The muscular, 6-ft 7-inch, 240-pound Dave Lattin played a big role in leading Texas El Paso University to a splendid 23-1 regular season record in 1966. He scored 29 points in the second round of the NCAA Tourney against Cincinnati in a Miners 78-76 overtime win. The Texas El Paso team then defeated Utah 85-78 and with the aid of Dave Lattin knocked off Kentucky 72-65 for the 1966 NCAA Title.

Signed by the San Francisco Warriors, Big Daddy Lattin played two seasons in the NBA, then inked a pact with PIttsburgh  of the ABA in 1970-71 and 1971-72, and later with Memphis of the ABA, 1972-73.

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NBA Basketball Players by basketballhistorian.com - for basketball fun, check out www.wrigleyhoops.com

Mike Riordan
Forward, New York Knicks 1968-71, Baltimore/Washington Bullets 1972-77

After a successful college basketball career at Providence, Mike Riordan joined the New York Knicks in 1968-69. And, in 1971 after just 4 games, he was traded to the Baltimore Bullets, where he saw more playing time and his scoring averaged doubled. The next season, 1972-73 Mike Riordan averaged a career-high 18.1 points per game and 5.2 assist pg. He made 652 field goals in 1278 FGA for a torrid .510 percentage. However, Baltimore folded and moved to Washington DC.

A winning basketball player, Mike Riordan helped his teams reach the NBA playoffs 9 times in 10 seasons, including a 1969-1970 NBA Title with the NY Knicks and a runnerup finish for the Washington Bullets in 1974-1975.

1966 NBA Draft
Cazzie Russel of MIchigan was the No 1 draft pick, Dave Bing of Syracuse was the second pick, and Clyde Lee of Vanderbilt was third

NBA Draft 1966

1. New York picked Cazzie Russell of Michigan
2. Detroit picked Dave Bing of Syracuse
3. San Fran picked Clyde Lee of Vanderbilt
4. St. Louis picked Lou Hudson of Minnesota
5. Baltimore picked Jack Marin of Duke
6. Cincinnati picked Walt Westley of Kansas
7. LA Lakers picked Jerry Chambers of Utah
8. Boston picked Jim Barnett of Oregon
9. Philad picked Matt Guokas, St Joseph (PA)
10. Chicago picked Dave Schellhase of Purdue

   Second Round

1. New York picked Henry Akin of Morehead St
2. Detroit picked Dorie Murrey of Detroit
3. San Fran picked Joe Ellis of San Fran
4. St. Louis picked Dick Snyder of Davidson
5. Baltimore picked Neil Johnson of Creighton
6. Cincinnati picked Jerry Lee Wells of Oklahoma City
7. LA Lakers picked Henry Finkel of Dayton
8. Boston picked Leon Clark of Wyoming
9. Philad picked Bill Melchionni of Villanova
10. Chicago picked Erwin Mueller of San Francisco

Willie Wise
Forward LA Stars ABA 1969-70, Utah Stars ABA 1970-71-1973-74, Virginia Squires ABA 1974-75-1975-76, Denver NBA 1976, Seattle NBA 1977-78

A standout basketball player at Drake University during the late 1960s, Willie Wise played his first seven pro seasons in the American Basketball Association where he was an All-Star performer, 1969-70 thru 1975-76. He compiled a sterling 19.2 career points per game average, the 14th highest in ABA history, and his 4,322 rebounds in the league were 17th highest.

In 1971-1972 Willie Wise posted a career-best 23.2 points per game, a splendid .505 gield goal percentage, along with 10.6 rebounds pg and 3.4 assist pg and was chosen as a second team ABA All-Star. He also made second team All-Star in 1973-74.

While playing in the ABA, the deadly shooting Willie Wise played a major role in his team's successes. Playing with the LA Stars as a rookie in 1969-70, he averaged 15.2 ppg, 11.6 rpg to help the Stars reach the ABA playoffs. And, after the Stars moved to Utah the next season, he helped them win the 1970-71 ABA Championship. Altogether, Willie Wise scored 1,422 points in 68 ABA playoff games, spanning 5 seasons, plus 45 points in 1976-77 with Denver of the NBA.

Willie Wise regular season career stats: 9727 points, 3715 FGM, 7813 FGA, .475 pct, 2276 FTM, 3143 FTA, .724 pct, 4578 rebounds, 257 steals, 17.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.9 apg in 18438 minutes in 552 games.

Pat Riley
Guard, San Diego Rockets 1967-1969-70, Los Angeles Lakers 1970-76, Phoenix Suns 1975-76

Pat Riley, the man most of us know as a successful NBA coach, was an aggressive basketball player at the University of Kentucky, 1965-1967 and a very five player in the National Basketball Association.

Pat Riley's resounding defensive play helped famed Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp reach the 1966 NCAA Championship Game before losing to Texas El Paso. Although no player was over 6' 5" Rupp teamed up Pat Riley and Larry Conley and shifted to a 1-3-1 zone defense to enable Kentucky to defeat Duke 83-79 in semi-final action.

In the NBA, Pat Riley played his first 3 years with the San Diego Rockets, however with a fan base averaging under 7000 per game, the Rockets folded and moved to Houston and Riley signed with the LA Lakers, 1970-71. There, he helped Los Angeles reach the playoffs 4 times in the next 6 seasons. In 1971-72 the Lakers with a powerhouse squad of Jerry West, Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich and Riley won the NBA Championship.

1968-69 All-Defensive NBA Players
Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, Jerry Sloan, Walt Frazier and Dave DeBusschere selected first team

The first time All-Defensive Teams were chosen was in 1968-1969 and some of the best defensive player in basketball history were on the list

Hall of Fame center Bill Russell was in his last season of his playing career and it was fitting to see someone honored who is generally considered the best defensive player of all-time.

Guard Walt Frazier was chosen first-team the first seven seasons it was chosen by the coaches, and forward Dave DeBusschere was on the first-team list six straight times.

NBA All-Defensive Teams 1968-1969

First Team

Dave DuBesschere, forward New York Knicks; Nate Thurmond, forward San Francisco Warriors; Bill Russell, center Boston Celtics; WAlt Frazier, guard NY Knicks; Jerry Sloan, guard Chicago Bulls

Second Team

Rudy LaRusso, forward SF Warriors; Thomas Sanders, forward Celtics; John Havlicek, forward Celtics; Jerry West, guard Los Angeles Lakers; Bill Bridges, guard Atlanta Hawks  

Willie Murrell
Forward, Denver Rockets ABA 1967-68; Miami Floridians ABA 1968-69, 1969-70; Kentucky Colonels ABA 1969-70;

An accurate shooter, Willie Murrell was also a solid defensive basketball player. The native of Taft, Oklahoma starred at Kansas State and helped them reach the 1964 NCAA Final Four before losing to UCLA despite Murrell's red-hot performence of 29 points that game.

Willie Murrell signed with the Denver Rockets during the ABA's inaugural season, where they played with red, white and blue basketballs. In 1967-68 as a rookie, Willie compiled a 16.4 points per game average and 9.0 rebounds per game. Murrell, a 6-ft 6-inch forward, along with guard Larry Jones and forward Wayne Hightower helped Denver post a solid 45-33 regular season record in the ABA West Division. However, after the season Willie Murrell was traded to the Miami Floridians, 1968-69. He also played with the Kentucky Colonels in 1969-70.

Louie Dampier
Star guard for Kentucky University and drafted by the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA, 1967-1976; San Antonio Spurs 1976-1979

Louie Dampier was one of the most dominating players in the American Basketball Association. Playing in every season of the league's existence, 1967-1976, the quick-stepping 6-ft, 170 lbs, guard holhs the following ABA all-time individual records - 13,726 points, 4,044 assists, 27,770 minutes played,  3-point made 794, in 2,217 attempts, and in games played with 728. Nicknamed Pee Wee Dampier

Louie Dampier was a four-time 2nd-team ABA All-Star, 1967-68 thru 1969-70 and 1973-74. A clutch team leader, in his 12 pro seasons his team made the playoffs every season - 9 seasons with the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA and 3-years with the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA.  

Bo Lamar
Guard, San Diego ABA 1973-74, 1974-75; Indiana ABA 1975-76; Los Angeles NBA 1976-77

A very quick-stepping basketball player at Southwestern Louisiana University, Dwight Lamar signed with the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association in 1973. A great outside shooter, Bo Lamar had an outstanding rookie season, 1973-74, notching a 20.4 points per game average in 84 games, and led all players in the ABA with 69 3-pointers made and 247 3-point attempts.

In his second pro season, Lamar averaged 20.9 points per game in 77 games.

Althogether in his three ABA seasons, 1973-74 thru 1975-76, Bo scored 3976 points, averaging 19.7 ppg and 4.4 assists per game. In 1976-1977 he played with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA.

Bill Bridges
Forward, St Louis Hawks 1962-63 thru 1967-68; Atlanta Hawks 1968-69, 1970-71, 1971-2; Philadelphia 76ers 1971-72, 1972-73; LA Lakers 1972-75, Golden State Warriors 1974-75

A noted aggressive defensive basketball player, Bill Bridges strung together a very fine NBA career, 1962-1975. As a fact, his all-around play helped his teams reach the playoffs in 12 of the 13 seasons he played.

Bill Bridges made the second team All-Defensive NBA Team two straight seasons, 1968-69 and 1969-70. He was also a very solid shooter, 11012 career points, 4181 FGM in 9463 FGA, a nice .442 percentage, and averaged 11.9 points per game. And, he pulled down 11054 rebounds in 926 regular season games for a 11.9 rpg average.

Bill Bridges led the NBA in personel fouls with 366 in 1969-70. And, although he was only 6-ft 6-inches he ranked in the top-10 in rebounding almost every year of his career, and in 1969-70 pulled in 14.4 rebounds per game, the fourth highest in the NBA, trailing Basketball Hall of Famers Elvin Hayes, 16.9 rpg, Wes Unseld, 16.7, and Lew Alcindor (Abdul-Jabbar), 14.5.

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