Kenneth Washington is an American retired

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach. As a player, he won two national championships playing

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

with the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

and represented the United States national team in the

1970 FIBA World Championship The 1970 FIBA World Championship was the 6th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Yugoslavia in Sarajevo, Split, Karlovac, Skopje and Ljubljana, from 10 to 24 May 1970. It was ...

. He was also the first head coach in UCLA women's basketball history. Washington, a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

out of Robert Smalls High School in

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

, played for coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

at UCLA from 1963 to 1966, where he was a key member of Wooden's first two NCAA championship teams in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. As the

sixth man The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in. The sixth man often plays minutes equal to or exceeding some of the sta ...

of those teams, Washington helped the Bruins establish what is now known as a storied tradition. Washington was particularly effective in his two championship appearances, netting 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the final of the 1964 NCAA tournament and scoring 17 in the 1965 championship and earning a spot on the All-Final Four team. After graduation, Washington was drafted by the

San Francisco Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in the eighth round (71st pick overall) of the 1966 NBA draft, but he never played in the league. In 1970, Washington was a member of the U.S. team that played in the

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, finishing fifth. He was the second-leading scorer on the team, averaging 12.4 points per game and playing in all 9 contests. In 1974, Washington was named the first intercollegiate head coach in UCLA women's basketball history. He coached one season, leading the Bruins to an 18-4 record behind star

Ann Meyers Ann Meyers Drysdale (born Ann Elizabeth Meyers; March 26, 1955) is an American former basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional level ...

.2010-11 UCLA women's basketball media guide
, accessed August 12, 2011 He is the uncle of Major League Baseball player

Jason Heyward Jason Alias Heyward (born August 9, 1989), nicknamed "J-Hey" is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Kenny Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Basketball players from South Carolina Guards (basketball) Sportspeople from Beaufort, South Carolina San Francisco Warriors draft picks UCLA Bruins men's basketball players UCLA Bruins women's basketball coaches United States men's national basketball team players American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches 1970 FIBA World Championship players