The following story appeared in the fall edition of UCLA's official athletic department magazine, Bruin Blue.

By Steve Bisheff

The legacy doesn't just live; it flickers like a bright, blue-and-gold flame that can never be snuffed out.

On this, the occasion of UCLA's Centennial, nobody embodies what this university is all about more than the late John Wooden, who is not only the greatest coach in college basketball history, but also one of the greatest teachers this country has ever seen.

The remarkable qualities of the man — his warmth and kindness, his grace and dignity, his steely will and unquestioned wisdom — flow through the halls and corridors of this university as much as the thousands of eager students, accomplished professors and dedicated employees who flock here from all parts of the world.

Reminders of Coach Wooden can be found everywhere you look on campus. The physical landmarks are obvious, such as the iconic statue that welcomes visitors to Pauley Pavilion or the John Wooden Center, which houses UCLA Recreation. But a closer look will reveal that his influence on this great university, and those entrusted with its success, runs deep. 

"John Wooden's values still inspire our campus community every day," UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block has said.

The lucky ones are those who were there when he was still around, usually just a phone call away. Associate Vice Chancellor Mick Deluca, who heads up the John Wooden Center, is one of those people.

"When I first met him, I had these bigger-than-life images," says Deluca. "But I've never met a nicer, more down to earth person. It's pretty remarkable. I think he has had an influence on everyone who has touched the UCLA campus."

In Deluca's office hangs a plaque that was made following Wooden's death in 2010. The plaque contains a quote from Wooden in 1978, five years before the John Wooden Center opened, that reads, "The only building that will bear my name is a building open to all students and the campus community, not just a select group."

Like Deluca, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero cherished his relationship with Coach.

"I would go to him for words of wisdom," remembers Guerrero. "I didn't go for secrets of the universe. It was more about perspective and clarity. One of the joys of my job was the opportunity to get to know him better."

Valorie Kondos Field, UCLA's women's gymnastics coach who recently retired after a glittering 37-year career, speaks fondly of Coach Wooden and makes no secret of how he played a part in her success.

"I first met Coach Wooden after we won our first National Championship, and he had an amazing effect on me," Kondos Field said. "He taught me to always be the same, no matter what happens. Always be gracious and balanced and try not to get too high or too low. And the longer I knew him, the more I realized he lived what he preached."

Above all else, Wooden was a dedicated family man. He married his high school sweetheart, Nellie, and the two of them were inseparable until her death in 1985. A man of great faith, he nonetheless fell into a brief depression at that point, but the birth of his first great-grandchild, Cori, helped him realize "when one door closes another always opens," as he liked to say. He doted on his children and grandchildren so much that once, when presented a chance to go back to his beloved Midwest to coach at Indiana University, he turned down the offer. He couldn't bear to be that far away from his loved ones.

As impressive as Wooden the man sounds, it would be preposterous to try to sum him up without writing about Wooden the coach.

Part of what made Wooden so extraordinary is that he bridged several generational gaps. He went from the time of the no-center jump to the era of the non-stop dunks. He evolved from shooting at an iron basketball hoop on a tiny, deserted farm in Indiana to coaching in gleaming domed basketball palaces in major metropolitan cities. He played with Stretch Murphy and coached Lew Alcindor. He listened to "Piggie" Lambert and lectured to Bill Walton. He matched wits with Pete Newell and Dean Smith and competed against Adolph Rupp and Jerry Tarkanian.

Few people who know about him today realize that those who saw him back in his playing days at Purdue would later refer to him as "the Michael Jordan of his time." Yes, he was THAT good.

What he did best, of course, was teach. He won his first national championship with a withering zone-press defense and no starter taller than 6-foot-5. He won with great big men like Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Walton, with two great forwards named Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe and, in his final, and perhaps most memorable season in 1975, he won without anyone approaching superstar status. What distinguished all those teams, in addition to their obvious talent, was their unquestioned ability to play together.

Any UCLA basketball aficionado can tell you that Wooden's Bruins won 10 NCAA titles in an extraordinary 12-year run, including a stunning seven in a row at one point. His teams once captured 88 consecutive games and, even more astounding, 38 straight in the NCAA tournament.

"Now it's unthinkable to win back-to-back national titles," said Kansas Head Coach Bill Self. "And we're talking 10 of 12. It's never going to happen again. Nobody is even going to sniff that. When you watch tapes, it is amazing how he gets all those great players to play unselfishly."

Talk to any of his former players, and they'll speak about Wooden's strength and gentleness, the same traits he used to rave about in his father. They'll also talk about the magical atmosphere that he always seemed to create. In his later years, you'd see it with kids at a clinic, where they would squat down in front of him, wide-eyed and engrossed, even when they didn't even realize how famous he was.

"There is a quality, kind of like an aura, about him that is really, really strong," said Jamaal Wilkes, known as Keith during his All-American days with the Walton Gang. "I don't know what to call it, but it is special. I know for me, I love my dad. He's a great man. But I could always go to Coach Wooden for a more honest, detached perspective. When you went to Coach, you didn't even have to say you have a problem. You could just say 'What if?' And he'd understand. He wouldn't press you for the details. He would just listen and try to help you solve it."

Swen Nater, a back-up center in the Walton Era who probably would have started at any other school in America, was another who grew close to Wooden after his playing days were over. He even wrote poetry, much of it dedicated to the man he came to love so many years later. Perhaps his best was a poem entitled "Beyond the Basketball." Its final stanza reads:

         

"The Teacher loved me, so he coached

Beyond gymnasium wall

I thank my God, the Teacher taught

Beyond the basketball."

 

Few men have affected so many for so long and still remain relevant even today.

UCLA's current student-athletes are reaping the benefits as well. The Wooden Academy, a development program designed to educate and support Bruin student-athletes throughout their career at UCLA, was implemented in 2006. Headed by Director of Student-Athlete Development, Ric Coy, the program's mission is to create a strong network of future Bruin leaders and provide them with the needed skill set to be successful in all their endeavors. Given the goal of the program, and its focus on teaching the building blocks of Wooden's famed Pyramid of Success, it seemed appropriate to name it after one of UCLA's most respected leaders.

Says Coy, "The Wooden Academy is unique to UCLA because we are the recipients and caretakers of Coach Wooden's legacy, the Pyramid of Success. It is a special part of what it means to be a Bruin. Coach Wooden took great satisfaction working with and teaching others. Through the legacy of his teachings, we get to educate a whole new generation of Bruins who will take what they've learned from the Wooden Academy and apply it to their future successes."

Wooden's impact does not stop with the Athletic Department. Recently UCLA's Anderson School of Management has worked Coach Wooden's teachings into its curriculum. Beginning with the 2020 class, the school kicked off its Leadership Development Program with a two-unit course centered on Wooden's leadership principles that are reflected in the Pyramid of Success. In addition, Anderson honors an exceptional leader each year with the John Wooden Global Leadership Award for exemplary leadership and service to the community.

Like the statue at the entrance of Pauley Pavilion, John Wooden's influence will remain on this campus forever.
 

Steve Bisheff has covered the Southern California sports scene for more than fifty years. He covered Coach Wooden as a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and the San Diego Tribune, and spent twenty-four years as an award-winning columnist with the Orange County Register. He is the author of seven books, including the critically-acclaimed John Wooden: An American Treasure (Turner Publishing).