[Kobi]

Orlando Woolridge, the rugged forward who carved out a reputation over 13 NBA seasons as a scoring specialist and one of the original alley-oop artists, died late Thursday while under hospice care for a chronic heart condition.

The 6-foot-9 Woolridge was the sixth overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1981 after starring at Notre Dame in college and Mansfield High School in Louisiana.

Known for his high-flying dunks and ability to throw down lob passes in the open court, Woolridge played for the Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Denver, Milwaukee and Detroit, and also coached the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. He averaged 16.0 points in just over 28 minutes per game, quickly emerging as an offensive spark plug no matter if he was in the starting lineup or coming off the bench.

He participated in one of the greatest slam dunk contests of all time in 1985, competing against Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Julius Erving, among others, and he averaged 22.9 points per game for the Bulls in 1984-85, the last player to lead Chicago in scoring before Jordan took over.

One of Woolridge's defining moments came as a senior at Notre Dame in 1981, when he hit a buzzer-beating jumper to beat Ralph Sampson and No. 1 Virginia on national television, ending the mighty Cavaliers' 28-game winning streak. Woolridge averaged 10.6 points in 109 games at Notre Dame, helping the Fighting Irish reach the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons, including the Final Four as a freshman in 1978.