John Wooden was a basketball legend on the court and as a coach. If you know the history of the game, you understand the profound affect that Wooden had on all levels of basketball. As a high school player, he helped his team win three state championships and he was named as an All American basketball player three times while attending Purdue University. His performance as a pro player earned him a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Wooden coached high school basketball for 11 years and walked away with a record of 218–42 before coaching at the college level. The basketball program at UCLA was unheard of and in poor condition until John Wooden arrived. He had the opportunity to coach for Purdue, but his loyalty to the then coach, Mel Taube, and character lead him elsewhere. In just one year, Coach Wooden transformed the UCLA players into Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division champions, who one the title 10 times in 12 years.
Through all of his success, Wooden is most known for his integrity, faithfulness to his wife, Nelly, and strong commitment as a Christian. It’s easy to see how his faith helped guide his decisions throughout his career, even when he would have preferred to make different choices, such as leaving California to coach at Purdue before his contract was up. Wooden was a widow for 25 years after losing Nelly in 1985 to cancer. Every month he visited her crypt at the mausoleum and wrote her a love letter. He is quoted as saying, “Nell and I were sweethearts for almost 60 years and married for 53 years until I lost her in 1985. I’ve never gotten used to the loss.”
"The Truth": Ephesians 4:2-3 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Of his faith, Wooden said, “I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.”
"The Truth": Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
One of the profound pieces of knowledge we are blessed through Wooden is called the Pyramid of Success. It highlights characteristics integral to being successful, which he used while coaching.
John Wooden talks about his Pyramid of Success
While reading these quotes I hope you get the same sense of John Wooden that I do. I imagine a beautiful person on the inside who was filled with Christ and lead by God to the earthly successes he achieved. He was able to positively influence hundreds, if not thousands of basketball players on all levels. Let these quotes sink in and you will realize how true they are. Wooden’s life may seem perfect, but no one’s life is and he attributed the influence his father had early in his younger years. Whether or not you are successful in the eyes of those around you, you can achieve greatness in the lives of your children and young people who look up to you by leading by example of character.
"The Truth": Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”