I started hearing last night through Twitter and Facebook that legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden had passed away at the age of 99. This morning it was clarified that he had not passed away, but was hospitalized in grave condition. I know that much will be said about what an incredible basketball player and coach he was. However, I feel quite certain that anyone who played for him or followed his life from afar will remember much more than that. Coach Wooden is known for his relationship with the Lord. In fact, in a book called “The Call Me Coach”, he is quoted as saying, “I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.”
Wooden is also well-known for the deep and abiding love he had for his wife Nell. After her death, the basketball court at Pauley Pavilion where UCLA plays was named in their honor. It was proposed to be called the “John and Nell Wooden Court”. Coach Wooden asked that it be called, “The Nell and John Wooden Court”. He said he couldn’t have achieved all that he did without her by his side. Much has been shared over the years about his steadfast commitment to writing love notes to his wife…even once a month since her death in 1985.
I have always enjoyed college basketball and have followed the game’s top coaches and players closely since a very young age. A few years ago, someone gave me a copy of Coach Wooden’s book, My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey. This book is a great collection of stories as well as challenges to live a life of integrity and honor.
I would encourage you to pick up a copy of this book to find out more about this godly man and the legacy he will leave behind as he prepares to enter eternity. What an incredible legacy of leadership that honors the Lord!