Posted by tkimble on 4/6/2015 12:07:00 AM (view original):
Coach K is probably in the top 5, but Wooden is undoubtedly #1. There's no way winning this title would "cement" K as #1.
Agreed w/ the undoubtedly #1 stuff surrounding the greatest, Mr. John Wooden...
But (then again), actually knowing & working w/ him during my high school years
could subject myself to being very partial about this good man...
My high school coach played for Mr. Wooden, long ago, @ UCLA in 1949... As well,
he had a son, my team mate who also went on to graduate & play for Mr. Wooden,
as the point guard during the Bill Walton championship years, in the mid-1970's...
His name was Greg Lee... His father was named Marvin "Lonnie" Lee... This brings
me to my point, with regard to any comparisons to that of coach 'K'... Learning the
game starts very early in life, long before high school & college... Many are lucky if
their own fathers are the early mentors... Whether as a child, or as a teen, or even as
a young adult, no matter when anyone was lucky enough to meet Mr. Wooden, it was
as though he was truly a father... It was the single-most outstanding aspect, as far as
his demeanor, patience, & words... Coach 'K' has no such reputation...
Back in those high school days, that's all we did running the UCLA high-post offense,
while being ranked as a top-10 school in the Los Angeles City school system... Many
others went on to play @ UCLA as the dynasty began to diminish, -including another
great kid named Chris Lippert, who led the entire Los Angeles area in scoring, during
my own stint for a couple of years...
Coach 'K' still has a long way to go, before any notable type of offense or defense will
ever become associated directly to his coaching skills, or experience... Duke University
is (& will always be) all about the academics... Your own father would always be about
life, even if you fail in academics, to the degree that life itself is so much more...
Thanx 4 allowing me to travel these memories from 40+ years yonder... They were very
great indeed, & influential, even more so... Take care...