“Wizard of Westwood” won seven titles in a row, and very easily would have won 10 in a row.
UCLA basketball coach John Wooden claps his hands and shouts encouragement to members of his Bruin team during a practice session in Los Angeles, Ca., March 7, 1967. Santayana, the philosopher, not the misspelled rock guitarist, said many things.
His most profound statement: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”Ol’ George lived until 1952. So he was around at the wrong time to have that attitude. He was around when history meant something. When people actually believed great things happened prior to yesterday. Now history is taught — taught — to be forgotten. Never mind that America is not innocent. That it was built on violence. On revolution. That slavery existed. That not even Lincoln could end bigotry.“Now,” or close to “now,” is what matters. And so many TV/radio/bloggers join in because it’s easy to sell to the uninformed. Just the other day, I saw a list of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time. And I was not surprised. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski was No. 1. John Wooden was No. 2.Wooden won 10 at UCLA. He won seven in a row, and very easily would have won 10 in a row — at least nine, if Lew Alcindor had been eligible as a freshman. I don’t care how many NCAA games were played then , he won 36 straight in the tournament.People say, yeah, but he had Alcindor and Bill Walton. He did. He recruited them, as college coaches do. When he recruited Alcindor, he’d won twice, with very small teams. He won with bigs, littles and in-betweens. Now that we’re in the middle of the NCAAs, I’m even hearing that St. John’s Rick Pitino is the greatest coach in college basketball history. He’s really good. He is not the best. I always thought Paul Brown, who won at all levels, the greatest football coach. But I make John Wooden the greatest coach. At any level. Any sport.They’re comparing Cameron Boozer with Larry Bird. Please. Insanity is unbecoming. …The refs treat Duke as if Patrick Mahomes is its point guard. …In the game of basketball, there is no such thing as a “good look” 3-pointer. The average for 3-point shooting, pro and college, hovers around 35%. Those are not “good looks.” … Have you seen High Point? It is not a mere college. It is Versailles. The basketball coach is Napoleon, who has a strong left hand. … Remember, the Mountain West had one NCAA Tournament bid. The ACC? Eight. One advanced to the Sweet 16. The Selection Committee got it right with the Big Ten. Six of nine made the 16. … Arizona State has hired Randy Bennett away from Saint Mary’s and, just like that, got better at basketball. … Jaxon Smith-Njigba has signed a four-year, $168.6-million deal with the Seahawks, $120 million of it guaranteed. His Super Bowl stats: four catches, 24 yards. Wide receivers do not win Super Bowls. … Ty Simpson’s Costco sample size — 15 starts at Alabama — isn’t enough for me, but some thinkers are thinking he’s the best quarterback in the draft. He’s around 6 feet. But Drew Brees, walking around in a Hall of Fame coat, is 6 feet. Kyler Murray is 5-10. … I haven’t been a Simpson fan, but Fernando Mendoza doesn’t lift my kilt, either. QB is not always a risk worth taking. …There aren’t many coaches who have done less with more than Bill Self. Dean Smith comes to mind. With all that unmatched talent, Dean won two titles. … There was one school in the Sweet 16 with five starters who began their careers on that campus. Michigan State. Nearly half the starters in the 16 launched careers somewhere else. … I’m thinking USD found the right basketball man in JR Blount. That should be a much better job than it’s been. … As Hubert Vogelsinger might say about it: “Flag football isn’t worth the time I don’t spend watching it.” Skeleton drills with rags hanging from their shorts. … Any NFL general manager who allows one of their players to go to the Olympics and play flag football — in the middle of training camp, no less — should be up for the title role in “The Fourth Stooge.” …Tom Brady wants back in? As what, NFL mahjong director? … To become the Falcons’ QB, what does Tua Tagovailoa say he has to do? “Just play better football.” With that kind of knowledge, how can’t he succeed? That’s like Yamamoto hindsighting: “I should have waited for the carriers to get back to Pearl.” … The Rams will open their 2026 season vs. the 49ers. In Australia. L.A. gives up a home game, as the probable Super Bowl favorite. And for what? Goodell’s lebensraum. … Happy birthday, Steve Fisher. For some insane reason, he’s not in the Naismith Hall of Fame, but this city has known no more important sports figure. A good and great man. … Should Michael Jordan replace Hubert Davis as North Carolina’s head basketball coach? Only if he can still play. Other than that? No. Great players rarely make great coaches. Wooden was an exception. …Memo to UCLA coach Cori Close: If you don’t like the grind of women’s college basketball, find another job that pays $750,000 a year. … Have you seen that new short, green bike lane off the 805? It ends at a chain-link fence. No ramps made available. Meanwhile, Bicycle Mayor and his Ham & Eggers pave roads that don’t need paving. … The terribly important Mission Beach lifeguard station is in disrepair and has been closed. But that’s OK. We don’t get tourists and nobody swims at the beach. Priorities are not City Hall’s strength. …The ad featuring Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea” may be the greatest thing on TV. If I’m in Cuba, that singer and song is making me buy American cigars… How did the big TV networks survive without big money from Big Pharma commercials selling prescription meds you have to ask your doctor about as if doctors don’t know anything about meds? …Tiger Woods went to Stanford, where they don’t teach limo, Uber, Lift and taxi. …Excess load on transmission line may have caused SDG&E power outage to 103,000 customersTrying again: Environmental groups want a rehearing on California rooftop solar rulesFourth Padres suitor becomes publicPadres lose late lead, fall again to Tigers
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