Orlando Woolridge

Orlando Woolridge

No. 0, 6
Power forward
Personal information
Date of birth	December 16, 1959 (1959-12-16) (age 51)
Place of birth	Bernice, Louisiana
Nationality	American
High school	Mansfield (Mansfield, Louisiana)
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	Notre Dame (1977–1981)
NBA Draft	1981 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Pro career	1981–1996
Career history
As player:
1981–1986	Chicago Bulls
1986–1988	New Jersey Nets
1988–1990	Los Angeles Lakers
1990–1991	Denver Nuggets
1991–1993	Detroit Pistons
1993	Milwaukee Bucks
1993–1994	Philadelphia 76ers
1994–1995	Benetton Treviso (Italy)
1995–1996	Buckler Bologna (Italy)
As coach:
1998–1999	Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA)
2007–2008	Houston Takers (ABA)
2008–2009	Arizona Rhinos (ABA)
Career NBA statistics
Points	13,623 (16.0 ppg)
Rebounds	3,696 (4.3 rpg)
Assists	1,609 (1.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Orlando Vernada Woolridge (born December 16, 1959 in Bernice, Louisiana) is a former professional basketball player in the NBA.

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 collegiate basketball. He played in the 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 helped guide Notre Dame to NCAA tournament appearances in 1980 and 1981. As a senior in 1981, Woolridge made a last-second fall-away jumper to end #1 Virginia's 28-game winning streak; he also earned second team All-American status that year.

Professional career

Woolridge was selected sixth in the 1981 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, where he played for his first five seasons. During the 1984-85 season, Woolridge averaged 22.9 points/game and combined with rookie teammate Michael Jordan to average over 51 points/game. At 6'9" 215 lbs, Woolridge's exceptionally strong legs and lean body made him one of the most gifted dunkers in professional basketball.^{[citation needed]} While unstoppable on the open court, his one-dimensional play did not complement Jordan's skills. He moved on to the New Jersey Nets for the 1986-87 season, in which he averaged 20.7 points/game. After playing 19 games during the 1987-88 season, Woolridge was suspended by the league for violation of the league substance abuse policy.

With his career in jeopardy, he signed on as a role player with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. Under coach Pat Riley, the Lakers used Woolridge's skills to provide an offensive spark off the bench. His athletic abilities meshed better with the passing skills of Magic Johnson than when he was teamed with Jordan. His 55.6% field goal percentage during the 1989-90 season was 5th in the league.

Woolridge was traded to the Denver Nuggets, which played an unusual novelty hurry-up offense under head coach Paul Westhead (1990–91). The prolific offense resulted in Woolridge's averaging 25.1 points/game and a career high 6.8 rebounds/game, but did not result in many team wins. For a substantial period of the year, Woolridge led the NBA in scoring, but he missed almost half of the season due to an eye injury.

After his only season in Denver, Woolridge played with the Detroit Pistons the entire 1991-1992 season. He split the 1992-1993 season between Detroit and the Milwaukee Bucks, and finished his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers (1993–1994). He holds NBA career averages of 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

Europe

He played professionally in Italy for Benetton Treviso (1994–95, won the European Cup and Italian Cup under Mike D'Antoni) and Buckler Bologna (1995–96) (won Italian Supercup).

Coaching

After retiring as a player, Woolridge coached the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA in 1998 and 1999. Woolridge currently coaches the Arizona Rhinos of the ABA.

Marriage and family

Orland Woolridge's son Renaldo Woolridge studies at the University of Tennessee, and, 6'8", he plays for the Volunteers basketball team. His younger son Royce Woolridge started at the University of Kansas in the fall of 2010. Standing 6'2", he also plays collegiate basketball there.^[1]

References

1. ^ University of Kansas Athletics Department (November 11, 2009). "Kansas Inks Royce Woolridge to National Letter of Intent for Men's Basketball". http://www.kuathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111109aaa.html. Retrieved April 22, 2010. 

External links

• nba.com
• basketpedya.com
• basketball-reference.com

Persondata
Name	Woolridge, Orlando
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 16, 1959
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death