[5] That same year, Russell led Carver to the final game of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state championship basketball tournament.

Along with Bill Buntin, Russell led the Wolverines to three consecutive Big Ten Conference titles (1964–66) and to Final Four appearances in 1964 and 1965.

However, Michigan lost in the final game 91–80 to defending national champion UCLA and John Wooden, despite Russell scoring 28 points.

[5][8][9][10][11][12][13] In 1966, Russell averaged 30.8 points per game and was named the College Basketball Player of the Year by the Associated Press (AP).

A considerable number of notable basketball players were or are members, such as all time NBA greats Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Oscar Robertson.

[23] Russell suffered a season-ending fractured right ankle in a late January 1969 game against the Seattle SuperSonics.

[28] Russell's playing time diminished during his last two years in New York as he sustained on separate occasions a fractured ankle and wrist.

[26][27][23] Russell's desire to be traded by the Knicks was granted on May 7, 1971, when he was acquired by the Golden State Warriors for Jerry Lucas.

[23] He was the first player in NBA history to leave a team after finishing his option year when he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on September 6, 1974.

[37][38] With the Lakers having signed Jamaal Wilkes during the offseason, Russell was one of the team's last player cuts entering the 1977–78 campaign when he was waived on October 16.

[45][46] Russell later coached the Wyoming Wildcatters,[47] Grand Rapids Hoops[48] and Columbus Horizon[49] of the CBA and the Mid-Michigan Great Lakers in the Global Basketball Association.

[51][52] He spent several years as head coach at Centennial High School in Columbus, Ohio, during the mid-1990s before taking the job in Georgia.

[55] For the 2024-2025 season, Russell served as the special assistant to the head coach for the women's basketball team at Flagler College.

[58] He participated in army service during the basketball season, including being recalled to active duty during national emergencies.

[59][60] Russell moved to Savannah, Georgia in 1996 with his wife Myrna White-Russell,[54][55] a former dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,[55][61] who died in 2014.

[citation needed] In 2016, Russell was the recipient of the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award at the Athletes in Action Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast, which is held each year at the Final Four.