John Wooden
Surprised? Didn't think so. First, I'll throw out some stats for you:
-11 National Championships, including one as a player
-10 Nat'l Championships while at UCLA are unmatched.
-671 wins (675 at UCLA)
-6-time National College Basketball Coach of the Year
-Inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame twice (1961-player, 1972-coach)
-One of 3 people to be enshrined twice
-Inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 (part of the founding class).
-3-time All-American as a player in the 1930s.
-1932 College Basketball Player of the Year
As impressive as those awards are, they don't begin to describe the greatness of this man. Known as the "Wizard of Westwood," Wooden won 10 National Titles in his last 12 years at UCLA, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. His UCLA team won an unbelievable 88 straight and were perfect (30-0) four times. He was also named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 1972. How many coaches do you think have done that?
And I bet you didn't know that Los Angeles wasn't Coach Wooden's first choice in 1948 when he left Indiana State. Wooden - and more importantly, his wife Nell - wanted to stay in the Midwest and coach at the University of Minnesota. But there was inclement weather in the area, and Wooden was unable to make a meeting that he had scheduled with the AD from Minnesota. Thinking that they would no longer be interested, Wooden took the job at UCLA. Officials from Minnesota contacted Coach right after he accepted and offered him their coaching job. Since Wooden had already given his word to UCLA, he had to respectfully decline. As a fan of Ohio State, all I can say is "Whew."
Wooden of course coached two of the best college players of all-time, Bill Walton and Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Some say that part of his success is due to the fact that he had good players, but who, I ask, recruited those players? That's right...Wooden.
Others might say...
Bobby Knight - I know that Dick Vitale is a big fan, but some don't like "The General's" antics. That's not why I didn't choose him, though. Robert Montgomery Knight is the best coach since the retirement of Wooden. 900 wins is a lot, though.
Dean Smith - He's my second choice, but he's a distant second. He's the winningest coach of all-time not named Bobby Knight, and he did a great job at UNC for more than 30 years.
Mike Krzyzewski - I didn't even have to look that name up. He may be in the conversation with Wooden after he retires just because there is more parity in today's game, but he's a little bit down the list for now.
John Thompson - He definitely did a lot for minority coaches in the sport, and his loyalty to Georgetown is unparalleled. All you have to do is look at the lineage of big men that he coached...
Adolph Rupp - The fact that he lost to Texas Western is what I'l always remember him for, but others remember him as one of the greatest coaches overall and the greatest coach from Kentucky without a doubt.
Blog Schedule
Mon: Weekend Wrapup
Tue: Varies
Wed: Random MMA Thoughts
Thu: Varies
Fri: Draft Talk
Sat: Varies (TUF 7 Cast Announced)
Sun: Who is the Greatest?
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