Kenneth Robert Heitz (June 25, 1947 – July 9, 2012) was an American

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 attorney. He won three collegiate

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

from 1967 to 1969, one of the first players in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

history to do so. Heitz was a 6'3"

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 ...

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 ...

who played at

Ernest Righetti High School Ernest Righetti High School (commonly Righetti, or RHS) is a public comprehensive secondary school in Santa Maria, California, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District ...

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city near the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. It is approximately no ...

. At Righetti, Heitz earned honors as a high school All-American and was

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a s ...

Player of the Year in his senior season. He graduated with honors in May 1965. He went to UCLA in 1965 as a part of a legendary recruiting class of head 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 ...

. Along with classmates Lew Alcindor (later

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

Lynn Shackelford Lynn Shackelford (born August 27, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. A graduate of John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California, Shackelford earned 7 varsity letters in 3 years in basketball, baseball and golf. He w ...

and

Lucius Allen Lucius Oliver Allen, Jr. (born September 26, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. He is one of only a select few players to have won at least one state championship, collegiate national championship, and NBA championship. ...

, Heitz played on UCLA teams that went 88–2 over three years and was the first school to capture three consecutive national championships. Heitz was known for his tenacious defense. As a senior in 1968–69, Heitz started for the Bruins. He averaged 6.5 points per game and was named an

Academic All-American The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...

. In the national championship game, Heitz did not score, but he received consideration as the contest's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

for his defense against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

's high-scoring

Rick Mount Richard Carl Mount (born January 5, 1947) is a former American basketball player in the American Basketball Association (ABA). He was the first high school athlete to be featured on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated''. Early life Rick Mount's fath ...

, who shot just 12-for-36, including 14 straight misses, while scoring 28 points. For his college career, Heitz averaged 6.0 points and 2.3

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

. Following graduation, Heitz was drafted by 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 ...

in the fifth round (59th pick overall) of the

1969 NBA Draft The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bas ...

. He participated in the Bucks' summer training camp, but he never played professional basketball. He instead went to

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and graduated in 1972. He joined the law firm Irell & Manella in

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' ...

and became a senior partner specializing in commercial litigation and corporate law. He was also executive vice president and general counsel of Columbia Savings and Loan from 1988–91 and was briefly its CEO. He served on the board of directors of the

El Paso Electric El Paso Electric is a Texas-based public utility company, engaging in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in west Texas and southern New Mexico. Its energy sources consist of nuclear fuel, natural gas, purchased power, so ...

since 1996 and as chairman of the board since 2008, and on the board of directors of Ares Capital Corporation since 2011. Heitz was inducted into the Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Roundtable Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, he was inducted into the first class of the Righetti Athletic Hall of Fame. Heitz died of cancer at age 65 on July 9, 2012. He was survived by his wife Linda (1947–2016), daughters Jennifer, Joanna and Alexis, and two grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heitz, Kenny 1947 births 2012 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from California Deaths from cancer in California Harvard Law School alumni Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Sportspeople from Santa Maria, California Shooting guards Small forwards UCLA Bruins men's basketball players