Truly a legend.

Quote :

"Wooden dies at age 99 LOS ANGELES -- Former UCLA basketball coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden died of natural causes on Friday at age 99, the school announced. Little had been released regarding his condition. Earlier in the day, former UCLA and Los Angeles Lakers star Jamaal Wilkes told The Associated Press that he visited Wooden in his hospital room twice this week and they chatted briefly. Wilkes said Wooden recognized him and that the coach's mind remains "sharp as a tack," although he said the 99-year-old Wooden's body is "very, very frail." During his second visit on Wednesday night, Wilkes asked Wooden if he recognized him. "His glasses fogged up and he had to clean his glasses," Wilkes said. "He looked at me and said, 'I remember you, now go sit down." Wilkes teamed with Bill Walton to help UCLA win NCAA titles in 1972 and '73. He was part of UCLA's record 88-game winning streak under Wooden. Besides his grown son and daughter and other family members, Wilkes said Wooden has had several visitors since being admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on May 26, including Walton. UCLA officials said Friday afternoon that Wooden was resting comfortably and was surrounded by family. The university's statement said the family wanted to thank Wooden's fans for their thoughts and prayers. A few hundred students gathered around the Bruin Bear statue near Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus Friday, performing the university's eight-clap chant and shouting Wooden's name. He frequently attended men's basketball games until a couple years ago. The university had said that the former coaching great was being treated for dehydration. "I got the sense that it's an overall physical decline," Wilkes said while attending an event for an NBA charity. "His mind and his spirit is very lucid and sharp. He was sharp as a tack, still got the sense of humor. People don't realize how funny he is, but his body is very, very weak, very frail." Wilkes said he recognized what he called "that little glint" in Wooden's pale blue eyes. He was in the room with Wooden's son, James, when Wooden asked to be shaved. "His son made the comment that when he got shaved he was getting ready to see Nellie," Wilkes said, referring to Wooden's late wife who died of cancer in 1975. Like many of Wooden's players, Wilkes, now 57, has stayed in regular contact with his former coach through the years. He said they rarely discussed basketball and mostly talked about their lives. "He's such a tough survivor and you want to keep wishing and hoping that he's going to live forever, but we all know he's not," Wilkes had said. "The realization that this may actually be it hasn't really hit me yet. I'm so overwhelmed with what's happening." Wilkes, however, said Wooden seemed at peace with himself, and that the coach's pastor was another visitor. "He's OK with it. It's the rest of us that have to," Wilkes said, his voice trailing off. "It's hard." Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships -- at one time winning seven in a row -- during a 27-year run that ended with his team cutting down the nets one last time in 1975. The Bruins won 88 consecutive games from 1971-74 and 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games from 1964-74, both records. "

6/4/2010 10:27:31 PM

damn, knew this was coming, what a life he had though. If I could live to be 99 years old and do/see all the things he did, and have such a huge impact on society as a whole, I would say that my life was a huge success

hell, if I could live a fraction of the life he lived in terms of the contributions he made to so many people's lives, I would consider it a successful life.

RIP to the Wizard of Westwood

6/4/2010 10:32:07 PM

i know ahhh. what a great life though. he was amazing. i actually shed a tear. the "looking back" video on espn pushed me over the edge.

[Edited on June 4, 2010 at 10:38 PM. Reason : .]

6/4/2010 10:37:51 PM

I'm a Wildcat, but I grew up Bruin and he's a legend of course. RIP

6/4/2010 10:59:34 PM

i just spent like 45 minutes reading articles from the SIVault.

my friend (giant ucla fan) said (and he probably stole it from someone else but whatever) that john wooden progressed not only basketball but people.

*SIGH* i know he was old and had been hospitalized for like a week but - hard to lose a basketball great.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068223/index.htm
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/arash_markazi/10/27/wooden/index.html

[Edited on June 4, 2010 at 11:34 PM. Reason : .]

6/4/2010 11:33:35 PM

He did a lot for college basketball. I'm glad he had a long and fruitful life.

RIP

6/4/2010 11:38:53 PM

He was a class act.


He will be missed by many. RIP man.

6/5/2010 1:31:38 AM

^ you realize that Wooden coached men's basketball, right?

6/5/2010 1:38:46 AM

he was simply great. what a life.

6/5/2010 2:47:27 AM

He was no Jimmy V.!

6/5/2010 4:32:57 AM

^I hate to say it but...

well, actually I hate it so much I wont say it.

6/5/2010 7:00:18 AM

Quote :

""His son made the comment that when he got shaved he was getting ready to see Nellie," Wilkes said, referring to Wooden's late wife who died of cancer in 1975."

6/5/2010 8:00:51 AM

If you haven't seen the full ESPN interview from last year on his life, the longevity of it as well as his career as UCLA head coach, then I really recommend it. RIP.

6/5/2010 8:36:37 AM

We don't need to go off and start comparing John Wooden and Jimmy V. Both were great coaches and great human beings. If anyone starts to bad mouth Jimmy V though in a way to elevate Wooden, then I will bring out the nasty truths of the UCLA program during the Wooden era.

6/5/2010 11:55:57 AM

Sam Gilbert says "Hi".....There really is no closer bond that booster and star player can have than to have said booster pay for star player's groupie to have an abo-bo. What a perk.

[Edited on June 5, 2010 at 5:40 PM. Reason : .]

6/5/2010 5:38:46 PM

Quote :

"He was no Jimmy V.!"

Yep, Wooden was much dirtier.

6/5/2010 6:44:14 PM

Every one knows about Sam Gilbert and the UCLA stories... that doesn't mean ANYTHING when talking about Wooden, the man. He was a brilliant guy and a pioneer in the sport...

6/5/2010 6:52:04 PM

Great coach, truly a coaching legend, but UCLA under his watch WAS a crooked program. You can argue that he was ignorant of it, but I think it'd be pretty damned hard to not know unless you were willfully ignorant of it.

6/6/2010 9:19:30 AM