Funeral Services Set for Woolridge

(The following story courtesy of Doug Ireland and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame)

MANSFIELD – Funeral services for Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame basketball legend Orlando Woolridge are set for Saturday, June 9, at 10 a.m. in the Mansfield High School gymnasium, after a Friday 7 p.m. visitation at Jenkins Funeral Home in Mansfield.

Woolridge, 52, died at the family home in Mansfield Thursday night from a chronic heart condition. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2010.

Woolridge starred collegiately at Notre Dame under coach Digger Phelps and averaged 16 points per game over 13 seasons in the NBA.  A first-round draft pick (sixth overall) of the Chicago Bulls in 1981, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward  played  with seven NBA teams -- Chicago, New Jersey, L.A. Lakers, Denver, Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. He finished his playing career in Europe and later coached in the WNBA with Los Angeles.

He played in 851 NBA games with 485 starts, averaging 16.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in just 28.3 minutes a game.

During Michael Jordan’s rookie season as a Chicago Bulls teammate (1984-85), Woolridge averaged 22.9 points/game and the duo averaged more than 51 points per game.

Woolridge wound up as a teammate to Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1988-90.  Woolridge came off the bench under coach Pat Riley and ranked fifth in the league with a 55.6 field-goal percentage during the 1989-90 season.

Woolridge scored 13,623 points and had 3,696 rebounds in his NBA career before retiring in 1994. He shot 51.3 percent from the field as a pro after hitting 59.5 percent with coach Digger Phelps’ Fighting Irish.

Woolridge averaged in double-figures in scoring during his final three seasons at Notre Dame. As a senior captain in 1980-81, he averaged 14.4 points and six rebounds per game while leading the Irish to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in his four years. He is also one of 50 Notre Dame players to notch at least 1,000 career points, totaling 1,160 points and 500 rebounds in 190 games.

Woolridge scored 3,036 points (22.0 per game) and grabbed 1,945 rebounds (14 per game) in his prep career, including averages of 21 points and 25 rebounds as a senior at Mansfield. He played his first three seasons at nearby All Saints High School.

He was the state Player of the Year as a senior, when he won his third straight all-district honor  and was co-captain of the Wolverines. Woolridge had career highs of 52 points and 41 rebounds in high school.

Among survivors are his children, Zachary, Renaldo and Tiana; his parents, Mattie and Larnceen, his sister, Dr. Vanessa Woolridge Duplessis; brother-in-law Darren Duplessis; and nephew, Nigel Duplessis.

“He put his sister through medical school. That’s the kind of person he was. He enjoyed helping others and bringing joy into their lives,” said his mother.