UCLA Basketball Legend David Greenwood Passes Away

Former UCLA Bruins forward David Greenwood, 68, passed away on Sunday, June 8, after a battle with cancer.

Greenwood played four seasons with UCLA and staked his claim as one of the best Bruins to touch the hardwood. From 1975-1979, Greenwood's tenure landed him No. 15 on the all-time scoring list and still sits No. 4 in all-time rebounds.

He started all four years and averaged 14.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 118 games and, throughout his tenure, led the Bruins to a 102-17 overall record. Greenwood was named to the all-conference teams each of his last three seasons in Westwood.

The late forward's brother, Al Greenwood, shared one hid favorite moments of Greenwood's career that took place in a game against Washington State.

"The Bruins were down with about a minute to go, and you know how L.A. fans are, they will be leaving the game early and it doesn't matter what the score is," Al Greenwood recalled. "But UCLA put on the press and didn't let them get out of the backcourt like three times. UCLA pulled to within a point. And with something like 10 seconds left, the Bruins get the ball from the backcourt up to the front. Roy Hamilton gets the ball, races up the court, and David had been getting double-teamed. Gig Sims took the shot, he misses it, and the ball rattles off the rim, and David comes flying on through and dunked it. We're up by a point, something like three seconds left, and the other team is so stunned that they lost. They didn't even get another play off."

Following an illustrious college career, Greenwood was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the second overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft. He ended up playing 823 career games in the NBA with four different franchises and averaged 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Greenwood was named to the 1979-80 All-Rookie team and won an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons in 1990.

Greenwood was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. He is survived by his brother Al, sister Laverne, and son and daughter Jemil and Tiffany.