RIP, Coach!
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,258
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles, CA.
RIP, Coach!
Yeah, this probably belongs in the "Anything and Everything" section, but out of respect, I ask the moderators to leave it here in the SoCal Forum (even though not all of you are sports fans), please 
Arguably, THE most famous Bruin, Coach John Robert Wooden has passed away today at the age of 99. The official news report can be found here:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketb...odenobit060410
All hyperbole aside, THE definitive answer to: Who is the greatest coach in NCAA history?, Coach Wooden was a class act unto himself. Setting aside the raw numbers:
- A record setting 88 GAME WIN STREAK
- FOUR flawless 30-0 seasons
- 10 NCAA Titles
- A staggering career coaching record of 664-162 all time
The man was a gentleman and a scholar: I had the good fortune of meeting him at a book signing my freshman year on campus in the Fall of 1999. A more humble and prolific man you will not meet. I remember first stepping into Pauley Pavilion as an awed and timid freshman and actually FEELING the historical significance and weight of the place in the air (indeed, I was actually blessed to get to play a couple games ON the parquet as part of an intramural league while I was in the dorms). I have fond memories of my later years on campus playing early morning ball before my 9:00 AM history classes in the "Wooden Center" (the student fitness center), and thinking, "This place was named after one of the most celebrated figures in all of basketball history...WOW!"
So now, a full decade after meeting "The Wizard of Westwood," I come to pay my final respects. Coach, you were something else. I would have considered it a sheer and solemn honor to have played under your command in the "glory days" of the early 1970s. You made your guys not just better players...but better men. For this, we were/are all grateful. From one Bruin to another, you will be missed, Coach. Rest in Peace.
JOHN ROBERT WOODEN
(OCTOBER 14, 1910 - JUNE 4, 2010)
Russ D.
Arguably, THE most famous Bruin, Coach John Robert Wooden has passed away today at the age of 99. The official news report can be found here:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketb...odenobit060410
All hyperbole aside, THE definitive answer to: Who is the greatest coach in NCAA history?, Coach Wooden was a class act unto himself. Setting aside the raw numbers:
- A record setting 88 GAME WIN STREAK
- FOUR flawless 30-0 seasons
- 10 NCAA Titles
- A staggering career coaching record of 664-162 all time
The man was a gentleman and a scholar: I had the good fortune of meeting him at a book signing my freshman year on campus in the Fall of 1999. A more humble and prolific man you will not meet. I remember first stepping into Pauley Pavilion as an awed and timid freshman and actually FEELING the historical significance and weight of the place in the air (indeed, I was actually blessed to get to play a couple games ON the parquet as part of an intramural league while I was in the dorms). I have fond memories of my later years on campus playing early morning ball before my 9:00 AM history classes in the "Wooden Center" (the student fitness center), and thinking, "This place was named after one of the most celebrated figures in all of basketball history...WOW!"
So now, a full decade after meeting "The Wizard of Westwood," I come to pay my final respects. Coach, you were something else. I would have considered it a sheer and solemn honor to have played under your command in the "glory days" of the early 1970s. You made your guys not just better players...but better men. For this, we were/are all grateful. From one Bruin to another, you will be missed, Coach. Rest in Peace.
JOHN ROBERT WOODEN
(OCTOBER 14, 1910 - JUNE 4, 2010)
Russ D.
Last edited by UCLA JK Rida'; Jun 4, 2010 at 08:08 PM.
JK Super Freak
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,320
Likes: 1
From: Lakeside, CA
As young kid I read his book from cover to cover. Back then I didn’t read anything that was not required. But I knew just from reading his book it would make a better player. He was one of two of my hero’s that was a coach.
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,258
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles, CA.
JK Super Freak
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,320
Likes: 1
From: Lakeside, CA
The other was Walter Alston, The Dodgers manager. I’ve only seen him yell one time, and it was at me and my younger brother. We were screwing around with the batting practice balls in the dugout before a game. Let’s just say fifty balls ended up on the floor, and Man I was one scared eleven year old.
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,258
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles, CA.
The other was Walter Alston, The Dodgers manager. I’ve only seen him yell one time, and it was at me and my younger brother. We were screwing around with the batting practice balls in the dugout before a game. Let’s just say fifty balls ended up on the floor, and Man I was one scared eleven year old.
Ha ha ha ha...GREAT story!
It's funny the things that stay with us as kids. Russ D.
