RETIRED NUMBERS
On Feb. 3, 1990, four of the greatest players in UCLA basketball history — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor), Bill Walton, Ann Meyers and Denise Curry — had their uniform numbers retired. This special ceremony was the key moment in 1989-90’s “Pauley at 25” celebration and marked the first time that any Bruin basketball numbers had been retired. All four players earned consensus first-team All-America honors three times, the criteria used for deciding which of UCLA’s many outstanding players should have their numbers retired. The quartet are also in the National Basketball Hall of Fame, the Naismith Hall of Fame and the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.
#12 Denise Curry
#15 Ann Meyers
The consistent Curry, a three-time AllAmerican, set a collegiate record by scoring in double figures in each of the 130 games in which she played for the Bruins. The Davis, CA native set 14 school records in her career at Westwood and still ranks first in 10 career categories. In 1997, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. Prior to her gold medal-winning performance on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, she had previously been selected to the 1980 team. Curry played professionally in Europe for several seasons and served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at California. She became the head coach at Cal State Fullerton after working as an assistant with the San Jose franchise of the American Basketball League. Curry has also served as an assistant basketball coach at Long Beach State.
Meyers, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in May of 1993, was the first woman to earn a full scholarship at UCLA and went on to become the first four-time women’s basketball All-American. In 1978, she was named College Player of the Year and winner of the prestigious Broderick Cup after helping to lead the Bruins to the national championship. Meyers is still the school leader in steals (403) and blocked shots (101-tied) along with being the only player in UCLA history to have posted a quadruple-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals in a game vs. S.F. Austin in 1978. In addition, she earned a silver medal as a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic Team, which was coached by former UCLA mentor Billie Moore. She has worked extensively as a television commentator for men’s and women’s college and professional basketball. She is currently the general manager for the WNBA’s Phoenix franchise, which captured the 2007, 2009 and 2014 championships.
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