He reached Final Fours in 2011, 2012 (national champions), 2014 and 2015, and while the Wildcats haven’t been back since, Kentucky lost in 2017 to the eventual national champ on a buzzer beater in the Elite Eight, then fell in overtime in the 2019 Elite Eight. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood," he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins, including a record seven in a row. Pearl appears likely to join the 600-win club this season, the result of work he’s done at four different stops as a head coach. Syracuse was always a program teams didn’t want to face in the NCAA Tournament, thanks to Boeheim’s unorthodox 2-3 zone that led the Orange to some major upsets when opponents were held to off shooting nights. During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as the "Wizard of Westwood," though he personally disdained the nickname. [94][95][96] He was survived by his son, daughter, three grandsons, four granddaughters, and 13 great-grandchildren. The Wooden Legacy is held in his honor. Boeheim ranks seventh on the all-time wins chart and sits just 36 wins away from becoming the fifth men’s basketball coach to win 1,000 games (though he’ll likely be beaten there by one coach and could get there sixth). [14] He graduated from Purdue in 1932 with a degree in English.[4]. Three of Wooden's former players would take over the program and leave within a few years. But it also means he’s one of just a few active coaches with multiple national titles. That led to the Miami job, an ACC regular season and tournament title and two more Sweet 16 berths. [23] Wooden spent two years at Dayton and nine years at Central. [15] He was also selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Altman once again has a team that could be the Pac-12’s best and another team that could go to at least the Sweet 16.       Postseason invitational champion   Tournament wins: 91. [2], Wooden was born in 1910 in Hall, Indiana,[8] to Roxie (1887–1959) and Joshua Wooden (1882–1950),[9] and moved with his family to a small farm in Centerton in 1918. Any coach — well, OK, most coaches — can find some level of success by mining a star, or having an experienced roster come together. Stops at Minnesota, Texas Tech and Memphis followed with varying levels of success, with Smith then taking over at his alma mater High Point. Word Books. John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American The book also delves into his personal relationship with Wooden as his coach and mentor. [66][67], On May 17, 2004, Wooden was awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission at the Riviera Country Club. "[87] Wooden's faith strongly influenced his life. Few feels like he should be higher on this list, but he’s actually coached for fewer years than most, at 21 seasons. It normally seated 2,400, but had been limited to 1,500 since 1955 by order of the city fire marshal. His high school coaching record over 11 years was 218–42. There’s been a lot of great men’s basketball coaches that went through the college rank and even stayed. Person Sport Seasons Current Institution Tenure Wins Losses Ties WL % Tournament wins Tournament losses WL % NCAA Statistics. [55] In 2009, he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in St. Louis. Ellis has been coach of the year in three different conferences (including twice apiece in the ACC and SEC) and won the Associated Press Coach of the Year in 1999, when he piloted Auburn to a 29-4 season and a Sweet 16 berth. At the top of the Pyramid of Success was "Competitive Greatness" which Wooden defined as "Perform at your best when your best is required. And while he turned Oklahoma into a force, going to a Final Four and an Elite Eight in back-to-back years, he's more recently set himself up for long-term success at Houston. [12] He was a three-time All-State selection. [68], On Wooden's 96th birthday in 2006, a post office in Reseda, California, near where Wooden's daughter lives, was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office. [86] He was a devout Christian, considering his beliefs more important to him than basketball: "I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. The 1966 squad was denied a chance at a triple crown when it finished second to Oregon State in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (now the Pac-12). The flagship leadership development program of Wooden's fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, is named "The John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle" after Coach Wooden and his wife, Nellie. Only Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith have equaled the feat. Sometimes coaches just need fresh starts. But Alford had success just about everywhere else. After the game, Bill Walton said, "We didn't play well.". In 1960, he was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player[52] and as a coach in 1973,[53] becoming the first to be honored as both a player and a coach. If not for the NCAA… [40], In 2004, a 93-year-old Wooden stated that he would not mind coming back as an assistant who could help players with practices and other light duties.[44]. He won 73 of those games at Army before taking over at Duke in 1980, a program that had been to four Final Fours and two national title games — most recently in 1978 — but hadn’t won the big one. This spot might surprise some people, but after a 27-26 start in Division II, Larrañaga made the jump to Bowling Green, won 170 more games, then took over at George Mason. Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime with Wooden. 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