Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton.  Seven foot two and Six foot Eleven (or so he says).  Both consummate team players who have more skill than most point guards.  They combine to wreak havoc on the PAC-10 and the rest of the country.  Alcindor, with his sky hook, is the most dominant post-up player in the country.  He is unstoppable underneath and is tremendous on the other end.  He won player of the year and deserved it.  He is the best college player ever and no one can really argue this point. And if you want to argue then the guy you would be arguing for is playing next to him.  Walton is better than Alcindor at many skills.  Rebounding, shot blocking, passing and is definitely more agile.  He is not the threat inside that Alcindor is but loves being the high post passer down low to the big man or anyone else cutting for an easy basket.  He may be a little freaky off the court and is not afraid to share an opinion with a nod of his head but when he is on the court he just could be the most well-rounded basketball player that has ever lived. These two alone are the best individual players in the country.  Together they are virtually unbeatable. 

It is not like the Bruins do not have any other great players.  They probably could have been a top ten team without Walton and Alcindor. That is if Wooden would let his freshman play.  Just look at the small forward situation. They have a great post-up player in Marques Johnson. A great wing who can run the court and light it up from the corners in Keith Wilkes who is also shut-down defender.  Plus a 6’8 guy coming up from JV who runs the court like a gazelle and can flat stroke the rock in Kike Vandeweghe from up the road in Palisades Park.  Wooden does recruit nationally (Alcindor as we all know comes from the Big Apple) but he is also smart enough to make sure he gets all of the local talent as well and around SoCal there is an abundance of basketball virtuosos. Wilkes is the starter because he was best suited to match up next to the big men with his ability to run and defend.  He is truly the underrated assassin of the Bruins.  He does not get the hype but he does whatever it takes to win.  Johnson is a low post butt to the basket type who has every move you can think of on the post.  He started some games early but was better suited coming off the bench.  He had some monster games and his showdown with Adrian Dantley of the Fighting Iriish in their two who has the most-low post moves was legendary.   And when Wooden is feeling ornery he either puts in Sidney Wicks to give the Bruins a monster lineup.  Wicks is a great big man who gets lost in the limelight behind the two greats.  Wicks could start for almost any other team in the country at post but is stuck behind the Big Redhead and Kareem.  He is unique in that he is the only guy on the planet who knows what it is like to be stuck in between these two.  He is getting used to it but next year he gets to start. And to be honest he might be a better scorer than Walton but no way Wooden is breaking up his dominant duo down low.  There are at least five guys on this roster who could start for 90% of the teams in the country up front who might not see the light of day this year.  Seniors Willie Naulls and Keith Erickson and juniors Curtis Rowe, Richard Washington, David Greenwood and Dave Meyers can all flat play.  Another senior, Donald Barksdale, left after last year to go pro but was not getting much PT behind the big two anyway.  The fact that Barksdale will get many more minutes in the pros is all you need to know about UCLA basketball.  As for the guys hanging around, they learned last year what it takes to compete at this level as going against those two monsters (Wooden likes to split it up in practice as the A&W teams) in practice every day will no doubt make you a better player.  No wonder so many of these guys have become such good pros as Wooden has a system of building men (and great players) that works.  Sure, these kids are chomping at the bit to get in but they understand their time will come either in Pauley or at the next level but one thing is for sure they will be more than prepared when their number is called. 

If there any area that was considered an Achilles heel for the Bruins it would be lack of quickness at point guard and getting some more shooting on the wing to open things up down low.  Senior Walt Hazzard is the undisputed starter here and the leader of the Bruin show.  Hazzard is a gifted player who hails from the same high school at Wilt Chamberlain and who knows how to get the offense going.  He can also score some when needed but knows where his bread is buttered.  But he can be outquicked and is not exactly Magic Johnson in the open court. He also had a nagging little injury midway through the year that opened up some competition.  Lucius Allen is a little better defensively and got some minutes and played well.  He knows how to get the ball to Alcindor down low and because of his defense might push for more minutes.  But again he is not the most dynamic dude on the planet on the break.  And this team, with all of their size, wants to break especially when one of the big two is off the court which is about half of the time.  Junior Henry Bibby and Senior Michael ‘Preacher’ Warren also got some minutes at the point.  Bibby is perhaps the best open court player of the group and thus played often when Hazzard missed some games.  Warren plays the part of a point guard well and is a terrific team player but is nowhere near the talent of his teammates.  Still, Wooden loves him (he says Warren runs his offense better than anyone else on the roster) and he has always produced when called upon so you never know.   

Gail Goodrich is one the best shooting guards in the country.  That is of guys who take the moniker shooting seriously.  But you would never know it as a guy with the nickname ‘Stumpy’ does not get the adoration of fans who have fallen in love with those athletic two guards who are the rage in college basketball especially the ACC.  Goodrich is not that as he goes 6’1 170 and does his thing with smarts, ballhandling, a great jump shot and little trickery.  Goodrich has played with Hazzard for three years and they had unbelievable chemistry.  Goodrich can flat nail jump shots all day and is not bad at going to the hoop.  He was second on the team in scoring and like Wilkes is as underrated of a great player as there is.  The fiery lefty with the stumpy legs is tough as nails as showed by his playing through a broken ankle in the semifinal and still playing in the championship game.  He will do what it takes to win and he does win.  He played some point and is fully capable of playing this role if needed. And it might be needed as there is a big time shooter coming up from JV to try and take his job.  Sophomore Reggie Miller flat dominated JV last year averaging more than any Bruin on the varsity including Alcindor.  Wooden knows he needs to get Miller into the lineup this year as he is the new prototype wing.  Miller is big (6’7) and gets his shot off with ease usually curling off a screen which will work well with the master of the high-post screen himself Mr. Walton.  He may be the best perimeter shooter on the team (and that is saying something with Wilkes and Goodrich around) and has ice in his veins.  Goodrich knows what it is like to play with talent but Miller will have to get used to it and not having to be the man as he was last year on a not so great Bruin JV team. That itself is an anomaly as Wooden is the best recruiter ever and he likes to keep his cupboards stacked.  The only other sophomore to be that really has a shot at any minutes is point guard Pooh Richardson.  Richardson is a dynamic playmaker from Philly that teamed with Miller perfectly and can really create in the open court.  It will be interesting to see if these two have the impact on the varsity they did on the JV as this team quite frankly needs them.  But Wooden is not the type to go against his own entrenched hierarchies and seniority is a big part of that.  By the way Wooden has went out of his way to make sure his incoming freshman are competing for a national title again albeit in the JV tourney.  Last year was the first year the JV did not make the final four since Wooden has been here and he has brought in the erstwhile vagabond of a coach in Larry Brown to run that program and some say to take over for the bespeckled legend as the man with the rolled up program is not getting any younger.  Wooden will not leave while his two studs are still playing so unless Big Bill decides to leave early the Wizard will be back for at least two more years in Westwood. 

With apologies to those kids in Lexington, the UCLA Bruins are almost assuredly the best team in the country.  They made no bones about it and back up their claim. The duo of Alcindor and Walton will live in history as the greatest big man combo ever anywhere.  And do not forget that this is a complete team with great players at every position.  And high school All-Americans sitting deep on the bench.  And, perhaps most importantly, they have a little wise old men in those wire rimmed owl shaped glasses that could be the best coach ever in any sport. Period.  Put it all together and the Bruins are the reason that college basketball is so popular.  Kids on their way to finding out what life is all about should take a lesson in how this great team plays.  When you remember how great this team was, do not remember how much they won but how much fun they had in doing it and how they played the game the right way to achieve their goals.  It is not the outcome that matters but the process one takes in getting there.  Will this mountain be easy to climb once again?  No Way!  Just look at the games on their schedule as everyone wanted to knock Goliath down. But if you are picking against the Bruins from getting another ring for their beloved coach then you better know something we don’t or be hoping one of those two studs goes down with injury.  And nobody hopes for that do they?  Not even Wildcat fans!!