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:

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
  • 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

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II levels