John Wooden made college basketball history with 10 NCAA championships. His greatest success, though, may have been as a teacher, influencing players and fellow coaches with his wisdom.
Jim Harrick was the only coach in the post-Wooden era at UCLA to win a national championship in 1995. Wooden had to be persuaded to attend the Final Four that year in Seattle, and he slipped out unnoticed before the final buzzer sounded on the Bruins' victory.
Although he regularly attended the Bruins' games at Pauley Pavilion after retiring in 1975, Wooden didn't impose on his successors.
``He had as little ego as anybody I've ever known. He would never give advice, but he would always give opinions,'' Harrick said. ``I happened to be the coach during the time that went from the short, short pants to what he called the bloomers. He thought that was the worst thing that ever happened to basketball.''
Unassuming throughout his Hall of Fame years as a player and coach, Wooden's life was just as awe-inspiring as his records.
Wooden died Friday night at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he had been since May 26. He was 99.
``Today, we've lost a giant in all of sport with the passing of Coach Wooden,'' said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has won four national championships. ``Quite likely, his accomplishments as a college basketball coach will never be matched. Neither will the impact he had on his players or the greater basketball community. Many have called Coach Wooden the gold standard of coaches. I believe he was the gold standard of people and carried himself with uncommon grace, dignity and humility.''
Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim of Syracuse said when he thinks of a basketball coach, ``the only one I ever thought of was Coach Wooden.''
``He had a great life and helped so many coaches until well in his 90s. Every time I talked to him he would give me some words of advice. He's the best of all time,'' Boeheim said. ``There will never be another like him, and you can't say that about too many people. ... I can't tell you what he's done for game of basketball, and it's not just the wins. It's the attitude and the way he carried himself. I just can't say enough about him.''
Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun of Connecticut, too, spoke more of Wooden as a man than as a coach.
``My reaction is sadness, yet at this point we have to celebrate maybe the most important guy in the history of the game,'' Calhoun said. ``There has been no greater influence on college basketball, not just about the game but the team. He's the greatest coach in college basketball, if not all basketball, from the standpoint of all of us trying to emulate what he's done. He gave so much to basketball and education. In my opinion if he's not as important as Dr. Naismith, he's right next to him.''
The news of Wooden's death didn't reach Dodger Stadium until after Friday night's game against Atlanta began so there was no pregame moment of silence. However, Dodgers Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully spoke after the sixth inning by way of a recorded message on the videoboard, and the 42,459 in attendance gave Wooden a standing ovation.
Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA's softball coach, met Wooden when she was a player there in the 1980s, and she still has the recording of the message he left her when she was hired to coach the Bruins.
``I think, if anything, we are going to remember all what he has done for the game and will forever carry on his words, his wisdom, all of those things,'' Inouye-Perez said at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. ``We get to say that we're a part of his UCLA family, which is really cool.
``I'm just fortunate to say that I got to meet him and be a part of his world and be able to say that he was part of the softball world,'' Inouye-Perez said.
Even those from outside basketball were thrilled when they had a chance to meet the man who coached to UCLA to a record 10 national championships.
``I have met Coach Wooden, about four years ago at the Final Four when it was here, and it was a tremendous honor,'' four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning said. ``He gave me one of his pyramid of success cards that I still have today and got a picture with him, and it was a tremendous honor.''
Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who has been in Los Angeles almost continuously since making his big league debut with the Dodgers in 1980, first met Wooden after winning the World Series in 2002.
For years after that, Wooden occasionally came down to Anaheim and dropped in on the Angels' clubhouse for pregame talks with the team.
Scioscia said a few seasons ago the Angels were going over scouting reports before a home series when the coach walked into the clubhouse a few minutes earlier than expected.
``We sat there for 45 minutes,'' Scioscia said. ``We probably learned more about what we needed to do to win that series - without ever talking about it!
``He's a once-in-a-lifetime guy. Anyone who was around him was very, very blessed. His insights were incredible, and are going to stay with us for a long time.''
