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Post by sayne on Jun 4, 2010 23:21:30 GMT -5
Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
- John Wooden. A fine Indiana boy.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jun 5, 2010 11:25:30 GMT -5
It is the passing of a legend. He was really a gentle giant. He was not without his detractors but he was an amazingly great basketball coach, teacher of life and even a poet. He hailed from Martinsville where he played on one state championship team and almost had two more in "Hoosier Hysteria" and was a star at Purdue University(West Lafayette, IN) up my way where he was mentored by a Coach named Piggy Lambert. He made his coaching way to UCLA where sayne can complete the story. I read a quote by Bill Walton who said that when he was in school he thought that Coach Wooden was corny and kind of weird but everything Wooden told Walton about life came to pass as Walton would later admit. Here is a nice article on Coach Wooden from the Indy Star's acerbic Bob Kravitz(with other great links to Indy Star features on Wooden): www.indystar.com/article/20100605/SPORTS15/100605003/Kravitz-Wooden-s-influence-spread-beyond-sports
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Post by John S. Damm on Jun 5, 2010 11:31:03 GMT -5
Thinking about it, Coach Wooden's glory years at UCLA mirrored The Beatles' golden years and then some into the early 1970's. John Wooden and his UCLA basketball teams were part of that Sixties experience.
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Post by sayne on Jun 5, 2010 11:55:14 GMT -5
Thinking about it, Coach Wooden's glory years at UCLA mirrored The Beatles' golden years and then some into the early 1970's. John Wooden and his UCLA basketball teams were part of that Sixties experience. I really liked the story about how his Indiana State team was going to play in the college tournament, maybe even a championship game, but they were not going to let them play if they brought their African-American player. Wooden refused the invitation. This was in the 40s(?)!. John Wooden and Jackie Robinson make me the most proud of being a Bruin.
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Post by sayne on Jun 5, 2010 11:57:11 GMT -5
Thinking about it, Coach Wooden's glory years at UCLA mirrored The Beatles' golden years and then some into the early 1970's. John Wooden and his UCLA basketball teams were part of that Sixties experience. Can you imagine teaching early 1900's mid-Western values to 1960's urban youth?
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