John Wooden “¦ who’s that?
As strange as it seems, for twenty-somethings removed from the
Southern California area and/or the UCLA fan base, the Wizard of
Westwood is not a well-known figure.
Let me first preface this with a story that inspired this
thought-line:
After a short phone interview with the Man himself, I came back
to my humble abode to tell my friends visiting from up north about
my encounter. Filled with excitement, I proceed to describe to my
buddies how merely talking to a man who in my mind carries
close-to-divine status, had fulfilled a dream. I was simply giddy,
like a kid who gets that red bike for Christmas.
Finally, after they think I’ve just talked to someone no
less in stature than Elvis, I let them in on the secret.
“I talked to John Wooden.”
“John Wooden “¦ who’s that?”
Here’s where it hits the proverbial fan. At first I
thought they were kidding; they had to be. There is no way that
anyone couldn’t know who John-freaking-Wooden is ““ the
Wizard of Westwood, the man who won 10 titles in 12 years (with
seven of those back-to-back), the greatest coach in collegiate
basketball history. I really didn’t believe it.
Now, back to the present. With an intrigued curiosity,
I’ve since asked around, questioning average, non-UCLA,
non-Southern California college students if they know who John
Wooden is. To my surprise, an alarming amount didn’t.
Hard for any Bruin to fathom, right?
But then again, we’re inundated with Wooden: Go to the
bookstore and you’ll see his books in their own special
display. At basketball games the camera always spans over to him at
least once. The most obvious reference is the student gym named
after him.
His triumphs created an identity for the university ““
Wooden and UCLA are practically synonymous with each
other.Â
But our generation has its own crop of famed coaches, such as
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. For those outside the UCLA sphere,
Wooden simply isn’t as prevalent in today’s
society.
But if you go back a few generations, well, that’s a
different story. Wooden continues to impact those belonging to a
slighter older crowd. For example, when I told my mom about my
interview, she practically cried with excitement (OK, she’s a
little emotional, but still). For those freshmen or transfer
students who haven’t been privy to the full Wooden tradition,
just ask your parents ““ they’ll know.
Those who grew up while Wooden coached saw a man who preached
selfless ideals that transcended sports into everyday life:
“Make sure team members know they are working with you, not
for you”; “Make every day your masterpiece”; and
my personal favorite, “The team with the most talent usually
wins.” That’s the kind of inspiration that
can’t be forgotten, if you know it. But far too many of us
“youngsters” (as the coach usually refers to anyone of
our generation) don’t.Â
But, things might be looking up. Maybe the addition of Bill
Walton’s (I’m trying to be nice when I say this)
“colorful” commentary during NBA games will help inform
the unaware of his legendary coach’s philosophies. But just
for clarification, “throw it down big man!” is NOT a
Wooden-ism. That’s something all on its own.
So what’s the moral of the story? For the majority of the
UCLA crowd, you know who John Wooden is and what he did for our
school as well as for sports in general. So tell your friends who
don’t, and later tell you kids.
I’m not quite sure what the answer is; I’m not too
good with morals and inspiration. But that’s what I look for
from Coach Wooden.
E-mail Bach at jbach@media.ucla.edu.