Coach Wooden (UPDATED)

We could not have been more than 7 or 8 years old and we were heaving a basketball at the rim bolted to the garage of the homestead in Placentia, California while Pops shagged the misses for us.

One of our hoists unintentionally banked off the backboard and through the hoop. Though inelegant, Pops thought we had immediately grasped one of the more fundamental aspects of close-range shooting and proclaimed, "Coach Wooden would approve."

Like a bolt of lightning to our young mind that affirmation by proxy from the legendary coach of the UCLA Bruins was.
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One of the enduring ironies if you are familiar with the Los Angeles sports scene is this: for a culture that is so temporal and is entirely about "the next big thing", trendiness and glamour and which lacks substance of any kind, the three most iconic sports figures, Vin Scully, Chick Hearn and John Wooden were men of faith and family and who plied their respective trades for decades and who did it in a gracious and humble fashion in a land around them where grace and humility are considered completely foreign terms.

Coach Wooden passed away last night at the age of 99.

R.I.P., Coach





(UPDATE #1): When you go to people that speak of John Wooden, your first stop is one of his former players, Bill Walton:

“John Wooden represents the conquest of substance over hype, the triumph of achievement over erratic flailing, the conquest of discipline over gambling, and the triumph of executing an organized plan over hoping that you’ll be lucky, hot or in the zone.

“John Wooden also represents the conquest of sacrifice, hard work and commitment to achievement over the pipe dream that someone will just give you something, or that you can take a pill or turn a key to get what you want.

“The joy and happiness in Coach Wooden’s life came from the success and accomplishments of others. He never let us forget what he learned from his two favorite teachers, Abraham Lincoln and Mother Theresa, “that a life not lived for others is not a life.”

“I thank John Wooden every day for all his selfless gifts, his lessons, his time, his vision and especially his faith and patience. This is why our eternal love for him will never fade away. This is why we call him ‘Coach.’”

Happy Birthday, Coach!

“A true saint of circumstance and an intergalactic hero”

- Bill Walton (pictured above with Coach Wooden) on ESPN Radio this morning



The greatest basketball coach of all-time and living legend John Wooden turns 99 today.

From the article, our favorites of the 99 fun facts about Wooden:


3. As a boy, one of his role models was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five, a basketball team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922.

As Pops can attest, they just don’t make names like that anymore.

22. In 1947, Wooden's basketball team won the Indiana Collegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the NAIB tournament in Kansas City. Wooden refused the invitation, citing the NAIB's policy banning African American players. A member of the Sycamores' team was Clarence Walker, an African American from East Chicago, Ind.

30. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player (class of 1961) and as a coach (1973). He was the first person ever enshrined in both categories, later joined by Bill Sharman and Lenny Wilkens.

43. Inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers. Thinking they had lost interest, Wooden accepted UCLA's offer instead.

44. Minnesota contacted Wooden right after he accepted the position at UCLA, but he declined because he had given his word to the Bruins.
48. He won five titles without Lew Alcindor or Bill Walton.

51. Another quote from Wooden: "Talent is God given; be humble. Fame is man given; be thankful. Conceit is self given; be careful."

79. Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" has become an organizational and inspirational tool for coaches everywhere.

80. The foundation for Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" is Industriousness, Friendship, Loyalty, Cooperation and Enthusiasm.

81. The peak of the Pyramid is Competitive Greatness.


99. One more quote from Wooden: "Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you."

… and a special BwD bonus 100: Streets in our hometown of Placentia, CA are named after both Nell (his late wife) and John Wooden.

It Helps that these Bruins are Worth Watching

(...this is what happens when you sit on a post. We were ready to run this last week - it was in the can, ready to go but it kind of got lost in the shuffle of some other stuff we wanted to get to and look what happened. UCLA winds up losing to arch-rival USC over the weekend. Our bad, Coach Howland. Sorry.)

Despite his 97 years, ex-UCLA coach and the greatest college basketball coach ever, John Wooden has been a regular at UCLA games since he retired over 30 years ago. And because of his legend and the model human being he is, his autograph has always been highly sought after by fans…. during the game. Story from L.A. Times, here.

Wooden’s family has requested, though, that the Wizard of Westwood be left in peace to watch the game without having to satisfy autograph requests. After having to sit through the games of the terminally hapless Steve Lavin-coached Bruins, we suppose that signing autographs for fans was a welcome diversion from being forced to watch the train-wreck out on the court. To a program that was chronically talented yet underachieving, Coach Ben Howland (Cerritos High School, ‘76) who came from the University of Pittsburgh 5 seasons ago, has brought a Big East grittiness and a quality of play that has resulted in two straight Final Four appearances and which we’re sure the Coach admires and appreciates. Now if all you autograph hounds would kindly take your seats, the Coach would like to take in some good hoops. Enjoy the games again, Coach!