Greg Lee, famous for helping lead UCLA to a pair of undefeated national championship seasons during its legendary John Wooden run in 1971-72 and 1972-73, died Wednesday at the age of 70.
Lee died at a San Diego hospital from an infection related to an immune disorder, the university announced.
During Lee’s three years as a varsity player, the Bruins boasted a record of 86-4, with all four of those losses coming during the 1973-74 season, Wooden’s last season on the bench.
Prior to that, Lee, a starting guard, helped lead the Bruins to back-to-back perfect 30-0 seasons.
After college, Lee saw greater personal success as a volleyball player, collecting 29 beach volleyball tournament titles with another 10 finals appearances.
He was most successful playing alongside Jim Menges, a classmate from UCLA who played volleyball for the Bruins. The duo won 25 championships among 30 attempts.
Expressing his pleasure at having a larger, positive influence on a sporting outcome (as well as a quicker hook), Lee told the Los Angeles Times, “If I played poorly in volleyball, I was out of there. If you made errors, you were history.”
Lee also had a brief professional basketball career, reuniting with former teammate Bill Walton with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1975-76. He also played in the ABA and in a West Germany professional league.
–Field Level Media
