College basketball’s All-time Starting Five: UCLA Bruins

With March Madness right around the corner, The Dagger is picking an all-time starting five from some of college basketball’s most tradition-rich programs.

Our picks were based on a variety of factors, including stats, tourney success, All-America selections, and of course, our opinions.

Next up: UCLA Bruins.

Who we considered:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor), C, 1966-69 (26.4 ppg, 15.5 rpg)
Bill Walton, C, 1971-74 (20.3 ppg, 15.7 rpg)
Gail Goodrich, G, 1962-65 (19.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
Sidney Wicks, F, 1968-71 (15.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg)
Walt Hazzard, G, 1961-64 (16.1 ppg)
Marques Johnson, F, 1973-77 (14.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
Ed O’Bannon, F, 1991-95 (15.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
Don MacLean, F, 1988-92 (20.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
Keith “Jamaal” Wilkes, F, 1971-74 (15.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
Reggie Miller, G, 1983-87 (17.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg)

Next up in the Starting Five series:

• Feb. 10: Arizona
• Feb. 12: Georgetown
• Feb. 17: Louisville
• Feb. 19: UConn (women)
• Feb. 22: Indiana
• Feb. 24: Syracuse
• Feb. 26: Michigan St.
• Feb. 29: Kentucky
• March 2: UCLA
• March 4: UConn (men)
• March 7: Duke
• March 9: UNC
• March 11: Kansas

UCLA’s All-Time Starting Five

G — Walt Hazzard

Known for his deft passing and ball handling during his three seasons at UCLA, Hazzard helped lay the foundation for John Wooden’s dynasty. The Philadelphia native led the Bruins to a Final Four as a junior and to a 30-0 record and their first NCAA title as a senior. In his final season in 1964, Hazzard earned national player of the year honors. He averaged 19.8 points in four NCAA tournament games and was named Most Outstanding Player.

G — Gail Goodrich

In 1964, Goodrich was Hazzard’s high-scoring, sharp-shooting backcourt mate. By the following season, the 6-foot-1 lefty was the primary catalyst for UCLA’s second straight national championship. Goodrich averaged 24.8 points per game as a senior and led the Bruins to a 28-2 overall record. In the national title game, Goodrich scored a then-record 42 points as No. 2 UCLA defeated No. 1 Michigan.

F — Sidney Wicks

The bridge between Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton was a 6-foot-8 forward who won national championships in all three years he spent at UCLA. After serving as a sidekick to Alcindor in 1969, Wicks took on a starring role the next two years. He earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the 1970 Final Four after erupting for 17 points and 18 rebounds in the title game against Jacksonville. He was the consensus national player of the year the following season playing alongside Walton.

C — Bill Walton

Before his days as a skilled but injury-plagued NBA center or an entertaining yet rambling TV analyst, Walton enjoyed one of the best college basketball careers of all time. Walton averaged 20.3 points, 15.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists in a three-year career that produced two national titles. His 44 points on 21-for-22 shooting in the 1973 title game against Memphis is perhaps the greatest performance ever in a final.

C — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor)

In his first college game, Abdul-Jabbar scored 56 points. That was a harbinger of things to come for the towering New York native known then as Lew Alcindor. Abdul-Jabbar went on to establish himself as the greatest player of UCLA’s Wooden era and maybe the greatest player in college basketball history. He won three national titles in his three seasons at UCLA and averaged a remarkable 30.3 points in the championship games.

Toughest omissions: I admit this team would probably be more effective on the floor with one more perimeter threat instead of playing Walton and Abdul-Jabbar alongside one another, but how can you omit one of the two greatest players in UCLA history? If forced to choose between the two centers, I’d go with Abdul-Jabbar and put him and Wicks together in the frontcourt. The vacant spot in the starting five would then fall to Wooden-era standouts Marques Johnson or Jamaal Wilkes.