John Vallely

John Vallely
Personal information
Born	(1948-10-03) October 3, 1948 Newport Beach, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, California)
College	Orange Coast (1966–1968) UCLA (1968–1970)
NBA draft	1970 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14th overall
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career	1970–1972
Position	Guard
Number	40, 33
Career history
1970–1971	Atlanta Hawks
1971–1972	Houston Rockets
Career highlights and awards
2× NCAA champion (1969, 1970) Third-team All-American – AP, NABC, UPI (1970)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

John Vallely (born October 3, 1948) is a retired American basketball player from Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California. He played for the UCLA Bruins and in the National Basketball Association.

He attended Corona del Mar High School, where he was a guard turned forward. He was selected to the all California Interscholastic Federation team and twice captured All Irvine League honors.

As a 6'2" forward for Orange Coast College, Vallely averaged 26 points per game and broke 18 scoring records. He was selected a junior college All-American. He dribbled with his left hand and shot with his right hand. He was especially good at shooting an outside jump shot.

Vallely was an integral member of the Bruins' backcourt after transferring from Orange Coast College in 1968. Vallely was quick to make the transition from forward to guard at UCLA. In his first season, he was the Bruins' third leading scorer (12.9 p.p.g.) and adapted smoothly to head coach John Wooden's "attack and gamble offense".^[1] He was a member of the UCLA teams that won national titles in the 1969 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and the 1970 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Vallely majored in economics at UCLA and had a 3.36 grade point average as a junior.^[1]

He was selected to the twelve man 1968 Olympic trials team coached by Jerry Tarkanian which competed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He was taken by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 1970 NBA Draft. He sat on the bench much of the time, playing behind Pete Maravich, Lou Hudson, Walt Hazzard, and Herm Gilliam.^[2] Vallely was acquired by the Houston Rockets in November 1971 along with 6'7" forward Jim Davis.^[2]

Marriage and family

Vallely married Karen, a woman he met at Orange Coast College, where he studied prior to attending UCLA. They wed around the time he was selected in the NBA. The couple had two children, Eric and Erin. Erin died of a rare form of cancer of the soft muscle tissue in September 1991. Eric starred as a volleyball player while he was a student at UCLA.

Illness

Vallely was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2003. He had a single stem cell treatment which was unsuccessful. He received a second offer from a stem cell donor bank, which received a nearly exact match from a winemaker who lived near Frankfurt, Germany. This time the treatment was a success. Vallely was able to meet his donor following a two-year waiting period.^[3]

References

1 2 "UCLA's Vallely: Pride of Balboa", Los Angeles Times, January 23, 1969, pg. E1.
1 2 "Opportunity Knocks for County's Vallely", Los Angeles Times, November 10, 1971, pg. E20A.
↑ Cancer Survivor John Vallely steps beyond recovery, Los Angeles Times, October 21, 2011, Internet article.

UCLA Bruins Men's Basketball 1968–69 NCAA Champions

22 Kenny Heitz 30 Curtis Rowe 32 Steve Patterson 33 Lew Alcindor (MOP) 34 George Farmer 35 Sidney Wicks 40 John Vallely 42 Terry Schofield 45 Bill Sweek 52 John Ecker 53 Lynn Shackelford Head Coach John Wooden Assistant Coaches Denny Crum Gary Cunningham

UCLA Bruins Men's Basketball 1969–70 NCAA Champions

23 Kenny Booker 25 Andy Hill 30 Curtis Rowe 32 Steve Patterson 35 Sidney Wicks (MOP) 40 John Vallely 42 Terry Schofield 45 Henry Bibby 52 John Ecker Head Coach John Wooden Assistant Coaches Denny Crum Gary Cunningham

1970 NBA Draft

First round	Bob Lanier Rudy Tomjanovich Pete Maravich Dave Cowens Sam Lacey Jim Ard John Johnson Geoff Petrie George Johnson Greg Howard Jimmy Collins Al Henry Jim McMillian John Vallely John Hummer Gary Freeman Mike Price

Second round	Calvin Murphy Nate Archibald Jake Ford Rex Morgan Doug Cook Pete Cross Cornell Warner Walt Gilmore Dave Sorenson Fred Taylor Paul Ruffner Joe DePre Earnie Killum Dan Hester Ken Warzynski Bill Zopf Howie Wright

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