In this Dec. 9, 2005, file photo, Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden poses for a picture after a news conference in Anaheim, Calif., about Saturday's Wooden Classic basketball tournament. Wooden, college basketball's gentlemanly Wizard of Westwood who built one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports at UCLA and became one of the most revered coaches ever, has died. He was 99.
I was only four when Wooden coached his last college basketball game, but from what I have read and researched, he was one of the best the game has ever witnessed.
I did see clips of Wooden with a folded program in his hands and know for a fact that Wooden’s last basketball game as a coach in 1975 was a win over Kentucky in the NCAA championship game.
Wooden was always a fixture at UCLA games following his retirement and kept a low-key approach when it came to college basketball. He has written several books and I remember when I played basketball how our coaches would use his pyramid for success as a tool.
Wooden’s influence in college basketball was similar to the legacy late president Ronald Reagan achieved during his life on earth.
Both men were devoted to faith, family and friends, a trait hard to find in today’s society. Wooden and Reagan knew how to achieve the right balance in life and were successful.
One was a coach and the other an actor and politician. Wooden and Reagan left behind a legacy of greatness.
Keith: Obviously, I’m considerably older than you and remember when John Wooden’s UCLA team played in the NCAA finals @ Freedom Hall. Some young assistant was on the bench with him then….Some guy named Denny Crum…
But you are exactly right, John Wooden was MUCH, Much more than just a basketball coach and you can ask ANY player he has taught and they will tell you exactly the same thing. By the way, you know John Wooden was a high school coach in Kentucky — tiny Dayton H.S. and he wasn’t successful, In fact he had a losing record there! But that changed when he returned to Indiana and coached in South Bend before moving to the college level and what is now Indiana State.
ISU (Indiana Teachers College then), said no to a trip to the NAIA national tournamentg one year because only white players were allowed to play. The rule was changed the next year!
Anyway, nice piece on the “Wizard of Westwood.” And, if you want some really great info on him, talk to Denny Crum!