Los Angeles, CA-Following in the footsteps of legends is never easy to do. Duplicating greatness is an even harder task. When a college basketball player or coach steps on the court they automatically are cast under the enormous shadow of the iconic John Wooden, the Hall of Fame coach, whose impact on the college game far exceeds the 10 national championships he won as UCLA’s men’s basketball coach.
Capturing the essence of Wooden goes beyond the 620 wins he recorded during his 27 years as the Bruins’ coach. It reaches past the 19 conference titles he racked up during that time. It is also immeasurably more than the number of great players he shaped and molded into men before sending them on their way to the NBA and into the world.
Wooden was a lot more than that. What he was about was greater than any basketball game he prepared for. He just didn’t coach a dynasty; he built winners-on and off the court. An athlete can’t go into the world of college basketball without feeling or seeing Wooden’s imprint all over the game.
That’s because Wooden did things the right way. He commanded respect. He was a player’s coach. He epitomized success. Wooden practiced diversity with his student-athletes when the concept was very much a foreign idea in other parts of the country. He was a symphonic picture of academia, class and dignity.
“You’re talking about a true gentleman who cared about his players-that you can tell, because when they left-they all came back and spent time with him the rest of their lives, said Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari. “It’s great stuff. It just means so much.”
This is why the John R. Wooden Award, given annually to the best college basketball student-athlete, matters. The John R. Wooden Award is not just an award; it is a legacy. The legacy of the award represents the best of the best in college basketball. Many of the best in the nation made their way to Los Angeles to participate in the yearly formal ceremony, honoring the cream of the crop in college basketball.
That list would include coaches as well. University of Connecticut women’s coach Geno Auriemma, who picked up the Legends of Coaching Award, said any honor that has to do with being affiliated Wooden is a humbling experience.
“I think coming to anything that involves Coach Wooden is obviously special, and it’s a great honor for me,” Auriemma said. “It was a great honor to be here representing my players, honoring my players. For me to be here now, getting an award, it’s one more honor for Coach Wooden. Everything that I have done as a coach in some ways now is being reflected on Coach Wooden because I am getting that award.
“It’s a magical name. It’s hard to explain…You can tell people anywhere in America, anywhere in the world, if they don’t know anything about basketball, if you say John Wooden, they immediately know what it is.”
All of the candidates nominated for the John R. Wooden Award are a reflection in spirit of the man in which the honor is bestowed.
A few days removed from leading Kentucky to the national championship, freshman sensation Anthony Davis was saluted as men’s basketball player of the year. Women’s standouts included Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame, Elena Delle Donne of Delaware, Julie Wojta of Green Bay and Stanford’s Nnemkadi Ogwumike.
Ogwumike, a three-time Wooden All-American, is expected to be a high draft pick in this month’s WNBA Draft. She said just being considered for the award is an honor in itself.
“It means a lot,” Ogwumike said. “This is my second time here. It’s just as surprising as last time. You get to meet a lot of different people. More importantly, it brings a lot of revered heads together in basketball, and you get to meet a lot of the great players. It is a wonderful atmosphere.”
While she recorded an outstanding senior campaign as the Pac-12 scoring leader, Ogwumike’s sizzling play this season was outdone by Baylor’s Brittany Griner’s remarkable year. Griner was selected as the top women’s college basketball player. All Griner did was average just over 23 points and five blocks a game to lead Baylor to an astonishing 40-0 record.
The MVP of the Final Four and two-time Wooden All-American, Griner paced Baylor’s women’s basketball team to its first national championship. Griner, who was in attendance at the ceremony last year, wasn’t able to make trip to Los Angeles to concentrate on her studies, was gracious in accepting the honor.
“I am both humbled and honored to receive this most prestigious award and am extremely disappointed that I am unable to be there in person to accept this honor,” Griner said in a released statement. “To receive an award that is named after the great John Wooden, considering all that he represents not only as a coach but as a molder of character of young men and women, is one of the most cherished moments of my athletic career, and most humbling.”
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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