Orlando Vernada Woolridge (December 16, 1959 – May 31, 2012) was an American professional

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 who played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) from 1981 to 1994. He was known for his scoring ability, especially on

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...

s. He played

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 ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

Early life and education

Woolridge was born in

Bernice, Louisiana Bernice is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,689 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 1,809 in 2000. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The area was part of the Louisiana frontie ...

, a town dependent on the lumber industry. After attending local schools, he went to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, where he played for the

Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. He played in the NCAA tournament's Final Four in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

as a freshman with teammate

Bill Laimbeer William J. Laimbeer Jr. (born May 19, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Known for his rough and violent style of play, he played a big part in the P ...

(the two would later reunite as teammates of the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

during the 1990s). Woolridge started every game as a college sophomore, junior and senior. He helped guide Notre Dame to NCAA tournament appearances in 1980 and 1981. The

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

played one season at

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

in 1979–80, when he made 58.5 percent of his field goals. Named a second-team All-American by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' in 1981, Woolridge made a last-second fall-away jumper to beat the eventual NBA Hall of Famer

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

and No. 1

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to end their 28-game winning streak. Throughout his collegiate career, he averaged 10.6 points, 5 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game and shot just under 60% from the field.

College

, - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" , Notre Dame , 24 , , - , , 9.6 , , .526 , , - , , .485 , , 2.1 , , 0.5 , , - , , - , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" , Notre Dame , 30 , , 30 , , 25.1 , , .573 , , - , , .732 , , 4.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 11.0 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" , Notre Dame , 27 , , 27 , , 30.9 , , .585 , , - , , .692 , , 6.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 12.2 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" , Notre Dame , 28 , , 28 , , 33.0 , , .650 , , - , , .667 , , 6.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.8 , , 14.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 109 , , 85 , , 25.1 , , .595 , , - , , .669 , , 5.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 10.6

Professional career

NBA

Woolridge was selected sixth in the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA te ...

by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

, where he played for his first five seasons. Woolridge made his NBA debut on November 7, 1981. Woolridge was named NBA Player of the week on December 9, 1984. During the 1984–85 season, Woolridge averaged 22.9 points per game and combined with rookie teammate

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

to average over 51 points per game. Prior to the Jordan era, Woolridge was one of the Chicago Bulls' marquee players along with Hall of Famer

Artis Gilmore Artis Gilmore (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basket ...

Reggie Theus Reginald Wayne Theus (born October 13, 1957) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the head men's basketball he ...

and

David Greenwood David Murphy-Kasim Greenwood (born May 27, 1957) is an American retired professional basketball player whose National Basketball Association (NBA) career spanned 12 years from 1979 to 1991. Greenwood made his NBA debut on October 13, 1979 and was ...

. At tall, and weighing , Woolridge was one of the most gifted dunkers in professional basketball. Woolridge was also one of the original

alley-oop An alley-oop in basketball is an offensive play in which one player throws the ball near the basket to a teammate who jumps, catches the ball in mid-air and dunks or lays it in before touching the ground. The alley-oop combines elements of team ...

artists. Woolridge competed in the

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

in 1984 and 1985, and was the first to complete what would be called the eastbay funk dunk in 1984 surpassing the scores of Clyde Drexler and Michael Cooper. Woolridge led the Chicago Bulls in scoring in 1986 and was the last player to lead in scoring before Jordan took over. While unstoppable on the open court, his one-dimensional play did not complement Jordan's skills. He moved on to sign with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

as a veteran free-agent on October 2, 1986 for the 1986–87 season, in which he averaged 20.7 points per game. After playing 19 games during the 1987–88 season, Woolridge was suspended by the league for violation of the league

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

policy. On August 10, 1988, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, who were looking for a scorer off the bench. "I just love it when we go up in the transition game, up and down the court, Magic (Johnson) looking for the open guy ... That's the way I love playing," said Woolridge about teammate

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

and the Lakers shortly after joining the team. Woolridge averaged 11 points per game in two seasons and provided the Lakers consistent bench scoring around the basket. His 55.6%

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gener ...

during the 1989–90 season ranked fifth in the league. Woolridge was traded for two second-round draft picks to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, which started playing an unusual hurry-up offense under head coach

Paul Westhead Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American Retired basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for four others, and also coached in the National Collegiate Athl ...

in 1990–91. The prolific offense resulted in Woolridge's averaging 25.1 points per game and a career high 6.8 rebounds per game, but did not result in many team wins. Through most of the season until December, Woolridge led the NBA in scoring. That month, he was sidelined after eye surgery due to a

detached retina Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...

during a game collision. He was third in the league averaging 29.0 points at the time. After his only season in Denver, Woolridge played with the

during the 1991–92 season. He split the 1992–93 season between the Pistons and the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, and finished his NBA career at the end of the 1993–94 season where he played for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. He held NBA career averages of 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

Europe

Woolridge played professionally in Italy, with the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

club Benetton Treviso. Playing under head coach

Mike D'Antoni Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While head coach of the Ph ...

, he won the

FIBA European Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA ...

in the 1994–95 season, and also won the

Italian Cup Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. Woolridge then signed to play with Buckler Bologna for the 1995–96 season and won the

Italian Supercup The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 75 , , 12 , , 15.8 , , .513 , , .000 , , .699 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 57 , , 38 , , 28.5 , , .580 , , .000 , , .638 , , 5.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.8 , , 16.5 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 75 , , 74 , , 33.9 , , .525 , , .500 , , .715 , , 4.9 , , 1.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 19.3 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 77 , , 76 , , 36.6 , , .554 , , .000 , , .785 , , 5.6 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 22.9 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 70 , , 59 , , 32.1 , , .495 , , .174 , , .788 , , 5.0 , , 3.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 20.7 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 75 , , 53 , , 35.2 , , .521 , , .125 , , .777 , , 4.9 , , 3.5 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 20.7 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 19 , , 12 , , 32.7 , , .445 , , .000 , , .708 , , 4.8 , , 3.7 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 16.4 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, 74 , , 0 , , 20.1 , , .468 , , .000 , , .738 , , 3.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.9 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 62 , , 2 , , 22.9 , , .556 , , .000 , , .733 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 12.7 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 53 , , 50 , , 34.4 , , .498 , , .000 , , .797 , , 6.8 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 25.1 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, 82 , , 61 , , 25.8 , , .498 , , .111 , , .683 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 50 , , 47 , , 29.5 , , .479 , , .000 , , .673 , , 3.5 , , 2.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 13.1 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 8 , , 0 , , 9.8 , , .545 , , .000 , , .778 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 74 , , 1 , , 26.4 , , .471 , , .071 , , .689 , , 4.0 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.8 , , 12.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 851 , , 485 , , 28.3 , , .513 , , .091 , , .737 , , 4.3 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 16.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 4 , , 4 , , 41.8 , , .500 , , .000 , , .778 , , 3.3 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 20.5 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 3 , , 3 , , 45.0 , , .403 , , .000 , , .867 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 21.0 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 15 , , 0 , , 18.4 , , .520 , , .000 , , .710 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 1.0 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 0 , , 22.1 , , .571 , , .000 , , .703 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.9 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 25.6 , , .442 , , .000 , , .563 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 11.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 36 , , 12 , , 25.1 , , .492 , , .000 , , .716 , , 3.6 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 11.9

Coaching and later years

After retiring as a player, Woolridge coached the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

of the WNBA in 1998 and 1999. Woolridge later coached the Arizona Rhinos of the ABA from 2008 to 2009.

Personal life and death

Woolridge's son,

Renaldo Renaldo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Renaldo "Obie" Benson (1937–2005), American soul and R&B singer and songwriter *Renaldo Balkman (born 1984), American professional basketball player * Renaldo Hill ( ...

, also became a professional basketball player. Woolridge was a cousin to

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

member

Willis Reed Willis Reed Jr. (born June 25, 1942) is an American retired basketball player, coach and general manager. He spent his entire professional playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks. In 1982, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Memo ...

. After a long battle with heart disease, Woolridge died on May 31, 2012, at his parents' home in

Mansfield, Louisiana Mansfield is a small city in, and the parish seat of, DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,001 at the 2010 census, a decline of more than 10 percent from the 2000 tabulation. Mansfield is 77 percent African Americ ...

References

External links

FIBA EuroLeague Profile

Italian League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolridge, Orlando 1959 births 2012 deaths African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana Chicago Bulls draft picks Chicago Bulls players Denver Nuggets players Detroit Pistons players Los Angeles Lakers players Los Angeles Sparks head coaches Milwaukee Bucks players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players Pallacanestro Treviso players People from Bernice, Louisiana Philadelphia 76ers players Small forwards Virtus Bologna players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people