John Wooden
John Wooden (1910-2010)
Teams coached: Indiana State Sycamores, UCLA Bruins
Indiana State record: 44-15 (.746)
UCLA record: 620-147 (.808)
Overall record^: 664-162 (.804)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 10 (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 16 (1950, 1952, 1956, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 14 (1952, 1956, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 12 (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- PCC / Pac-12 Regular Season Champion: 16 (1950, 1952, 1956, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
- IIC (NAIA) Regular Season Champion: 2 (1947, 1948)
- NAIA National Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1948)
- NAIA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1948)
- Helms Foundation National Championships: 10 (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975)
Awards:
- AP Coach of the Year: 5 (1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973)
- NABC Coach of the Year: 5 (1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972)
- Sporting News Coach of the Year: 4 (1964, 1969, 1972, 1973)
- Henry Iba Award: 7 (1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)
- UPI Coach of the Year: 6 (1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973)
- NABC Golden Anniversary Award (1984)
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted as a player, 1960; as a coach, 1973)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted as both a player & coach, 2006)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1948-1975 | UCLA |
1946-1948 | Indiana State |
John Wooden Facts
- John Robert Wooden
- Born October 14, 1910
- Died June 4, 2010
- Hometown: Centerton, Indiana
- Alma Mater: Purdue University (BA, 1932)
- Played three seasons at PG for the Purdue Boilermakers under head coach Ward “Piggy” Lambert
- First player to be named an All-American three times and played on the 1931-32 Purdue team retroactively named the Helms Athletic Foundation National Champion
- Served for nearly three years in the United States Navy during World War II, leaving the service as a lieutenant
- Started his coaching career at the high school level, compiling an overall record of 218-42 in eleven seasons – two at Dayton HS (KY) and nine at South Bend Central HS (IN)
- Won a record ten NCAA National Championships as head coach at UCLA, including a record streak of seven straight (1967-73)
- His UCLA teams won a record 88 straight games and finished a perfect 30-0 in four different seasons
- The John R. Wooden Award is given annually to college basketball’s most outstanding men’s and women’s player
- Committee also honors one men’s or women’s head coach annually with the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award
- The court at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion is named the “John & Nell Wooden Court” in honor of he and his wife
- An early season tournament, the Wooden Legacy Classic, is named in his honor, as well as it’s predecessor, the Wooden Classic
- Along with his wife, Nellie, had one son and one daughter
John Wooden Coaching Tree
- Frank Arnold (Hawaii, BYU)
- Henry Bibby (USC)
- Denny Crum (Louisville)
- Gary Cunningham (UCLA)
- Larry Farmer (Loyola IL, Weber State, UCLA)
- Freddie Goss (US International, UC Riverside)
- Walt Hazzard (UCLA)
- Duane Klueh (Indiana State)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II levels