By Bill Bennett
Monday, Nov. 20
NABC Interview
That morning in the Hyatt Regency, Coach Wooden sits for more than an hour for an interview that can be viewed once the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame opens next season at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
The interview spans his entire life, from his upbringing in rural Indiana, to his college days at Purdue, through his UCLA head coaching years.
Coach Wooden will always say one of the great influences in his life was his father, Joshua Hugh Wooden. He talks about the philosophies his father handed down to him: “Two Sets of Threes” –
1. Never lie.
2. Never cheat.
3. Never steal
1. Don’t whine
2. Don’t complain
3. Don’t make excuses
On the day Coach Wooden graduated from elementary school in Centerton IN, he received from his father a two-dollar bill (which Coach Wooden would give to his own son Jim) and a 3 x 5 card. Written on one side of that card was a verse by the Rev. Henry Van Dyke and on the opposite side, Joshua’s personal Seven Point Creed (Coach Wooden still carries a copy of the Creed with him) –
1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, including the Good Book.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.
Four things a man must learn to do
If he would make his life more true:
To think without confusion clearly,
To love his fellow-man sincerely,
To act from honest motives purely,
To trust in God and Heaven securely.
--Henry Van Dyke
Basketball Game in Municipal Auditorium
Municipal Auditorium is quite the historic site for college basketball, hosting nine NCAA men’s basketball Final Fours between 1950 and 1964, including three of the first four.
There is a VIP reception at Municipal before the games. Sitting there with Coach Wooden, Nan and Craig, a family asks if they can have their picture taken with the Coach. Of course he agrees, but the family’s husband is perturbed because his friend, who was to take the picture, was nowhere to be found. Craig then jumps up and happily volunteers to take the portrait – it is a great shot, Coach Wooden with that beaming family. Everywhere we go, everyone wants a photo with Coach.
From the reception, we walk Coach Wooden into the arena and everyone stands and applauds. His front row seat is behind the ESPN broadcast desk. Coach Wooden sits next to Smith, Russell, Robertson and their families. Vitale, who is the ESPN color analyst for the games, turns around and spends a few minutes with all the honorees.
We watch all of the Duke-Air Force game and most of the Marquette-Texas Tech contest. Early in the second half of the Marquette-Texas Tech game, the Hall of Fame inductees are introduced at center court. Back in his seat, Coach Wooden notes that he was most impressed with Marquette’s athleticism and aggressiveness.
Reprinted with permission from Bruin Blue. © 2007 Bill Bennett and Bruin Blue. All rights reserved.
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