Can you imagine living 99 years? We all want to live forever, but when you put a number to it it gets a bit creepy. Today, the greatest college coach to grace a sideline turns 99. John Wooden does not mean much to this generation and it is a shame. We all could learn ten things or a hundred from this legend. All coaches apply some form of his teaching in some way or fashion. I saw an interview of him recently and he said he that had 3 rules to follow. 1. Never be late to anything. Be on time and you may learn something. 2. Never talk badly about your teammates. They are your family. 3. Don't use profanity. How funny is that? The one thing we glorify is the use of profanity. Ever since you were a kid, everyone of us wanted the ability to use the same colorful vocabulary of our parents or what we heard in a movie or television program. The other two rules may be the most under used policies in this country. If you don't bash your teammates, you don't get on T.V. and if you are late often the team usually understands because you are probably the star of the team. Allen Iverson is famous for his "practice" news conference. He is a warrior during the games but showing up on time for practice and actually practicing another story. T.O. got great fame because he bashed Jeff Garcia in San Francisco and then took it to another level by chiming in about Donovan Mcnabb. Plaxico Burress apparently was late to several of Tom Coughlin meeting with the Giants, But we give him a little slack because the head coach would say a meeting would start at 10am and actually he wanted everyone there at 9:40.
Coach Wooden won 10 basketball championships. His team had a streak of 88 games won in a row during his tenure and he coached the greatest college player ever in Lew Alcindor. There are two coaches that gets as much credit for their greatness as he does is Pat Summitt from Tennessee and Dean Smith. Pat Summitt is the winningest coach in college basketball history. She has 8 championships to her credit. She could coach any team and get results. She will probably pass Coach Wooden in championships someday because she has shown no signs of burning out and because she still gets the top athletes. Dean Smith has to be the most influential coach in my generation. Not only does he have so many of his former players and assistant coaching and succeeding around the globe, he has had some of the greatest players play for him too. Most coaches employ his techniques today and he may have been the first coach to understand how racial harmony can help lead you to victory. He was the first coach to bring in African American players to the ACC. Charlie Scott. Coach Wooden would be proud of the the successes that these two coaches have had. Today in the men's game, the game seems to be more about the coaches than the players. You have to be able to communicate at level where you have to get a players attention quickly. Kids today leave college too early and believe they have the goods to go pro. Coach Wooden coached during an era where freshman were ineligible to play. If you are 19 you can go pro. I wonder how Coach wooden would have related to the Kids today. The coaches today, Coach K at Duke is highly revered but doesn't get the great recruits like he did when the rules were different. Coach Pitino probably relates to players best because of his New York style on and off the court. Coach Williams seems to be the person who gets the blue chippers these days. Happy Birthday Coach Wooden.. we look forward to seeing you next year..