduring legacy of excellence. The Bruins have spent an impressive 134 weeks ranked No. 1, underscoring their consistent dominance in the sport. This article delves into the rich history of the UCLA Bruins basketball program, highlighting key figures, defining moments, and the factors that contributed to its unparalleled success.

Early Years and the Cozens Era

The program's inception dates back to 1919, with Fred Cozens serving as the first head coach for both basketball and football. Cozens led the basketball team for two seasons, achieving an impressive overall record of 21-4. Following Cozens, Caddy Works took the helm from 1921 to 1939, amassing a 173-159 record. Works, a lawyer by trade, dedicated his evenings to coaching the team.

The John Wooden Dynasty: A Period of Unrivaled Dominance

From 1948 to 1975, John Wooden, famously known as the "Wizard of Westwood," transformed the UCLA basketball program into a dynasty. Before Wooden's arrival, UCLA had secured only two conference championships in the preceding 18 years. In his inaugural season, Wooden revitalized a team that had previously finished with a 12-13 record, guiding them to a 22-7 record-then the most wins in a season in program history-and the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) Southern Division championship. The following season, Wooden led the Bruins to a 24-7 record and the PCC championship. The Bruins continued their dominance, winning the division title in each of the next two seasons and the conference title in the latter season.

In 1955-56, Wooden steered the Bruins to their first undefeated PCC conference title and a 17-game winning streak, which was halted in the 1956 NCAA Tournament by a University of San Francisco team featuring Bill Russell. However, UCLA struggled to maintain this level of performance in the ensuing seasons, failing to return to the NCAA Tournament as the Pete Newell-coached California teams dominated the conference.

By 1962, Wooden had restored the Bruins to the top of their conference (now the Pac-12 Conference), setting the stage for an unprecedented run of dominance. Wooden's team repeated as national champions the following season before briefly faltering in 1966, finishing second in the conference to Oregon State. UCLA was ineligible for the NCAA tournament that year because only conference champions were invited.

The Alcindor Era: A New Level of Dominance

The Bruins returned with a vengeance in 1967 with the arrival of sophomore All-America and MVP Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). When he scored 56 points in his first college game, everyone knew what was coming. He and the rest of a young starting lineup - four sophomores and a junior in an era when freshmen could not play - rolled to an unbeaten regular season, winning all but four of 26 games by at least 15 points. By the end of their senior seasons in March of 1969, Alcindor’s class had more national championships than career losses, three to two. They had become the first three-peat champions in NCAA tournament history. They had played all but 16 games in their college careers ranked No. 1. (For those 16, they were No. 2). They had taken the John Wooden dynasty to a place it would remain until the mid-1970s. They had become a team feared and, in some ways, loathed.

In January 1968, UCLA took its 47-game winning streak to the Astrodome in Houston, where Alcindor, hampered by an injured eye, faced off against Elvin Hayes in the Game of the Century, the nation's first nationally televised regular season college basketball game. Houston upset UCLA 71-69 behind Hayes' 39 points. In a post-game interview, Wooden declared, "We have to start over." They did, and went undefeated the rest of the year, avenging Houston 101-69 in the semi-final rematch of the NCAA tournament en route to the national championship. Hayes, who had been averaging 37.7 points per game, was held to only 10 points.

Intimidation and the Dunk Ban

Two days after the '67 national championship game, the dunk was outlawed in college basketball in a vain attempt to slow down Alcindor. Abdul-Jabbar: “Of course I was not pleased at having a rule changed just to keep me from playing my best. Part of my passion for basketball was to see how far I could go as an athlete. “The dunk ban didn’t really end up affecting my overall game much. I’d been perfecting my hook shot since grade school, so I was able to rely more on that. Shackelford: “What the coaches would do was just tell us to lob the ball into Kareem and him dunk it. Since he couldn’t dunk it, he had to perfect the hook shot, which became known as the skyhook, which to this day is probably the most unstoppable shot in the history of the game.

Pauley Pavilion and Wooden's Legacy

The emergence of the Bruins under Wooden significantly boosted the program's popularity. Since 1932, the Bruins had played at the Men's Gym, which normally seated 2,400 but had been limited to 1,500 since 1955 by order of the city fire marshal. This forced games to be moved to Pan Pacific Auditorium, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, and other venues around Los Angeles when larger crowds were expected-an increasing inconvenience since the Bruins' first national title.

Wooden coached his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 1975, when UCLA trounced Stanford 93-59. During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as the "Wizard of Westwood," although he personally disdained the nickname. He achieved lasting fame at UCLA by winning 620 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons, which included seven in a row from 1967 to 1973. His UCLA teams also had a then-record winning streak of 88 games and four perfect 30-0 seasons. They also won 38 straight games in NCAA Tournaments and 98 straight home game wins at Pauley Pavilion.

Read also: Navigating Tech Breadth at UCLA

Wooden was named NCAA College Basketball's "Coach of the Year" in 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973. In 1967, he was named the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he shared Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award with Billie Jean King.

The 1967 Championship Run: A Closer Look

The 1966-67 UCLA Bruins were a team of destiny, a perfect blend of talent, coaching, and unwavering determination. Their journey to the national championship was marked by dominant performances and a sense of invincibility.

The Freshman Phenomenon: The 1965-66 freshman team, led by Alcindor, signaled the dawn of a new era. Warren: “Back then, [the freshmen] practiced behind a curtain. So my expectations were, yeah, this might be a good game but we’re going to prevail. Well, those guys almost ran us out of the gym. “I remember sitting in the locker room just kind of stunned. We had no words for it. Looking around the room, no one’s saying anything, they’ve got their heads held down. We were preseason No. 1, and the freshman team goes past our locker rooms yelling, 'We’re No. 1!'” Kareem threw the equation out the window. How do you play him? Abdul-Jabbar: “Our main concern was that we didn’t want them to feel embarrassed. The freshman coach, Gary Cunningham, who was coaching his first college game, felt bad that we beat his mentor and friend, Coach Wooden. After the game, there was a reception in the student union but Gary felt so embarrassed that he was a bit dispirited.

Regular Season Dominance: UCLA opened its season with high expectations. Abdul-Jabbar: “It was like test driving a Ferrari. “Our quickness made us hard to guard, our outside shooting was consistent, and I was a big threat on the inside. “It was always interesting to see how teams would play us, more specifically how they would play Kareem. One of the great things Wooden was capable of doing was getting us all to play together and to make the various sacrifices that needed to be made. Kareem could have scored 56 points every night if that had been the objective. UCLA did not have a road game until Jan. 7, at Washington State. Wooden was a little anxious about how the sophomores would react in their first hostile setting. The Bruins stayed in rooms above the student union, and the Washington State fans were camped out all night outside their windows. Warren: “I remember not getting a lot of sleep. And I seem to recall having a band play outside. UCLA won by nine points. In early February, the Bruins had their closest call; a 40-35 overtime win against USC and its slow-down strategy. Two weeks later, Oregon - having lost the first meeting with UCLA, 100-66 - tried to dawdle as well, and the final was 34-25.

NCAA Tournament Run: The Bruins stormed through their first two NCAA tournament games, beating Wyoming by 49 and Pacific by 16. Shackelford: “I remember being impressed by him. In the first five minutes of the game, he got the ball and tried to dunk over Kareem. Didn’t matter. UCLA won 73-58.

Read also: Understanding UCLA Counselors

The Championship Game vs. Dayton: March 25, 1967. Mighty UCLA, No. 1 and 29-0, faced Unranked Dayton, with five losses. Warren had special motivation, because Among the Dayton players that day was Glinder Torain, from Muncie Central, and Warren's South Bend Central team had lost the state championship game to Muncie Central. Warren: “I’ve always said I’d give up one of the championships at UCLA for one Indiana state championship. Shackelford: “I’m thinking, here it is, we’re 29-0, this is what I’ve wanted for my whole life, to play an NCAA championship game. And now I’ve got John Wooden talking before the game. This is going to be indelible, and imprinted in my life forever and ever. Shackelford: “He goes, 'Louisville is the fifth most immoral city in the United States and I expect everybody to behave themselves properly after the game.'

Donoher had one surprise. He sent out reserve Dan Obrovac, at 6-foot-10, for the opening tip. Abdul-Jabbar: “He only played five minutes that game, but to his great credit, he made history in those five minutes. The photo of Dan beating me was featured in Sports Illustrated and become iconic [it would hang for years in University of Dayton Arena]. A half-century later, Donoher still mourns part of his strategy: “May played deep in the post and that played right into the teeth of UCLA because of Alcindor. In retrospect, had we played May high up around the foul line and played our center off to the corner, deep along the baseline, maybe we could have generated more offense early and been competitive in the game. But that was a tall order. They had shooters. They had great guards. And they had about the best player in the history of the game. “The final score was not indicative of how much they dominated us [it was 70-46 when Wooden called off the troops]. Alcindor had 20 points, Allen 19, Warren 17, Shackelford 10.

The 1968 and 1969 Seasons

By 1968, the nation seemed to be coming apart with the Vietnam War and battles over civil rights. The UCLA campus, too. The Bruins, as socially aware as any group of diverse college kids, nevertheless played on. Mike Warren ageraged 12.7 points per game during the 1966-67 season. Warren: “It was in some ways similar to what we’re going through now. There was such a schism in America. The line was divided very clearly as the line has been drawn very clearly now. For us to walk on that court and all of us experiencing it differently as things were blowing up around the country, Wooden somehow -- and I still haven’t figured out how -- got it that that’s the only conversation that took place. It was about basketball. Off the court Wooden tried not to interfere in our lives a whole lot. That was the sanctuary. In 1968, UCLA would lose the landmark made-for-television game in in the Astrodome to Houston and Hayes, Alcindor slowed by a scratched eye. In 1969, they would lose one more game, 46-44, to their old slow-it-down pals from USC. But they would march to the three-peat, then turn the dynasty over to a new wave.

Controversies and Challenges: The Sam Gilbert Era

During Wooden's time at UCLA, and after his retirement in 1975, he faced criticism for the program's relationship with local businessman and booster Sam Gilbert, known by many of Wooden's players as "Papa Sam." Gilbert, a multi-millionaire contractor, was known for forging close financial relationships with UCLA players, supplying them with cars, clothes, stereos, travel, and apartments, as well as allegedly arranging abortions for players' girlfriends.

A 1981 Los Angeles Times investigation revealed the extent of Gilbert's involvement, describing him as "a one-man clearinghouse who has enabled players and their families to receive goods and services usually at big discounts and sometimes free." The investigation found that Gilbert's involvement began in 1967, when UCLA stars Alcindor and Lucius Allen were considering transferring to Michigan State. They approached former UCLA star Willie Naulls, who introduced them to Gilbert. Gilbert met with the two players, and both remained at UCLA. Alcindor, later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, said later that he would have stayed regardless but called Gilbert "like my surrogate father." Allen credited Gilbert with dissuading him from transferring: "There were two people I listened to. Coach Wooden as long as we were between the lines. Outside the court - Sam Gilbert." Allen said Gilbert paid for multiple abortions for players' girlfriends, including one of his own.

In 1978, NCAA field investigator J. Brent Clark testified before a Congressional subcommittee that he had begun investigating Gilbert's activities the year before but was told to back off by a superior at the NCAA, Bill Hunt. Wooden was aware of Gilbert's closeness with his players. In 1972, Wooden said "I personally hardly know Sam Gilbert…I think he's a person who's trying to be helpful in every way that he can. I sometimes feel that in his interest to be helpful it's in direct contrast with what I would like to have him do to be helpful. I think he means very well and, for the most part, he has attached himself to the minority-race players. Despite concerns about Gilbert, Wooden said he chose not to ask players to cut off contact, telling the Times in 1981: "There's as much crookedness as you want to find. There was something Abraham Lincoln said - he'd rather trust and be disappointed than distrust and be miserable all the time. Maybe I trusted too much."

In 1981, after Wooden's retirement, an NCAA investigation sanctioned UCLA for its relationship with Gilbert, putting the program on probation for two seasons and ordering the school to disassociate itself from him. In 1987, Gilbert was indicted in Florida for conspiracy, racketeering, and money laundering as part of a drug smuggling scheme, but he died of heart failure before he could be prosecuted.

Post-Wooden Era: Navigating New Challenges

Following Wooden's retirement, the UCLA basketball program entered a new era, marked by both successes and challenges. Several coaches took the helm, each striving to maintain the program's tradition of excellence.

The Bartow and Cunningham Years

From 1975 to 1977, Gene Bartow served as the head coach of UCLA, guiding them to a 52-9 record, including a berth in the 1976 Final Four. Gary Cunningham succeeded Bartow in 1977.

The Larry Brown Era

Larry Brown coached UCLA from 1979 to 1981, leading his freshman-dominated 1979-80 team to the NCAA title game before falling to Louisville, 59-54. However, that runner-up finish was later vacated by the NCAA after two players were found to be ineligible.

The Farmer and Hazzard Years

Larry Farmer served as the head coach of UCLA from 1981 to 1984, guiding them to a 61-23 (.726) record. In 1984, Walt Hazzard was named the UCLA basketball coach 20 years after he was an All-America when UCLA won its first national championship. He coached for four seasons, winning 77 out of 125 games. The 1984-1985 UCLA Bruin basketball team won the NIT championship.

The Jim Harrick Era and the 1995 Championship

In 1988, Jim Harrick returned to UCLA (he had spent two years as an assistant coach from 1978 to 1979) to assume head coaching duties after the firing of Walt Hazzard. During the recruiting period before his first season, he recruited Don MacLean, the most significant recruit to commit to UCLA in several years. McLean's arrival helped start a revival of the basketball program. During the 1994-1995 season, he led UCLA to a 32-1 record and the school's eleventh national championship, its first since the 1974-75 season.

The Lavin Era

Shortly before the 1997 season, UCLA fired Harrick for lying about who attended a recruiting dinner. Later that season on February 11, 1997, with the Bruins tied for first place in the Pac-10 with an 8-3 record, UCLA removed the "interim" tag from Lavin's title and formally named him as its 11th head coach. The Bruins then won their next 11 games en route to the Pac-10 title, before being eliminated by the Minnesota Gophers in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final. In seven seasons as head coach Lavin's record was 12-4 in games involving overtime. Additionally Lavin's Bruins had a 10-4 record against the rival USC Trojans. At UCLA from 1996 to 2003, Lavin compiled a record of 145-78.

The Ben Howland Era

Despite some success under the watch of Steve Lavin, the program wanted to regain its position in the college basketball upper echelon. UCLA looked to find a coach that could move the Bruins back to the elite ranks of the Pac-10 and the country. Ben Howland's success at the University of Pittsburgh and his southern California roots made him an attractive candidate. Starting the 2005-06 season with the majority of the roster made over in Howland's image, the Bruins produced an excellent campaign. They finished the regular season 24-6, winning the Pac-10 Conference title. They then roared through the Pac-10 tournament, winning each game by double digits en route to only the second Pac-10 tournament championship in school history. The momentum continued into the NCAA tournament as the second-seeded Bruins defeated Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen. They then upset top-seeded Memphis to reach the school's first Final Four in 11 years. Howland continued his success at UCLA the following year. The Bruins finished undefeated at home for the first time in 22 years, winning the Pac-10 conference title.

NBA Draft Selections: A Legacy of Producing Top Talent

The UCLA Bruins basketball program has a long and storied history of producing NBA talent. Numerous players have been drafted into the NBA, making significant contributions to the league. Here is a list of players drafted from UCLA:

Jordan Adams
Arron Afflalo
Lucius Allen
Darrell Allums
Kyle Anderson
Ike Anigbodu
Trevor Ariza
Amari Bailey
Toby Bailey
Lonzo Ball
Don Barksdale
Matt Barnes
Jules Bernard
Henry Bibby
Jonah Bolden
Adem Bona
Cedric Bozeman
Moses Brown
Mitchell Butler
Jaylen Clark
Darren Collison
Baron Davis
Darren Daye
Larry Drew II
Ralph Drollinger
Mark Eaton
Tyus Edney
Keith Erickson
Jordan Farmar
Kenny Fields
Greg Foster
Rod Foster
Dan Gadzuric
Corey Gaines
Gail Goodrich
Drew Gordon
Stuart Gray
David Greenwood
Jack Haley
Roy Hamilton
Mahdi Abdul-Rahman
J.R. Henderson
Aaron Holiday
Jrue Holiday
Brad Holland
Ryan Hollins
Mike Holton
Tyler Honeycutt
Ralph Jackson
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Marques Johnson
Johnny Juzang
Jason Kapono
Edgar Lacey
Zach Lavine
T. J. Leaf
Greg Lee
Malcolm Lee
Kevon Looney
Kevin Love
Mike Lynn
Don MacLean
Gerald Madkins
Darrick Martin
Luc Mbah a Moute
Andre McCarter
Jelani McCoy
Dave Meyers
Reggie Miller
Dave Miner
Jerome Moiso
Shabazz Muhammad
Tracy Murray
Swen Nater
Willie Naulls
Charles O'Bannon
Ed O'Bannon
Keith Owens
Steve Patterson
Richard Petruška
Norman Powell
Pooh Richardson
Curtis Rowe
Mike Sanders Rowe
Alan Sawyer
Lynn Shackelford
Dijon Thompson
Raymond Townsend
John Vallely
Kiki Vandeweghe
Brett Vroman
Bill Walton
Richard Washington
Earl Watson
Peyton Watson
David Wear
Travis Wear
Thomas Welsh
Russell Westbrook
Sidney Wicks
Jamaal Wilkes
James Wilkes
Trevor Wilson
Brad Wright
George Zidek

tags: #ucla #bruins #basketball #history