Wooden leaves behind greatest sports legacy ever
John Wooden, legendary coach of the UCLA Bruins illustrious basketball program for which he coached nearly three decades, passed away June 4, at the age of 99.Wooden put himself at the head of the all-time greats of basketball by using his incredible knowledge of the game and unmatched ability to get players to work toward a common goal.
During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as the "Wizard of Westwood" and gained lasting fame with UCLA by winning 620 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons, including seven in a row from 1967 to 1973. His UCLA teams also had a record winning streak of 88 games and four perfect 30-win seasons. They also won 38 straight games in NCAA Tournaments and a record 98 straight home game wins at Pauley Pavilion. Wooden was named NCAA College Basketball's "Coach of the Year" in 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970,1971, 1972, and 1973. In 1967, he was named the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award (shared with Billie Jean King). Wooden coached his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 1975, in a 93-59 victory over Stanford. Four weeks later, he surprisingly announced his retirement following a 75-74 NCAA semi-final victory, over Louisville and before his 10th national championship game victory over Kentucky. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1973, becoming the first to be honored as both a player and a coach.
But while Wooden's feats on the floor were unparalleled, in my opinion, what made the man even greater was his ability to help people understand the meaning of so many things that we want our youth today to understand.
Teamwork, focusing on fundamentals, hard work, passion for anything you do, respect, believing in yourself... the list goes on and on in terms of what Wooden gave and demanded of his players.
Of the many quotes attributed to Wooden, perhaps my favorite is one which has less to do with basketball and more to do with humanity.
Wooden once said, "Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights."
This is thinking that certainly flies in the face of today's belief, that you take care of Number One first and foremost. But that kind of thinking is what made Wooden so special.
This was a man who believed what he said, lived what he believed and tried his hardest to get others to follow that same path in life.
Wooden was a man of great faith, so many of his ideas stemmed from his belief in God and God's Word. What's more, Wooden was a man of great principle, and one who people admired for being forthright and sincere, honest to a fault.
Wooden believed in honesty not first, but only. There was no other option for him.
In a nutshell, as our coaches coach our kids, as parents raise their children, John Wooden serves as an ideal example of the kind of people we should strive to be.
In a world where people idolize arrogant athletes who do whatever they want whenever they want, singers who dress up in gum wrappers and Popsicle sticks and flaunt their sexuality in our faces, and others who are in the public eye who lie, cheat and steal, boast and brag, and take pride in standing above all others, here was a man who stood up for everything that was right with humanity.
Why could Wooden rattle off championship titles like it was nothing? How could he get his players to perform to the kind of level which produces champions? He believed what he taught, meant what he said and was willing to live that life and those traits that he thought were so essential to his players. He was a man who asked a lot, then turned around and gave even more.
I've always thought about what mortal individual I'd like to sit down with for an evening and chat with. Adolf Hitler always comes to mind, but for completely different reasons.
If it were someone who would inspire, uplift and teach me about how to live life, surely Gandhi or Mother Theresa, or perhaps Billy Graham would fit the bill. But in all honesty, I can't think of anyone more intriguing than Wooden, because here was a man who never claimed to be special, wasn't a person who purposely set out to save millions of souls, and had no agenda other than to teach young men how to become winners.
Simply put, Wooden was a simple man. That, to me, makes him extremely interesting.
Wooden's comments about his faith only make him more admirable in my eyes.
He once said, "I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me."
No in-your-face attitude. No hiding behind vague references. No making someone feel inferior: Just a man who believed in God, believed that his life and how he lived was a direct testament to serving God, and saw every opportunity in life as a chance to teach people about basketball, and so much more.