In honor of John Wooden’s 99th birthday on Wednesday, MaxPreps presents the Top 10 all-time UCLA recruits during the John Wooden era.
John Wooden enjoys a game in 2008
Courtesy of Getty Images/Christian Petersen
Wooden began his coaching career at UCLA in 1948, but enjoyed his greatest success during the last 12 years of his 27-year coaching career. Starting in 1963-64, Wooden won 10 of the next 12 NCAA championships, including seven in a row from 1966-67 to 1972-73. He had a career record of 664-163 (.804) before retiring in 1975.
During those 27 years as the Bruins coach, Wooden mentored some of the greatest players in college and NBA history. Here’s a look at the 10 best recruits Wooden brought to Westwood.
Top 10 UCLA Recruits by John Wooden
10. Dave Meyers, Sonora (La Habra, Calif.), 1971
The older brother of future UCLA women’s basketball great Ann Meyers, Dave was the workhorse on Wooden’s final championship team in 1975. He landed at UCLA after being named the Southern Section AA Player of the Year while leading Sonora to a section championship. Meyers averaged 22.7 points per game his senior season in high school. Meyers was the second overall pick in the 1975 draft by the Los Angeles Lakers and was part of one of the greatest trades in NBA history when the Milwaukee Bucks acquired Meyers, along with three other players, for former UCLA great Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
9. Mike Warren, Central (South Bend, Ind.), 1964
Warren was part of two national championship teams at UCLA, winning titles in 1967 and 1968. Warren, who is a member of the UCLA Hall of Fame and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, grew up in South Bend and attended Central High School. There he was a two-time all-state player and was the school’s all-time leading scorer by the time he graduated. He earned All-American honors his senior year at UCLA, but went into acting following graduation. He played the role of Bobby Hill on "Hill Street Blues" during the 1980s and received an Emmy nomination for his performance.
8. Curtis Rowe, Fremont (Los Angeles), 1967
Wooden didn’t have to travel far to find Rowe. The 6-foot-6 senior played center for Fremont High School in Los Angeles and led the Pathfinders to the Los Angeles City Section championship over Manual Arts, 81-66. Rowe was sensational all season long, averaging 36.6 points per game and breaking the L.A. City Section tournament scoring record with 125 points in four games. Rowe played on three national championship teams for the Bruins and was the second-leading scorer his senior year of 1971 with an average of 17.5 points per game.
7. Sidney Wicks, Hamilton (Los Angeles), 1967
Wicks was a three-time All-Los Angeles City Section player at Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, earning second-team honors as a sophomore and junior and placing on the first team as a senior. He lost out in the MVP voting to Rowe, but the two ended up as teammates for three seasons at UCLA and helped lead the Bruins to three titles. Wicks averaged 32.7 points his senior season, but he spent a year at Santa Monica College before joining the Bruins for the 1969 season. Wicks was the leading scorer on the 1970 championship team (18.6 ppg) and the 1971 team (21.3 ppg).
Wicks was the second overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft and was the Rookie of the Year for the 1972 season as a member of the Portland Trailblazers. He played 12 seasons in the NBA and was a four-time all-star with the Trailblazers. He was ultimately traded to the Boston Celtics to clear room for another former UCLA great, Bill Walton.
Bill Walton in 1973 at UCLA.
Courtesy of Getty Images
6. Jamaal Wilkes, Santa Barbara (Calif.), 1970
Wilkes was a skinny forward with a funny-looking shot coming out of Santa Barbara in 1970, but he was the Southern Section AAAA player of the year in his only season with the Dons. A transfer from Ventura High School, where he was an All-Channel League selection as a sophomore and a junior, Wilkes led the Dons to the section finals before falling to Millikan. Wilkes averaged 24.1 points in 27 games and also averaged 16 rebounds. He played in two NCAA championships and was a two-time All-American at UCLA as part of the “Walton Gang” in 1972 and 1973, and was the NBA Rookie of the Year after helping lead the Golden State Warriors to a championship. He later played on three NBA championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers.
5. Marques Johnson, Crenshaw (Los Angeles), 1973
Johnson was only a sophomore when he played on Wooden’s final team, but he still ranks as one of the all-time great recruits during Wooden’s tenure. A five-time all-star with the Milwaukee Bucks, Johnson played for one of the top basketball programs in Los Angeles as a member of the Crenshaw Cougars. The Los Angeles City Section player of the year, Johnson was a two-time Western League MVP and was the easy choice as section MVP after leading Crenshaw to an 18-0 season in 1973. Johnson averaged 26.4 points per game, but was also known for his outstanding defense.
4. Walt Hazzard, Overbrook (Philadelphia), 1960
Playing at the school made famous by NBA great Wilt Chamberlain, Hazzard just missed leading Overbrook to a fourth straight city title in 1960. Hazzard was a heavy contributor for Overbrook during their city title runs in 1958 and 1959 (the team also won in 1957), and he was the leading scorer in 1960 on a team that went 14-2 overall. Hazzard averaged 21.3 points his senior year before heading west to join Wooden at UCLA. He played on Wooden’s first NCAA championship team in 1964 and was the NCAA Player of the Year. He also played on the 1964 Olympic team that won the gold medal in Tokyo. Hazzard had an 11-year pro career and eventually coached UCLA for three seasons in the 1980s.
3. Gail Goodrich, Polytechnic (Los Angeles), 1961
A tiny player growing up at Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles, Goodrich eventually grew to be 6-foot-1 as a college and NBA player. He was just 5-11 and 140 pounds when he was named the L.A. City Section Player of the Year in 1961 after leading his team to the section title and averaging 23.2 points per game. He had 29 points in the finals against Manual Arts and set a tournament record with 90 points in four games. He played on two NCAA championship teams at UCLA and was a two-time All-American.
He set an NCAA record with 42 points in the finals against Michigan in 1965, which stood as a record until Bill Walton broke the mark with 44 in 1973. Goodrich finished his career as the all-time leading scorer at UCLA and went on to a Hall of Fame career in the NBA that included five all-star game appearances and 19,181 career points.
2. Bill Walton, Helix (La Mesa, Calif.), 1970
Walton was the most coveted player in the country his senior year at Helix, where he led his team to a pair of San Diego Section championships and 49 straight wins. Walton led the Bruins to two NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973 and 88 straight wins to set an NCAA record.
He was a three-time NCAA Player of the Year and was the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in 1974 by the Portland Trailblazers. He led the Trailblazers to the NBA championship in 1977 before being traded to the San Diego Clippers. Foot injuries marred much of his NBA career, but he won another championship with the Boston Celtics in 1986 and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Later to be known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Alcindor speaks at UCLA.
Courtesy of Getty Images/Stephen Dunn
1. Lew Alcindor, Power Memorial (New York), 1965
Later to be known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Alcindor established his dominance at UCLA when he scored 56 points in his varsity debut as a sophomore. The top high school player in the country, Alcindor led Power Memorial to 71 straight wins and two unbeaten seasons. He finished his high school career with 2,067 points and 2,002 rebounds, both New York City records at the time.
He led UCLA to three NCAA titles, was a two-time NCAA MVP and finished his career with a record of 88-2 as a member of the Bruins. In the NBA, Alcindor changed his name to Abdul Jabbar and led the Milwaukee Bucks to a championship in 1971, and the Lakers to titles in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988.
A six-time NBA MVP, Abdul Jabbar concluded his NBA career as the league’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points.
