Brad Holland

Seasons

Season G PPG RPG NBA
Title
1979-80 (#14) 38 2.8 0.4
1980-81 41 3.2 0.7

Guard, #14

 

Brad Holland holds the distinction of being the last player to be recruited and signed to a scholarship by legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden. Holland never got to play for Wooden, who retired in 1975, but enjoyed a successful career at UCLA that included a Final Four appearance in 1976 and an All-American honorable mention after averaging 17.5 points and 4.8 assists a game his senior season in 1978-79.

He also holds the distinction of being the other player the Lakers selected in the first round of the 1979 NBA draft -- they took Magic Johnson with the No. 1 overall pick and Holland at No. 14. Although he mainly served as a role player on the team, Holland helped the Lakers clinch the 1980 championship with eight points in a 123-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

"What a feeling it was to watch the clock wind down knowing you were about to become world champions," the 6-foot-3 guard told the Bruin Basketball Report in 2006.

Holland was a star at Crescenta Valley High, averaging nearly 35 points a game and scoring more than 50 points on two separate occasions.

After his three-year career in the NBA, he became a coach, serving as an assistant at UCLA from 1988-92, head coach at Cal State Fullerton from 1992-94, head coach at University of San Diego from 1994-2007 (he's the Toreros' all-time leader in coaching victories with 200) and an assistant at UC Santa Barbara.

In April 2010, he became the chief professional officer of the Carlsbad Boys and Girls Club.

— Chuck Schilken
Feb. 12, 2011