Remembering Orlando Woolridge

" Before “Jordan and Pip,” the Chicago Bulls featured the high flying, high-scoring duo of Michael Jordan and Orlando Woolridge.

Younger Bulls fans may not remember the 6-foot-8 forward who played for the legendary Digger Phelps at Notre Dame, but those who do know Jordan and Woolridge as Chicago's first “dynamic duo.”

Woolridge was the sixth pick overall by the Bulls in the 1981 NBA draft, the same draft that saw two Chicago natives – Mark Aguirre and Isiah Thomas – get picked first and second overall. He died Thursday at age 52 in Mansfield, La., after suffering from a chronic heart condition.

As a rookie during the '81-'82 season, Woolridge averaged just 7.3 points per game, but by his second season in '82-'83, he more than doubled his scoring output to 16.5 points. His average increased again during his third professional season in '83-'84 when he put up 19.3 points per outing.

By the time MJ came to Chicago as the third pick in the1984 draft from the University of North Carolina, Woolridge had already completed three seasons in the league and had established himself as the best player on the Bulls and one of the premier power dunkers in the entire NBA. "

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