UCLA Basketball Championship display inside Pauley Pavilion
Photo Credit: Mike Regalado
1. Sidney Wicks 1968-71
What can you say about Sidney Wicks that he already has not said about himself. Wicks was not only one of the most talented Bruin big men of all time, but he was also one of the most, to use a term in the parlance of our times, swaggy players to wear a UCLA jersey.
Wicks was a character to say the least, which kept him bound to the bench in his first year playing with UCLA. John Wooden once told him, “Until you learn it is a team game and not a one-man game will be ahead of you.” Despite winning a championship with the Bruins in 1968, it was not until his next two season that he would make an impact.
In his final two years, he not only led UCLA to their fourth and fifth straight national championships, but he was also a consensus All-American. As as senior, he was the Sporting News Player of the Year as he led the Bruins with 15.8 ppg and an astounding 12.8 rpg.
Wicks went on to be the 2nd overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft and spent 11 years in the Association.
Next: Center #4