1974-75

John Wooden finally called it a career in 1975, but not before taking one last NCAA title into retirement with him.  The timing of his announcement was exquisite, coming immediately after UCLA's 75–74 overtime win against Louisville in the NCAA semifinal at San Diego. That was March 29. Two nights later, the Bruins won one more championship for the Wizard—beating Kentucky, 92–85, as Richard Washington and David Meyers combined for 52 points.

Wooden walked away with 10 NCAA titles, an overall record of 664–162, an NCAA tournament record of 47–10, and 19 different Coach of the Year awards over 29 seasons.

UCLA (AP) and Indiana (UPI) shared No.1 honors during the regular season, but the Hoosiers missed a trip to the Final Four when they lost to Kentucky in the Mideast Regional final.  

Rules change

• Players called for fouls no longer have to raise their hands.

Final AP Top 20 (Writers' poll taken after tournament).

Note: UCLA won the NCAAs, Princeton won the NIT and Drake won CCA.

Consensus All-America (In alphabetical order)

First Team

·         Adrian Dantley, Notre Dame

·         John Lucas, Maryland

·         Scott May, Indiana

·         David Meyers, UCLA

·         David Thompson, N.C. State

Second Team

·         Luther Burden, Utah

·         Keven Greufy, Kentucky

·         Leon Douglas, Alabama

·         Gus Williams, USC

AP POLL

1. UCLA
2. Kentucky
3. Indiana
4. Louisville
5. Maryland
6. Syracuse
7. N.C. State
8. Arizona State
9. North Carolina
10. Alabama

UPI COACHES POLL

1. Indiana
2. UCLA
3. Louisville
4. Kentucky
5. Maryland
6. Marquette
7. Arizona State
8. Alabama
9. N.C. State
10. North Carolina

Syracuse 87, La Salle 83 (OT)
North Carolina 93, New Mexico State 69
Boston College 82, Furman 76
Kansas State 69, Penn 62
Central Michigan 77, Georgetown 75
Kentucky 76, Marquette 54
Indiana 78, Texas-El Paso 53
Oregon State 78, Middle Tennessee State 67
Cincinnati 87, Texas A&M 79
Louisville 91, Rutgers 78
Maryland 83, Creighton 79
Notre Dame 77, Kansas 71
Arizona State 97, Alabama 94
UNLV 90, San Diego State 80
UCLA 103, Michigan 91 (OT)
Montana 69, Utah State 63
Regional Semifinals
Syracuse 78, North Carolina 76
Kansas State 74, Boston College 65
Kentucky 90, Central Michigan 73
Indiana 81, Oregon State 71
Louisville 78, Cincinnati 63
Maryland 83, Notre Dame 71
Arizona State 84, UNLV 81
UCLA 67, Montana 64
Regional Third Place
East: North Carolina 110, Boston College 90
Mideast: Central Michigan 88, Oregon State 87
Midwest: Cincinnati 95, Notre Dame 87 (OT)
West: UNLV 75, Montana 67
Regional Finals
East: Syracuse 95, Kansas State 87 (OT)
Mideast: Kentucky 92, Indiana 90
Midwest: Louisville 96, Maryland 82
West: UCLA 89, Arizona State 75
National Semifinals
Kentucky 95, Syracuse 79
UCLA 75, Louisville 74 (OT)
National Third Place
Louisville 96, Syracuse 88 (OT)
Championship Game
UCLA 92, Kentucky 85

UCLA leaders: Dave Myers, Sr., F; Richard Washington, So., C-F; Marques Johnson, So., F; Pete Trgovich, Sr., G; Ralph Drollinger, Jr., C

All-NCAA Tournament Team

Top 10

All-America Team

Leaders
Team
Offense: South Alabama, 92.8
Defense: Texas-El Paso, 57.3

Individual Scoring

Rebounding

  Notes

• Princeton (22-8) defeated Providence 80-69 to win the NIT, the only major tournament ever won by an Ivy League school.

• UCLA coach John Wooden retired after 29 years of coaching, leaving with a 664-162 record. In the last 12 seasons, his record was 335-22, and 12 appearances in the Final Four resulted in a 21-3 record.

• A record 10 schools were on NCAA probation this year.

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

1975
Thomas J. Gola, Player
*Edward W. Krause, Player
*Harry Litwack, Coach
William W. Sharman, Player

With a short, cryptic announcement in the UCLA dressing room, John Wooden signaled the end of a remarkable era.

Moments after the Bruins had reached the NCAA championship game for the 10th time in 12 years, the coach who had built the greatest dynasty in college basketball history told his players the next game would be his last. He did so with characteristic understatement and an economy of words.

"I think he had it all planned out," senior guard Pete Trgovich said. "I think he was planning to announce it if we got to the final. Everything was quiet in here when he spoke.

"He said: 'I'm bowing out. I don't want to, but I have to.' I don't know what he meant by that. He didn't say too much else. His voice was kind of cracking."

The disclosure came in the aftermath of a taxing and thrilling 75-74 overtime victory in the national semifinals against Louisville at the San Diego Sports Arena. The announcement gave a good but not exceptional UCLA team additional motivation after some difficult games in the NCAA Tournament, which had an enlarged bracket with 32 teams, seven more than the year before. In addition, the tournament was opened to more than one representative from the same conference for the first time.

The Bruins, however, did not need one of the NCAA's extra invitations because they won their ninth consecutive Pacific-8 Conference title in 1975. Nor was Wooden seeking an edge in the championship game by telling players that it would be his swan song.

"I don't want to use this to hype up my ballplayers," he said. "I don't believe in that."

Wooden traditionally shunned emotional ploys. In his 27 years at UCLA, he had maintained his distance from his players and cultivated an image as one who was successful because of thoughtful planning and a sensible approach to the sport. He coached not on his feet or from his knees, but from a seat on the bench, always second from the end nearest the scorer's table, where he crossed his legs, rolled up his program and directed his team with the air of a man studying a knotty problem in quantum physics.

"The coach shies away from people who are jumping up and down," said consensus All-America forward Dave Meyers, the UCLA captain.

According to the coach, the timing of the announcement was forced by the imminent revelation of his retirement plans in Los Angeles newspapers. Beyond the issue of his health, he declined to comment on his reasons for stepping down at 64. Wooden had suffered a mild heart attack two years earlier and had been advised to retire.

"I haven't been sick," he said, "but lately I haven't been feeling as well as usual. Over the years, I've never had trouble sleeping, except, of course, after games, but I couldn't even do that as a player. But the last two weeks I couldn't sleep at all.

"I've been worried, concerned about my physical well-being, worried about my team and other things."

His team had given him cause for concern. The Bruins had been taken into overtime by Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament two weeks earlier and had been pressed to defeat Montana in the West Regional semifinals. Their 89-75 triumph over Arizona State in the regional final was convincing, but they hadn't so much beaten Louisville as survived in one of the finest games in the annals of the Final Four.

Louisville, which was coached by Denny Crum, a former player and assistant under Wooden, opened a 65-61 lead with 1:06 remaining on two free throws by guard Phillip Bond.

But 6-foot-9 sophomore Richard Washington made two foul shots and classmate Marques Johnson stole an inbounds pass, then followed a missed shot for a 65-65 tie. Junior guard Andre McCarter had a chance to win the game for UCLA in regulation but missed a driving layup. A last-second jump shot from the corner by Louisville's Junior Bridgeman was off-target, forcing an extra period.

UCLA fell behind, 72-69, in overtime as forward Allen Murphy scored the Cardinals' first seven points. Johnson and Louisville forward Wesley Cox traded baskets and then Meyers sank both free throws in a one-and-one foul situation to cut the deficit to 74-73 with 57 seconds left.

The Cardinals went to a four-corner offense, trying to protect the ball and draw a foul. Reserve Terry Howard, a ballhandling specialist and free-throw marksman, worked the clock, dribbling around the middle of the floor.

Howard was the last man the Bruins wanted to foul, but at the 20-second mark they had no alternative. Guard Jim Spillane reached in and Howard, a senior who had not missed a free throw in 28 attempts that season, went to the line. He picked a terrible time to miss his first.

The ball spun around the rim and out, Washington grabbed the rebound and UCLA called a timeout. Assistant coach Gary Cunningham diagrammed a play while Wooden stood by his side, watching and listening.

The play worked just as planned. The Bruins passed the ball around until Washington freed himself for a short jump shot from the right side of the lane. It caught only net, boosting UCLA into the lead with three seconds left. Murphy, who led all scorers with 33 points, fumbled the inbounds pass for Louisville, assuring Wooden of a grand finale.

Kentucky, the Bruins' opponent in the championship game, was a physical team with a massive front line and impressive depth. The Wildcats had upset previously undefeated Indiana in the Mideast Regional final before trouncing Syracuse, 95-79, in the national semifinals. Kentucky's victory over the undermanned Orangemen had resembled an execution, and not a neat one, either.

"We have great momentum at the present time," Wildcats coach Joe B. Hall said. "I don't think coach Wooden's resignation will have any negative effect on our team psychologically.

"What it does to his team, I can't say."

Wooden wasn't about to appeal to hysteria. A man who was as proud of his self-control as he was of his record didn't want the last game of his coaching career to sound like a personal crusade. He had no intention of asking his players to win one for "The Wizard."

Wooden addressed them briefly before the game.

"He just said, 'Good luck, fellows,' " McCarter said. "It was like he was stepping out of it and just leaving it up to us. But he had us prepared. And I feel his retirement was a great motivation factor even though he stressed winning it for ourselves."

What the Bruins did, without benefit of a pep talk, was accomplish as much as any UCLA team of the past, as much as any team can be expected to do. The Bruins defeated Kentucky, 92-85, and presented their coach with a crowning achievement, his 10th NCAA title.

"I played my heart out for coach Wooden," said Meyers, the team's intense leader. "It meant that much to me. He deserves to go out a winner."

For their part, the Wildcats didn't concede readily. They went to their inside muscle game immediately and then forward Kevin Grevey, their finest outside shooter, sparked Kentucky to a 17-12 lead.

UCLA roared back to take a 43-40 advantage at halftime, then pushed the lead to 66-56 after eight minutes of the second half.

It was at that stage that Grevey, the game's high scorer with 34 points, rediscovered his touch. He scored two three-point plays and the lead melted until, with 6:49 left, it was down to one, 76-75. The critical moment was at hand.

UCLA worked to set up Meyers from the top of the key, but as the Bruins forward went up to shoot, Grevey appeared in his path. Meyers landed on Grevey, both men went sprawling and the UCLA player was whistled for the foul, his fourth.

"I was very upset," Meyers said, "because I felt he went underneath me as I went up."

Meyers' display of anger -- he screamed and pounded the floor in disgust -- drew a technical foul, giving Grevey the opportunity to shoot a one-and-one and then a technical. The Wildcats also would gain possession.

If everything went smoothly, Kentucky would have five points and a four-point lead.

Instead, the Wildcats got none. Grevey missed both the front end of the one-and-one and the technical. Kentucky committed a turnover. The game was lost then and there.

The Wildcats climbed within one point when 6-9 Bob Guyette hit a 13-foot shot to make it 78-77 with 5:14 left, but they never were closer than three points thereafter. McCarter clinched the victory by driving the lane and scoring on a layup for a 90-85 lead with 40 seconds left.

Washington, who earned the outstanding player award after leading UCLA in scoring in both Final Four games, provided the Bruins' last two points on a pair of free throws.

UCLA had used only six men to combat perhaps the strongest team in the country, but those six (including backup center Ralph Drollinger) were magnificent. At the end, they bounded off the court, thrusting their fists in the air in acknowledgment of their conquest. Wooden trailed quietly behind, holding a basketball.

"I suppose anyone would like to go out with a victory," he said, his face almost devoid of expression. "The fact that the victory was for the national championship doesn't lessen the pleasure."

The realization of what had transpired didn't seem to sink in until after he had spoken to his players, newsmen and well-wishers. It happened about 45 minutes after the game in the corridor leading to the UCLA dressing room, where he encountered Nell Wooden, his wife of 42 years.

John Wooden, who had stared clear-eyed through those spectacles that lent him the appearance of a Midwestern schoolmaster, silently cried. And the two embraced for what seemed like an eternity.