Wooden - Kasey Johnson

 

At UCLA, Wooden's teams won seven consecutive National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships between 1967 and 1973, and 10 titles (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975) in his final 12 seasons as head coach. At one point in the early 1970s, the Bruins won an NCAA-record 88 games in a row, a run that included undefeated 30-0 seasons in 1971-72 and 1972-73. UCLA also won 38 consecutive NCAA Tournament games between the 1963-64 and 1973-74 seasons, another record. Wooden retired from coaching following the 1975 season with a UCLA record of 620 wins and 147 losses. Only twice during his tenure did the Bruins lose home games at Pauley Pavilion, where he coached from the 1965-66 through 1974-75 seasons.

An excerpt from his book...

"Winning is the by-product of success.  He never fixated on winning during his time at UCLA, rather he focused on making sure his players gave everything they had.  If they did that the score took care of itself.  Wooden emphasized how much the 1959-60 season was his favorite.  They went into the last game of the season with a record of 13-12.    Broadcasters thought it would be a miracle if they finished above .500.  They weren’t expected to be a decent team.  Yet they won that last game, and finished 14-12.  The team wasn’t the most talented, but they gave the best they had."

“Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”

“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”