The legendary man and the gifted coach who bred so many legends and gifted them to the game of basketball – Coach Wooden – is no longer amongst us; the iconic basketball trainer fell short of his 100th birthday and breathed his last at the age of ninety nine after remaining in admission University of California Los Angeles’ Medical Center for almost ten days.
The figure of “ten” seems to have stayed with Coach Wooden throughout the course of the ninety nine years that he lived in this world and that attachment with the numerical figure was nothing but sheer good luck for the man. Coach Wooden had spearheaded the University of California Los Angeles’ Bruins coaching staff for the basketball unit in ten championship titles with the NCAA. Out of those ten NCAA championship triumphs, 7 came in a row from ‘67 to ‘73. In the twenty seven annum that he remained active as a basketball trainer, he registered six hundred and twenty victories out off which eighty eight victories came back to back. Some of his renowned trainees include the likes of Lew Alcindor & Bill Walton.
Many former colleagues, former students and friends have come forth and expressed their grief at the passing away of Coach Wooden. Pete Trgovich – one of the performers on his tenth championship title – said that he had not known anybody else who was more happy & satisfied with life. He was known to be a man of few words who made sure that what he said made perfect sense.