Cazzie Russell

Cazzie Russell
Russell accepts the 1966 Big Ten MVP trophy
Personal information
Born (1944-06-07) June 7, 1944
Chicago, Illinois
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school Carver (Chicago, Illinois)
College Michigan (1963–1966)
NBA draft 1966 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career 1966–1981
Position Small forward / Guard
Number 14, 33, 32
Career history
1966–1971 New York Knicks
1971–1974 Golden State Warriors
1974–1978 Los Angeles Lakers
1978 Chicago Bulls
1978–1979 Great Falls Sky
1980–1981 Philadelphia Kings
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 12,377 (15.1 ppg)
Rebounds 3,068 (3.8 rpg)
Assists 1,838 (2.2 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2011

Cazzie Lee Russell (born June 7, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach.[1]

In 1962, while playing at Chicago's Carver High School, Russell was named the Chicago Sun-Times Boy's Player of the Year. Russell played college basketball at the University of Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to three consecutive Big Ten Conference titles (1964–66) and to Final Four appearances in 1964 and 1965, losing in the final game 91-80 to defending national champion UCLA and John Wooden in 1965. In 1966, Russell averaged 30.8 points per game and was named the College Basketball Player of the Year. Crisler Arena, which opened in 1967, has been dubbed The House that Cazzie Built. Russell was also initiated into Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity - Sigma Chapter in 1964.

Russell spent twelve seasons in the NBA (1966–1978), and is best remembered for his five seasons with the New York Knicks (1966–71). Russell was the NBA's first draft pick in 1966, and was named to the 1967 All-Rookie Team. He was later part of the famous 1970 Knicks team that won the NBA championship over the Los Angeles Lakers. After being traded for Jerry Lucas, Russell played in the 1972 NBA All-Star Game while with the Golden State Warriors. Cazzie became miffed at Golden States' refusal to offer him a no-cut contract and combined with a foot injury, decided to try free agency. Picked up by the Lakers, he was the last player to wear the number 32 prior to Magic Johnson and 33 prior to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

In 1981, he returned to pro basketball as a coach in the Continental Basketball Association for the Lancaster (Pa.) Lightning. He guided his team to that league championship that season. During the playoffs, with his team depleted by injuries, Russell came out of retirement and played for the Lightning in the final game of the league championship series, played in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

During the 1960s while with the Knicks, Russell was part of the New York Army National Guard's Fighting 69th Regiment.

Russell was the head coach of the men's basketball team at the Savannah College of Art and Design for 13 seasons, until the college eliminated the sport in 2009. He still remains at the college in an administrative capacity. He is currently an assistant coach at Armstrong State University, an NCAA D2 and member of the very competitive Peach Belt Conference.

He spent several years as head coach at Centennial High School in Columbus, Ohio, during the mid-90s before taking the job in Georgia.

In 2006, Russell was voted as one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament, a group of former players and coaches in honor of the 100 anniversary of the IHSA boys basketball tournament.

Russell received the Bobby Jones Award in 2015 at the Athletes in Action All Star Breakfast, which is held each year at the NBA All Star Weekend.

In 2016 Russell was the recipient of the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award at the Athletes in Action Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast, which is held each year at the Final Four.

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
† Denotes season in which Russell won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1966–67 New York 77–22.0.436–.7853.32.4––11.3
1967–68 New York 82–28.0.462–.8084.62.4––16.9
1968–69 New York 50–32.9.450–.7964.22.3––18.3
1969–70† New York 78–20.0.498–.7753.01.7––11.5
1970–71 New York 57–18.5.429–.7733.41.4––9.2
1971–72 Golden State 79–36.7.455–.8335.43.1––21.4
1972–73 Golden State 80–30.4.458–.8644.42.3––15.7
1973–74 Golden State 82–31.4.482–.8354.32.3.7.220.5
1974–75 L.A. Lakers 40–26.4.455–.8942.92.7.7.115.7
1975–76 L.A. Lakers 74–22.0.463–.8922.51.6.7.011.8
1976–77 L.A. Lakers 82–31.5.490–.8583.62.61.0.116.4
1977–78 Chicago 36–21.9.438–.8602.31.7.5.18.8
Career 817–27.2.464–.8273.82.4.8.115.1
All-Star 1020.0.308–1.0001.0.0––10.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1967 New York 4–22.3.394–.7694.82.8––15.5
1968 New York 6–34.8.561–.8333.81.7––21.7
1969 New York 5–7.2.238–1.0001.0.2––2.4
1970† New York 19–16.1.485–.9472.5.8––9.4
1971 New York 11–10.9.391–1.0002.0.7––5.6
1972 Golden State 5–32.2.492–.7504.41.8––14.2
1973 Golden State 11–23.9.490–.8643.31.5––14.8
1977 L.A. Lakers 11–34.7.414–.8804.42.31.5.115.8
Career 72–21.8.460–.8703.11.31.5.111.8

See also

References

  1. ↑ Benson, Michael (2007-09-27). Everything You Wanted to Know About the New York Knicks: A Who's Who of Everyone Who Ever Played On or Coached the NBA's Most Celebrated Team. Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 9781461734789.
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