Thursday 18 June 2015

John Wooden Hall of Fame Inductions.

Over the years of his illustrious coaching career and since his death, Coach John Wooden has received numerous awards that simply reinforce what a great individual he was. As mentioned previously in my previous blog post called 10 John Wooden Quotes, Coach Wooden was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice -- both as a player and a coach, becoming the first person to do so. That was not the only hall of fame he would be a member of, however.

On November 17, 2006, the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inducted it's first set of members. The inaugural class featured 5 individuals who have had the most distinct effect on the development of college basketball since the sport's creation in the winter of 1891 by one James Naismith. Dr. Naismith headlined this inaugural class, being the pioneer of the sport in general. The four other members to join him were Dean Smith, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and John Wooden. Coach Wooden was inducted has been inducted into other hall of fames, however, the Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame are the only ones directly related to the sport he was most knowledgeable about -- basketball.

In 1984, Coach Wooden was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2009, he was also inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Althetics Hall of Fame. You may be wondering, "well wasn't he inducted into UCLA's Hall of Fame?? Does UCLA even have a Hall of Fame?" The answer to both of those questions is a resounding YES! UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame was created in 1984 and like the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, Coach Wooden was a member of the inaugural class for his contributions.

Sources: http://www.uclabruins.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=30500&ATCLID=208580962
https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=John_Wooden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball#Creation

Friday 29 May 2015

10 John Wooden Quotes

John Wooden is a household name for many who are familiar with the game of basketball. In a sense, he was the Red Auerbach of college basketball - winning 10 National Championships in a 12 year period which included a stretch of 7 in a row. Before Wooden became a successful coach, he was also an accomplished player, having been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961. 12 years later, in 1973, he was again inducted - this time as a coach. This made him the first person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and coach.

Over the life of his coaching career especially, Coach Wooden echoed many profound and memorable quotes about the game of basketball and how it should be played. His wisdom also reached beyond the court and touched on general advice on life. Below is a list of 10 randomly selected quotes:
  • I do not judge success based on championships; rather, I judge it on how close we came to realizing our potential.
  • Young men need more models, not critics.
  • When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.
  • The more concerned we become over the things we can’t control, the less we will do with the things we can control.
  • What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.
  • Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
  • A player who makes a team great is better than a great player.
  • Failure is not fatal, but failure to change may be.
  • Let me give so much time to the improvement of myself that I shall have no time to criticize others.
  • Reverse the ball one time for a good shot, two times for a great shot, three times for a layup. 
Source: Click here for more John Wooden Quotes. Likewise, you can visit All Basketball Quotes. They also have the quotes in image form.