Cazzie Lee Russell (born June 7, 1944) is an American former 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 and coach. An NBA All-Star, he was selected by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

with the Knicks in 1970.

College career

In 1962, while playing at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's Carver High School, Russell was named the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

Boy's Player of the Year. Russell 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 ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Along with

Bill Buntin William L. Buntin (May 5, 1942 – May 9, 1968) was an American basketball player. He played collegiately for the University of Michigan and in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Buntin died of a heart attack at age 26. College career Bun ...

, Russell led the Wolverines to three consecutive

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

titles (1964–66) and to Final Four appearances in 1964 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 sworn in for a full term ...

, losing in the final game 91-80 to defending national champion UCLA and John Wooden in 1965. In 1966, Russell averaged 30.8 points per game and was named the College Basketball Player of the Year. Crisler Arena, which opened in 1967, has been dubbed ''The House that Cazzie Built''. Russell was also initiated into

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, cree ...

fraternity - Sigma Chapter in 1964.

Professional career

Russell was drafted by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft, playing for them for five seasons (1966–1971). While playing for the Knicks he was named to the 1967 All-Rookie Team and won the NBA Finals in 1970. In 1971, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jerry Lucas and appeared in the 1972 NBA All-Star Game. In 1974, Russell signed with the Los Angeles Lakers when the Warriors did not offer him a no-cut contract. While with the Lakers he became the last player to wear the number 32 and 33 jerseys before Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In 1978, he signed with the Chicago Bulls, which would conclude his NBA career. In total, Russell spent 12 seasons in the NBA (1966–1978). During the 1978–79 season, Russell played for the Great Falls Sky of the Western Basketball Association (WBA). He ended his career after the 1980–81 season when he played for the

Philadelphia Kings The Lancaster Red Roses were a professional basketball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From 1946 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1955, they played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League, of which the Red Roses were one of the six original ...

of the Continental Basketball Association.

Coaching career

In 1981, he became the head coach for the Lancaster Lightning of the CBA. He guided the team to the 1981–82 league championship. During the playoffs, with his team depleted by injuries, Russell came out of retirement and played for the Lightning in the final game of the league championship series, played in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Russell was named the CBA Coach of the Year in 1982. Russell later coached the

Wyoming Wildcatters The Wyoming Wildcatters were a professional basketball team based in Casper, Wyoming. They played 6 seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Association (NBA). They manage ...

, Grand Rapids Hoops and

Columbus Horizon The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association from 1989 to 1994. History Plans to bring professional basketball to Columbus were unveiled in September ...

of the CBA and the Mid-Michigan Great Lakers in the Global Basketball Association. He also served as assistant coach of the Atlanta Hawks for two seasons (1988–1990). Russell was the head coach of the men's basketball team at the Savannah College of Art and Design for 13 seasons, until the college eliminated the sport in 2009. He still remains at the college in an administrative capacity. He served as an assistant coach at

Armstrong State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, O ...

until 2017 when it was discontinued. He spent several years as head coach at Centennial High School in Columbus, Ohio, during the mid-1990s before taking the job in Georgia. He is now the assistant coach of the Flagler College Saints women's basketball team.

Military service

During the 1960s, while with the Knicks, Russell was in the Fighting 69th Regiment of the New York Army National Guard. He started in the army as a private. He participated in army service during the basketball season, including being recalled to active duty during national emergencies.Miller, Norm
"OK Knicks' Mike, Caz for Playoffs"
'' Daily News'', volume 51, number 235, New York, New York, March 26, 1970, page 23C.

Honors

In 2006, Russell was voted as one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament, a group of former players and coaches in honor of the 100 anniversary of the IHSA boys basketball tournament. Russell received the Bobby Jones Award in 2015 at the Athletes in Action All Star Breakfast, which is held each year at the NBA All Star Weekend. In 2016 Russell was the recipient of the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award at the Athletes in Action Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast, which is held each year at the Final Four.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 77 , , – , , 22.0 , , .436 , , – , , .785 , , 3.3 , , 2.4 , , – , , – , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 82 , , – , , 28.0 , , .462 , , – , , .808 , , 4.6 , , 2.4 , , – , , – , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 50 , , – , , 32.9 , , .450 , , – , , .796 , , 4.2 , , 2.3 , , – , , – , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", New York , 78 , , – , , 20.0 , , .498 , , – , , .775 , , 3.0 , , 1.7 , , – , , – , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 57 , , – , , 18.5 , , .429 , , – , , .773 , , 3.4 , , 1.4 , , – , , – , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 79 , , – , , 36.7 , , .455 , , – , , .833 , , 5.4 , , 3.1 , , – , , – , , 21.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 80 , , – , , 30.4 , , .458 , , – , , .864 , , 4.4 , , 2.3 , , – , , – , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 82 , , – , , 31.4 , , .482 , , – , , .835 , , 4.3 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .2 , , 20.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. 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 ...

, 40 , , – , , 26.4 , , .455 , , – , , .894 , , 2.9 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .1 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , – , , 22.0 , , .463 , , – , , .892 , , 2.5 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .0 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , – , , 31.5 , , .490 , , – , , .858 , , 3.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, 36 , , – , , 21.9 , , .438 , , – , , .860 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .1 , , 8.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 817 , , – , , 27.2 , , .464 , , – , , .827 , , 3.8 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , 15.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 20.0 , , .308 , , – , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , – , , – , , 10.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1967 , style="text-align:left;”, New York , 4 , , – , , 22.3 , , .394 , , – , , .769 , , 4.8 , , 2.8 , , – , , – , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

, style="text-align:left;”, New York , 6 , , – , , 34.8 , , .561 , , – , , .833 , , 3.8 , , 1.7 , , – , , – , , 21.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, style="text-align:left;”, New York , 5 , , – , , 7.2 , , .238 , , – , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , – , , – , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 1970† , style="text-align:left;”, New York , 19 , , – , , 16.1 , , .485 , , – , , .947 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , – , , – , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

, style="text-align:left;”, New York , 11 , , – , , 10.9 , , .391 , , – , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , – , , – , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1972 , style="text-align:left;”, Golden State , 5 , , – , , 32.2 , , .492 , , – , , .750 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , , – , , – , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1973 , style="text-align:left;”, Golden State , 11 , , – , , 23.9 , , .490 , , – , , .864 , , 3.3 , , 1.5 , , – , , – , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1977 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 11 , , – , , 34.7 , , .414 , , – , , .880 , , 4.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 15.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 72 , , – , , 21.8 , , .460 , , – , , .870 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 11.8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Cazzie 1944 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American military sports players Basketball coaches from Illinois Chicago Bulls players Continental Basketball Association coaches Golden State Warriors players Los Angeles Lakers players Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association broadcasters National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players New York National Guard personnel Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia Kings players Shooting guards Small forwards United States Army soldiers Western Basketball Association players Basketball players from Chicago 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople