2010.06.04 16:40
LOS ANGELES -- Former UCLA basketball coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden died of natural causes on Friday at age 99, the school announced. Little had been released regarding his condition.Earlier in the day, former UCLA and Los Angeles Lakers star Jamaal Wilkes told The Associated Press that he visited Wooden in his hospital room twice this week and they chatted briefly.Wilkes said Wooden recognized him and that the coach's mind remains "sharp as a tack," although he said the 99-year-old Wooden's body is "very, very frail." During his second visit on Wednesday night, Wilkes asked Wooden if he recognized him."His glasses fogged up and he had to clean his glasses," Wilkes said. "He looked at me and said, 'I remember you, now go sit down." Wilkes teamed with Bill Walton to help UCLA win NCAA titles in 1972 and '73. He was part of UCLA's record 88-game winning streak under Wooden.Besides his grown son and daughter and other family members, Wilkes said Wooden has had several visitors since being admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on May 26, including Walton.UCLA officials said Friday afternoon that Wooden was resting comfortably and was surrounded by family. The university's statement said the family wanted to thank Wooden's fans for their thoughts and prayers.A few hundred students gathered around the Bruin Bear statue near Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus Friday, performing the university's eight-clap chant and shouting Wooden's name. He frequently attended men's basketball games until a couple years ago.The university had said that the former coaching great was being treated for dehydration."I got the sense that it's an overall physical decline," Wilkes said while attending an event for an NBA charity."His mind and his spirit is very lucid and sharp. He was sharp as a tack, still got the sense of humor. People don't realize how funny he is, but his body is very, very weak, very frail."Wilkes said he recognized what he called "that little glint" in Wooden's pale blue eyes. He was in the room with Wooden's son, James, when Wooden asked to be shaved."His son made the comment that when he got shaved he was getting ready to see Nellie," Wilkes said, referring to Wooden's late wife who died of cancer in 1975. Like many of Wooden's players, Wilkes, now 57, has stayed in regular contact with his former coach through the years. He said they rarely discussed basketball and mostly talked about their lives."He's such a tough survivor and you want to keep wishing and hoping that he's going to live forever, but we all know he's not," Wilkes had said. "The realization that this may actually be it hasn't really hit me yet. I'm so overwhelmed with what's happening."Wilkes, however, said Wooden seemed at peace with himself, and that the coach's pastor was another visitor."He's OK with it. It's the rest of us that have to," Wilkes said, his voice trailing off. "It's hard." Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships -- at one time winning seven in a row -- during a 27-year run that ended with his team cutting down the nets one last time in 1975.The Bruins won 88 consecutive games from 1971-74 and 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games from 1964-74, both records. The Associated Press |
2010.06.04 16:41
2010.06.04 17:15
During our younger years as basketball fans (I was at the sides of UK and U of L),
John Wooden's golden dynasty will be remembered for a long time.
As Keith (Jamaal) Wilke said, for us at some point in time,
we all have to come to the "realization that this may actually be it !"
and we will have to be "OK with it" regardless how we feel,
leaving the remainder to "the rest of those" who will be still alive.
I think, as much as John Wooden had done and lived,
"To Go" is an honorable thing, nothing to be sad or afraid about.
Nowadays, people call it "a Celebration of Life", not a funeral.
UCLA legendary basketball coach John Wooden은 오늘 6월4일 99세를 일기로 별세 하였다.
외유내강의 전형적인 college basketball coach였으며 Lew Alcindor(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar),
Bill Walton등의 대선수들을 길러냈으며 10 NCAA Championship,88 consecutive wins 등의
기록을 보유하며 일세를 풍미 했던 Sport News가 선정한 All time great coach의 1위를 차지
한 greatest legendary coach 였다.
Coach Wooden의 영전에 삼가 명복을 빈다. 규정
Sporting News Top 50 Coaches
1. John Wooden, college basketball
2. Vince Lombardi, NFL
3. Bear Bryant, college football
4. Phil Jackson, NBA
5. Don Shula, NFL
6. Red Auerbach, NBA
7. Scotty Bowman, NHL
8. Dean Smith, college basketball
9. Casey Stengel, MLB
10. Knute Rockne, college football
11. Pat Summitt, women's college basketball
12. Paul Brown, NFL
13. Joe Paterno, college football
14. George Halas, NFL
15. Chuck Noll, NFL
16. Bob Knight, college basketball
17. Joe Gibbs, NFL
18. Tom Landry, NFL
19. Mike Krzyzewski, college basketball
20. Bill Belichick, NFL
21. Adolph Rupp, college basketball
22. Joe McCarthy, MLB
23. Eddie Robinson, college football
24. Bobby Bowden, college football
25. John McGraw, MLB
26. Bill Walsh, NFL
27. Woody Hayes, college football
28. Connie Mack, MLB
29. Bud Wilkinson, college football
30. Pat Riley, NBA
31. Pete Newell, college basketball
32. Joe Torre, MLB
33. Bill Parcells, NFL
34. Tom Osborne, college football
35. Walter Alston, MLB
36. Bo Schembechler, college football
37. Toe Blake, NHL
38. Sparky Anderson, MLB
39. Al Arbour, NHL
40. Amos Alonzo Stagg, college football
41. Tony La Russa, MLB
42. Geno Auriemma, women's college basketball
43. Dick Irvin, NHL
44. Ara Parseghian, college football
45. Chuck Daly, NBA
46. Bobby Cox, MLB
47. Hank Iba, college basketball
48. Tommy Lasorda, MLB
49. Gregg Popovich, NBA
50. Herb Brooks, NHL