Sidney Wicks (born September 19, 1949) is a retired American basketball player. A native of California, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1971 to 1981. In the NBA he played for the Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, and San Diego Clippers, earning NBA Rookie of the Year in 1972 as well as four all-star selections.
[edit] Early life
Sidney Wicks was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 19, 1949.[1] He attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, but because of non-qualifying grades in high school, he had to attend Santa Monica College for a year until he could go to his preferred university, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Wicks later earned Academic All-America honors at UCLA in 1971.[citation needed] He earned a degree in sociology from the school.[2]
A 6'8" power forward/center, Wicks was a phenom at UCLA, playing on three straight NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships from 1969 to 1971, the Bruins' star player on the latter two, being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in 1970, Helms National Co-Player of the Year (1970) USBWA and Sporting News Player of the Year (1971) and two-time consensus All-American in 1970 and 1971. On Feb 1, 1996, his Jersey #35 was retired in a halftime ceremony at UCLA's home court, Pauley Pavilion. Wicks was an 1985 inductee into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2010, was selected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
[edit] Professional career
The Portland Trail Blazers selected Wicks with the second pick of the 1971 NBA Draft after paying the Cleveland Cavaliers $250,000 not to select him,[2] and the Dallas Chaparrals chose him in the 1971 ABA Draft.[1] After averaging 24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds, Wicks was named NBA Rookie of the Year. He also played in the NBA All-Star Game that season.[1]
Wicks played for the Trail Blazers from 1971 to 1976, earning a total of four selections as an All-Star (1972–1975) and averaging over 20 points per game each of his first four seasons.[1] He holds the Blazer's franchise record for rebounds in a game with 27,[3] and averaged 22.3 points per game and 10.3 rebounds a game in his five years with the team.[2]
In October 1976 he was sold to the Boston Celtics, while Portland went on to win their only NBA championship the next season. Wicks played for the Celtics from 1976 to 1978.[2] Wicks then went to the San Diego Clippers and played there until 1981.[1] Overall, Wicks averaged 16.8 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game over ten seasons and 760 games.[1] He had four seasons averaging over 20 points per game, and four seasons averaging over 10 rebounds per game, accomplishing both of those feats in the same season three times (1971–72, 1972–73, and 1974–75).[1] His scoring average dropped every year after his rookie season.[2] Following his NBA career he played one season in Italy.[2]
[edit] Awards and honors
[edit] Later years and family
Following his playing career, he lived for a year in Italy before returning to the United States.[2] He served as an assistant coach at UCLA during Walt Hazzard's four years as head coach.[4] Following coaching he entered the real estate field, living in Atlanta, Florida, and Los Angeles.[2] He was married from 1973 to 1979 and has one daughter, Sibahn Epps.[2] As of 2006, he lived in North Carolina and LA.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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* Ruled ineligible after tournament
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Wicks, Sidney |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
American basketball player |
| Date of birth |
September 19, 1949 |
| Place of birth |
Los Angeles, California |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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