LOS ANGELES — Walt Hazzard, the former UCLA and NBA star who played on the Bruins’ first NCAA championship basketball team in 1964 and later coached the team for four seasons in the 1980s, died Friday. He was 69.
Hazzard’s family said he had been recuperating for a long time from complications following heart surgery. The school said Hazzard died at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
He had a stroke in March 1996 and made a strong recovery, but became less publicly active. He made occasional appearances at UCLA games in recent years.
Hazzard was co-captain of the 1964 national title team that went 30-0 under coach John Wooden. He averaged a career-high 18.6 points as a senior playmaking guard. He was chosen college basketball’s player of the year, having averaged 19.8 points in the NCAA Tournament, where he was selected as the MVP.
Hazzard helped the U.S. win a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and played 10 years in the NBA, including a stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, who made him the No. 1 overall pick. He averaged 12.6 points and 4.9 assists in the NBA.
