Posted on 06/03/2010 10:23:20 PM PDT by Steelers6
Legendary basketball coach John Wooden, 99, is gravely ill in hospital 99, several media outlets are reporting.
He reportedly not eaten for several days and is receiving care at UCLA Medical Center.
Wooden is best known for winning a record 10 NCAA championships in 12 seasons while coaching the Lew Alcindor-led UCLA Bruins in the 1948 to 1975.
He was born Oct. 14, 1910 in a small town in Indiana called Hall, and played his own college ball for the Purdue Boilermakers, winning a national title in 1932.
In his golden years, Wooden has been a much sought after speaker on motivation and leadership, and his "Wooden-isms" are repeated by many.
"Discipline yourself and others won't need to," he told Esquire magazine in March of this year, before adding, "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation."
He was named by ESPN as the greatest coach of the 20th century.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Legendary+basketball+coach+John+Wooden+gravely/3108912/story.html#ixzz0prHi2XxX
Darn right. In fact, 5 of his 10 NCAA championships were won without either Alcindor or Walton playing. ...a fact many aren't aware of. The best coach of all time, by a wide margin.
And a first-class human being.
Those years were...
‘64, ‘65, ‘70, ‘71 (when Walton was a freshman, and Wooden never played freshmen), and ‘75.
To Bill Walton after he told Coach he wouldn't shave his beard, "You would have been a fine addition to this team."
bruinbirdman, '69
I grew up in Pauley Pavilion. My parents were at every game. They took me along many times. When I was very little I noticed that they decorated with some kind of calendar system. Every year a new banner with the year on it was hanging from the rafters. But I saw one year was missing so I asked my Dad why. “We didn’t win that year.” :)
G-d bless you Coach, and heal you. Thank you for your influence on my parents. I don’t know you but they love you so I do too.
Wooden was and Indiana native who made Cali and the country better. Not the other way around.
In college basketball, John Wooden is the teacher, all others are students. Good luck coach.
A great man whose likes won’t be seen again anytime soon. Prayers up for Coach Wooden.
nope!!!! but I do remember Lew’s fresh. squad whipping the varsity! can you imagine how that must have felt to the BMOC stud BB players?
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Especially since the freshman squad beat the defending national champions. =)
I’ll second that - a great guy!
I was fortunate to be at UCLA for the last Wooden years. We students were camping out to get tix when Mr. Class Act came out to chat with us. He’s the best....
Go Bruins!!!
Hey fellow Bruin - I just posted the same...
We were so lucky to be there to see him...
If he does pass, how wonderful to leave such an outstanding legacy! He did make a difference...
He has the best team that money could buy.
Prayers up for the legend. I happened to sit next to him at a track meet at UCLA once back in the 1980s.
I remember a friend going to the watch him play for Power Memorial High School in NYC. That was early-mid 60s.
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So, what did this friend say about the young Lew/Kareem?
He doesn't work hard enough on defense?
"He reportedly not eaten for several days and is receiving care at UCLA Medical Center."
"Wooden is best known for winning a record 10 NCAA championships in 12 seasons while coaching the Lew Alcindor-led UCLA Bruins in the 1948 to 1975."
Was this written in Swedish and translated via Babelfish?
We lied in Northern Westchester (NY) at the time. It was a schlep to get into Manhattan. But nothing could stop my friend, then a high school student and real bb fan, from getting there to watch Alcindor play. He thought Alcindor was the best high school player he’d ever seen or, at the time, could imagine. I’m trying hard to remember exactly when that was, and am inclined to say 1964.
>He doesn’t work hard enough on defense?
From his Wikipedia *spit* page.
In 1973, Abdul-Jabbar won his third MVP Award in five years and was among the top five NBA players in scoring (27.0 ppg, third), rebounding (14.5 rpg, fourth), blocked shots (283, second), and field goal percentage (.539, second).
He seemed to get over it somewhat
“We lied in Northern Westchester (NY) at the time”
we also liVed there at the time ;)
You never saw the movie “Airplane”, did you?
>You never saw the movie “Airplane”, did you?
Actually, I have. And if you’ve watched it as many times as I have, you would have said, ...
“Surely, you’ve seen the movie, ‘Airplane’?”
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