Orlando Woolridge

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Orlando Woolridge
Buckler Bologna
As coach:
1998–1999Los Angeles Sparks
2007–2008Houston Takers
2008–2009Arizona Rhinos
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points
13,623 (16.0 ppg)
Rebounds3,696 (4.3 rpg)
Assists1,609 (1.9 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Orlando Vernada Woolridge (December 16, 1959 – May 31, 2012) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 1994. He was known for his scoring ability, especially on slam dunks. He played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Early life and education

Woolridge was born in Bernice, Louisiana, a town dependent on the lumber industry. After attending local schools, he went to the University of Notre Dame, where he played for the Fighting Irish. He played in the NCAA tournament's Final Four in 1978 as a freshman with teammate Bill Laimbeer (the two would later reunite as teammates of the Detroit Pistons during the 1990s).

Woolridge started every game as a college sophomore, junior and senior. He helped guide Notre Dame to NCAA tournament appearances in 1980 and 1981. The 6-foot-9-inch (2.06 m)

forward played one season at center in 1979–80, when he made 58.5 percent of his field goals.[1][2] Named a second-team All-American by The Sporting News in 1981,[3] Woolridge made a last-second fall-away jumper to beat the eventual NBA Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson and No. 1 Virginia to end their 28-game winning streak.[4] Throughout his collegiate career, he averaged 10.6 points, 5 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game and shot just under 60% from the field.[5]

College

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1977–78
Notre Dame
 24 - 9.6 .526 - .485 2.1 0.5 - - 4.1
1978–79
Notre Dame
 30 30 25.1 .573 - .732 4.8 1.4 0.8 0.4 11.0
1979–80
Notre Dame
 27 27 30.9 .585 - .692 6.9 1.5 0.7 1.1 12.2
1980–81
Notre Dame
 28 28 33.0 .650 - .667 6.0 1.4 0.5 0.8 14.4
Career 109 85 25.1 .595 - .669 5.0 1.2 0.5 0.6 10.6

Professional career

NBA

Woolridge was selected sixth in the

NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1984 and 1985, and was the first to complete what would be called the eastbay funk dunk in 1984[9] surpassing the scores of Clyde Drexler and Michael Cooper. Woolridge led the Chicago Bulls in scoring in 1986 and was the last player to lead in scoring before Jordan took over.[8]
While unstoppable on the open court, his one-dimensional play did not complement Jordan's skills.

He moved on to sign with the

New Jersey Nets as a veteran free-agent on October 2, 1986[5] for the 1986–87 season, in which he averaged 20.7 points per game. After playing 19 games during the 1987–88 season, Woolridge was suspended by the league for violation of the league substance abuse policy.[10]

On August 10, 1988,[5] he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, who were looking for a scorer off the bench.[11] "I just love it when we go up in the transition game, up and down the court, Magic (Johnson) looking for the open guy ... That's the way I love playing," said Woolridge about teammate Magic Johnson and the Lakers shortly after joining the team.[7] Woolridge averaged 11 points per game in two seasons and provided the Lakers consistent bench scoring around the basket. His 55.6% field goal percentage during the 1989–90 season ranked fifth in the league.[12]

Woolridge was traded for two second-round draft picks to the

detached retina during a game collision. He was third in the league averaging 29.0 points at the time.[13]

After his only season in Denver, Woolridge played with the Detroit Pistons during the 1991–92 season. He split the 1992–93 season between the Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks, and finished his NBA career at the end of the 1993–94 season where he played for the Philadelphia 76ers. He held NBA career averages of 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He never won an NBA championship.

Europe

Woolridge played professionally in Italy, with the

Buckler Bologna for the 1995–96 season and won the Italian Supercup
.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1981–82
Chicago
 75 12 15.8 .513 .000 .699 3.0 1.1 0.3 0.3 7.3
1982–83
Chicago
 57 38 28.5 .580 .000 .638 5.2 1.7 0.7 0.8 16.5
1983–84
Chicago
 75 74 33.9 .525 .500 .715 4.9 1.8 0.9 0.8 19.3
1984–85
Chicago
 77 76 36.6 .554 .000 .785 5.6 1.8 0.8 0.5 22.9
1985–86
Chicago
 70 59 32.1 .495 .174 .788 5.0 3.0 0.7 0.7 20.7
1986–87
New Jersey
 75 53 35.2 .521 .125 .777 4.9 3.5 0.7 1.1 20.7
1987–88
New Jersey
 19 12 32.7 .445 .000 .708 4.8 3.7 0.7 1.1 16.4
1988–89
Los Angeles
 74 0 20.1 .468 .000 .738 3.6 0.8 0.4 0.9 9.7
1989–90
Los Angeles
 62 2 22.9 .556 .000 .733 3.0 1.5 0.6 0.7 12.7
1990–91
Denver
 53 50 34.4 .498 .000 .797 6.8 2.2 1.3 0.4 25.1
1991–92
Detroit
 82 61 25.8 .498 .111 .683 3.2 1.1 0.5 0.4 14.0
1992–93
Detroit
 50 47 29.5 .479 .000 .673 3.5 2.2 0.5 0.5 13.1
1992–93
Milwaukee
 8 0 9.8 .545 .000 .778 1.1 0.4 0.1 0.3 5.4
1993–94
Philadelphia
 74 1 26.4 .471 .071 .689 4.0 1.9 0.6 0.8 12.7
Career 851 485 28.3 .513 .091 .737 4.3 1.9 0.6 0.7 16.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984–85
Chicago
 4 4 41.8 .500 .000 .778 3.3 2.0 1.5 0.3 20.5
1985–86
Chicago
 3 3 45.0 .403 .000 .867 4.7 1.3 1.0 0.3 21.0
1988–89
Los Angeles
 15 0 18.4 .520 .000 .710 4.7 1.1 0.1 1.0 8.1
1989–90
Los Angeles
 9 0 22.1 .571 .000 .703 2.6 1.1 0.9 0.9 11.8
1991–92
Detroit
 5 5 25.6 .442 .000 .563 2.0 0.6 0.2 0.2 11.0
Career 36 12 25.1 .492 .000 .716 3.6 1.2 0.6 0.7 11.9

Coaching and later years

After retiring as a player, Woolridge coached the

WNBA in 1998 and 1999. Woolridge later coached the Arizona Rhinos of the ABA
from 2008 to 2009.

Personal life and death

Woolridge's son, Renaldo, also became a professional basketball player. Woolridge was a cousin to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Willis Reed.[14]

After a long battle with heart disease, Woolridge died on May 31, 2012, at his parents' home in Mansfield, Louisiana.[15]

References

  1. ^ Goldaper, Sam (November 25, 1979). "A Preview of the 20 Top College Basketball Teams". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "The Top 20". Sports Illustrated. December 1, 1980. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "2005 NCAA Basketball's Finest" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2005. p. 201. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2009.
  4. ^ "Former Notre Dame Basketball Player Orlando Woolridge Dies At Age 52". Notre Dame Athletics. CBS Interactive. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d "Orlando Woolridge Stats".
  6. ^ "NBA Stats". stats.nba.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-24.
  7. ^ a b "Ex-NBA player Orlando Woolridge dead at 52". USA Today. Associated Press. June 1, 2012. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012.
  8. ^ a b "NBA News, Scores, Standings & Stats".
  9. ^ Orlando Woolridge - 1984 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
  10. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ Edes, Gordon (August 10, 1988). "Lakers to Announce Signing Today of Free Agent Orlando Woolridge". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011.
  12. ^ Medina, Mark (June 1, 2012). "Former Laker Orlando Woolridge dies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012.
  13. ^ "Nuggets' Woolridge Has Surgery for Detached Retina in Right Eye". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. December 22, 1990. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
  14. ^ Baker, Chris (1 March 1988). "Clippers to Play Willis Reed's Nets in New Jersey". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  15. ^ "Ex-Notre Dame, Chicago Bulls standout Orlando Woolridge dead at 52". CBS Sports. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2019.


External links


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orlando_Woolridge&oldid=1214307029"