Died today at the age of 99. Set records at UCLA that will never be broken. As good a man as he was a coach. Made a lasting influence on those he coached.
10 total National Championships and 7 in a row. I feel very safe stating that this will never be repeated. May his soul and the souls of all the faithfully departed through the mercy of God rest in peace +
Legend. Of course up there with LSU's Dale Brown (who the ESPN announcers repeatedly praise as one of the Legends of College Basketball).
I'm as big a fan of LSU athletics as anyone, but i'm not close to delusional enough to think those two names belong in the same sentence.
of course not, i was and still am shocked about how the ESPN announcers talked so much about Dale Brown being one the greatest of the greatest... but that is ESPN for you... And of course, Dale Brown is only 74 years old right now. As for Wooden, he lived 99 years on this planet, I've never known or met a person that lived so long, and I seriously doubt I or anyone I know will live that long. Very special for Wooden and his family and friends that he lived so long... same for anybody who makes it to 99 years old. It's legendary to do so. pic of Wooten at his 96th birthday: File:Johnwooden.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
With some of the coaching moneygrubbers out there, you tend to really appreciate the genuine coaches like John Wooden. He cared more about the players than winning itself, seems hard to believe, but he consistently got the most out of his players by doing it the right way. He is definitely the kind of coach that comes around once in a lifetime, and not just in the wins and losses column.
