Walt Hazzard, Former Star and Coach for U.C.L.A., Dies at 69

[alp227]

Source: AP

Walt Hazzard, the former U.C.L.A. and N.B.A. star who played on the Bruins’ first N.C.A.A. championship basketball team in 1964 and later coached the team for four seasons in the 1980s, died on Friday. He was 69.

Hazzard’s family said he had been recuperating for a long time from complications of heart surgery. The university said Hazzard died at U.C.L.A. Ronald Reagan Medical Center. He had a stroke in March 1996 and made a strong recovery, but became less publicly active.

Hazzard, a 6-foot-2 guard, was co-captain of the 1964 national title team under Coach John Wooden. “Walt was the catalyst for Coach John Wooden’s first championship team and played the game with a style that excited Bruin basketball fans everywhere,” the Bruins athletic director, Dan Guerrero, said.

He also helped the United States win a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and played 10 years in the N.B.A., including stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, who made him a first-round selection, and four other teams.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/sports/basketball/walt-hazzard-former-star-and-coach-for-ucla-dies-at-69.html

[Old and In the Way]

1. Wow...another player from an era I remember well.

Never paid that much attention in the past, but I guess that was because I never saw or watched that generation of players in action.

[stevedeshazer]

2. Bad news for basketball fans everywhere.

Walt Hazzard was an amazing player.

[BeyondGeography]

3. I remember when he changed his name

Absurd that he had to go back to "Walt" to have a proper economic life.

He was tough and smart on the court; a pleasure to watch.

RIP