The legendary John Wooden passed away on Friday, June 4, 2010. It is a sad time for not only his friends and family, not only for people he came into contact with, not only for basketball, but for the entire world. John Wooden transcended basketball. His teachings, quotes, lessons, and ideals went beyond the court and truly fit into the real world like no other.
Wooden played point guard at Purdue from 1929-1933, winning the 1932 National Championship and 1932 Player of the Year. He earned All American honors from 1930-1932. He then went on the coach. First at Indiana State from 1946-1948. Then at UCLA from 1948-1975, where he make his legend.
At UCLA, Wooden won 10 National Championships in 12 years, 7 in a row at one point. His 88 game winning streak is unmatched in college basketball and amazing in any sport. He won coach of the year 6 times. His UCLA teams had 4 undefeated season; no coach has more than 1.
Wooden was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame...twice, once as a player and once as a coach. He was the first to do so, and only 2 people since then have received the same honor.
After his coaching career ended UCLA continued to honor Wooden with the title of Head Men's Basketball Coach Emeritus. On November 17, 2006, Wooden was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of five, along with Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith, selected to represent the inaugural class. He was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 in St. Louis. Coach Wooden was the ninth honoree in the Missouri Valley Conference's LifProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 ime Achievement category. Wooden said the honor he was most proud of was "Outstanding Basketball Coach of the U.S." by his denomination, the Christian Church.
Since 1977, the most coveted of four college basketball player of the year awards has been named the John R. Wooden Award. This award has attained the status of being the equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy for college basketball, with the winner announced during a ceremony held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Two annual doubleheader men's basketball events called the "John R. Wooden Classic" and the "John R. Wooden Tradition" are held in Wooden's honor.
He has schools and athletic facilities named after him. The gym at his alma mater Martinsville High School bears his name, and in 2005 a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District was renamed to John R. Wooden High School. In 2003, UCLA dedicated the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion in honor of John and Nell Wooden. Named the "Nell & John Wooden Court," Wooden asked for the change from the original proposal of the "John & Nell Wooden Court," insisting that his wife's name should come first. In 2008, Indiana State also bestowed this honor on Wooden by naming their home court in the Hulman Center the "Nellie and John Wooden Court." The student recreation center at UCLA is also named in his honor. Also in 2008, Wooden was honored with a commemorative bronze plaque in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Memorial Court of Honor because his UCLA basketball teams played six seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. On Wooden's 96th birthday in 2006, a post office in Reseda, California, near where Wooden's daughter lives, was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office.
On July 23, 2003, John Wooden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Wooden's view on life was given to him by his father. Wooden's famous Seven Point Creed was told to him by his father when he was in grade school. The creed is as follows:
- Be true to yourself.
- Make each day your masterpiece.
- Help others.
- Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
- Make friendship a fine art.
- Build a shelter against a rainy day.
- Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.
Coach Wooden's The Pyramid of Success consists of philosophical building blocks for winning at basketball and at life. The Pyramid is a pefect example of Wooden's views and ideals for going through life.
Wooden's quotes have also become famous for being inspiring and comedic at the same time.
- A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.
- Ability is a poor man's wealth
- Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.
- Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
- Be prepared and be honest.
- Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.
- Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
- Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.
- Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.
- I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.
- If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
- If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.
- It isn't what you do, but how you do it.
- It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.
- It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.
- It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.
- Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.
- Never mistake activity for achievement.
- Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
- Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts.
- Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.
- Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
- The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.
- The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.
- There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer.
- Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.
- What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.
- Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.
- You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.
- You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
Coach Wooden will be known forever as the greatest basketball man ever, and one of the most inspiring and amazing people to have ever lived. Good Bye Coach, Thank you for everything. The world will miss you.
