1944–45 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

1944–45 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
1944–45 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
PCC Southern Division
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
	South
Record	12–12 (3–1 PCC)
Head coach	Wilbur Johns (6th season);
Assistant coach	Jack Montgomery
Home arena	Men's Gym
	Seasons ← 1943–44 1945–46 →

1944–45 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North
Oregon †	11	–	5	.688	30	–	15	.667
Washington State	11	–	5	.688	23	–	13	.639
Oregon State	10	–	6	.625	20	–	8	.714
Washington	5	–	11	.313	22	–	18	.550
Idaho	3	–	13	.188	13	–	20	.394
South
UCLA	3	–	1	.750	12	–	12	.500
USC	2	–	2	.500	15	–	9	.625
California	1	–	3	.250	7	–	8	.467

† North division playoff series and conference playoff series winner

The 1944–45 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1944–45 NCAA men's basketball season and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). The Bruins were led by sixth year head coach Wilbur Johns. They finished the regular season with a 12–12 record overall and won the PCC Southern Division with a conference record of 3–1.^[1] It was their first title in the PCC since joining the conference in 1927–28.^[2]^[3] As a measure during World War II after Stanford dropped basketball, remaining Southern Division foes UCLA, USC, and California played each other twice in games that counted towards league standings.^[4]

Previous season

The Bruins finished the regular season with a record of 10–10 and were second in the PCC southern division with a record of 3–3.

Roster

1944–45 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year
G	17	Bob Arnold	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	172 lb (78 kg)
G	16	Dick Birnie	—	—
F	4	Grant Clothier	—	—
F	6	Frank Freriks	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	150 lb (68 kg)
C	14	Glen Grant	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)
C	13	Dick Hough	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	165 lb (75 kg)
F	23	Hal Michaels	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	150 lb (68 kg)
G		Jack Myers	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)
G	20	Bill Putnam (C)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)
G	3	Bill Rankin (C)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So
G		Chuck Stewart	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)
F	5	Ralph Witt	—	—

Head coach

Wilbur Johns (UCLA)

Assistant coach(es)

Jack Montgomery (UCLA)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 30 January 2018

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
November 30, 1944*	Los Angeles City College	W 44–30	1–0	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
December 1, 1944*	Occidental	L 35–36	1–1	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
December 2, 1944*	El Toro Marines	L 33–37	1–2	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
December 8, 1944*	at Pepperdine	L 33–36	1–3	Los Angeles, CA
December 9, 1944*	at San Diego Marines	L 29–53	1–4	San Diego, CA
December 15, 1944*	at Occidental	L 45–47	1–5	Los Angeles, CA
December 16, 1944*	at San Diego Navy	L 32–35	1–6	San Diego, CA
December 22, 1944*	at Santa Ana Army Air Base	L 35–47	1–7	Santa Ana, CA
December 29, 1944*	at Caltech	W 42–37	2–7	Pasadena, CA
December 30, 1944*	20th Century Fox	L 56–76	2–8	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
January 5, 1945	at USC	L 25–53	2–9 (0–1)	Pan-Pacific Auditorium^[5] Los Angeles, CA
January 6, 1945*	at Camp Ross	L 44–50	2–10	Port of Los Angeles, CA
January 13, 1945	at California	W 37–26	3–10 (1–1)	Men's Gym Berkeley, CA
January 18, 1945*	San Diego Coast Guard	W 46–40	4–10	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
January 19, 1945*	Pepperdine	W 41–28	5–10	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
January 20, 1945*	March Field	W 57–50	6–10	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
January 26, 1945*^[4]	USC	W 41–36	7–10	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
January 27, 1945*	San Diego Naval Training Center	W 40–37	8–10	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
February 2, 1945*	Fairfield Skymasters	L 26–29	8–11	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
February 3, 1945*	Caltech	W 29–28	9–11	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
February 9, 1945*	Camp Ross	W 47–42	10–11	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
February 17, 1945	California	W 50–44	11–11 (2–1)	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
February 16, 1945	USC	W 34–28	12–11 (3–1)	Men's Gym Los Angeles, CA
February 23, 1945*^[6]	USC	L 20–37	12–12	Pan-Pacific Auditorium Los Angeles, CA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

Source^[1]^[7]

Awards and honors

Bill Putnam, second-team All-American – Helms^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
^ Wolf, Al (February 18, 1945). "Bruins Nab Cage Title by Lacing Troy, 34–28". Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 6. Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bruins Train Guns On Circuit Cage Crown". Daily News. February 6, 1945. p. 13. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Trojan and Bruin Cagers Tied For South P.C.C. Division Lead". The Peninsula Times Tribune. February 12, 1945. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Lutzker, Wes (January 8, 1945). "Trojans Slide to 53–25 win". California Bruin. p. 3. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "Fox grabs AAU title–28 to 25". Daily News. February 24, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved July 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Varsity Sked". California Bruin. November 15, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
^ "Four Cage Aces Again On All-America Five". Los Angeles Times. April 6, 1945. Part II, p.8. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[uclamg-1] "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.

[2] Wolf, Al (February 18, 1945). "Bruins Nab Cage Title by Lacing Troy, 34–28". Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 6. Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Bruins Train Guns On Circuit Cage Crown". Daily News. February 6, 1945. p. 13. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[pt_02121945-4] "Trojan and Bruin Cagers Tied For South P.C.C. Division Lead". The Peninsula Times Tribune. February 12, 1945. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] Lutzker, Wes (January 8, 1945). "Trojans Slide to 53–25 win". California Bruin. p. 3. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[6] "Fox grabs AAU title–28 to 25". Daily News. February 24, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved July 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Varsity Sked". California Bruin. November 15, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved July 20, 2023.

[8] "Four Cage Aces Again On All-America Five". Los Angeles Times. April 6, 1945. Part II, p.8. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

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v t e UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Venues	Men's Gym (1932–1965) Pan-Pacific Auditorium (alternate; 1949–1959) Venice High School (1955–1956) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1959–1965; 2011–2012) Honda Center (2011–2012) Pauley Pavilion (1965–present)
Rivalries	Arizona Notre Dame USC (Crosstown Cup)
Culture & lore	Blue blood status Game of the Century UCLA High Post Offense Joe Bruin
People	Head coaches Retired numbers NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics