In Pauley Pavilion Saturday morning during the John Wooden memorial service, something tremendously odd occurred.
The speakers had nothing to say about basketball.
“It wasn’t about basketball,” Keith Erickson said, a member of Wooden’s first-ever championship team in 1964. “Coach Wooden, he was more than basketball.”
And as the ceremony progressed, from the opening remarks by Al Michaels, to Erickson’s speech, to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s parting words, to Michaels’ closing remarks, basketball was mentioned, but certainly was not the focus of Saturday’s ceremonies.
The focus was on John Wooden the life coach, rather than John Wooden the basketball coach.
“I thought it was a beautiful service,” current UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland said.
And when asked about what advice Wooden left for Howland as a coach, somehow Howland found himself speaking of the wisdom Wooden gave him about life off the court.
“One thing that’s for certain is his philosophies, his teachings, the wisdom that he shared, will continue on for generations to other people,” Howland said. “I know he would feel very good about that.”
In a video tribute shown at the end of the ceremony, it was revealed to those who may not have known Wooden personally that he believed the three most important aspects of life were faith, family and friends, an idea that most of the speakers reflected during their final words to the late coach.
Former Laker great and consensus greatest college basketball player ever Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took his time at the podium to reflect on what Wooden taught him about the world of parenting, lessons that Abdul-Jabbar claims made him the father he is today.
“I have felt very good about what happened to my children,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “They’ve all become college (graduates) and are doing well with their lives. I wouldn’t have known how to deal with them … if I hadn’t been associated with Coach. He really informed what I knew as a parent.”
Several of the players spoke about not only the guidance Wooden provided, but the friendships that they were able to build with the coach as well. A running theme of the ceremony was Wooden’s sense of humor, especially with ex-player Bill Walton.
During Erickson’s time onstage, he humored the audience with stories of the ribbing that went on between Wooden and Walton. During his final days in the hospital, as Erickson explained it, Walton came to visit the late coach, who poked fun at his former player, saying, “I thought I was done with you.”
Erickson also shared a story about a time when Walton came to practice with a full-grown beard, which Wooden disallowed. Erickson said that Walton told Coach he believed it was his right to have the beard and that he firmly stood by this belief. Wooden replied by saying, “Okay Bill, we sure are going to miss you on the team this year.” Walton shaved the beard.
Erickson also spoke about his personal relationship with Coach, one that involved frequent visits to Wooden’s two-bedroom condominium on Margate Street in Encino, which Walton jokingly referred to as “The Mansion on Margate.”
“Look at all these things he was saying and how much they mean now,” Erickson said, reflecting on the ceremony and Wooden’s passing. “I couldn’t wait to get out to his place. I loved going out there to his little condominium.”
So amid a large crowd of nearly 4,000, a crowd that included New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, L.A. Angels of Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the aforementioned Walton, all of whom were in attendance to pay their last respects to Wooden, Abdul-Jabbar best summed up the lasting effects of John Wooden the man.
“I don’t even think we have a small idea about how many lives coach Wooden actually affected.”