Mr. Wizard

Lot's of people joining the facebook site for the blog.....thanks!

Hope you enjoy this story about two legendary basketball coaches...Ken

JOHNNY WOODEN AND DENNY CRUM

There is nothing like college basketball.

If I had to rate my favorite yearly sporting events, they would be in this order; the NCAA college basketball tournament, the Masters, the Super Bowl, the US Open golf tournament, and then the World Series.

There is something about college basketball; the purity of the game and the excitement of single elimination provide a drama that no other sport can come close to for me. The George Mason’s and Gonzaga’s of the world knocking off the Duke’s and UCLA’s on a last second shot is electrifying and mesmerizing. I absolutely love NCAA basketball.

Actually, any state high school basketball tournament is almost as good. Although I was able to compete in sports at a very high level, to this day my worst athletic loss was being upset my senior year in the Illinois high school state tourney by a team from South Beloit, Illinois who was 6-6 in our conference and had only made it that far by hitting a buzzer beater half court shot to win by one point the previous game. I can remember my coaches Bill Barry and Roger Cannon with tears in their eyes after that loss. They loved the game as much or more than I did, and it killed me that we weren’t able to win it for them. I did learn a valuable lesson though; never underestimate your opponent. In my opinion, you can learn the best lessons sometimes in the most difficult of circumstances.

NBA basketball doesn’t come close to college bball. The guaranteed contacts and lack of emotion and hustle provide a funeral like pall over most of the games I have attended. Even though the league sports the “best of the best” in talent, something is missing. Keep the pyrotechnics and scantily clad cheerleaders. Spill your guts on the floor if you want me to buy a ticket.

I was having dinner with a friend recently in Philadelphia when he recognized an acquaintance and waived him over to the table. It was Harold Katz, the former owner of the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers. We were introduced, and in my effort to make small talk, I asked him if he missed owning the team. He replied, “not at all”. I was puzzled by his answer, so I asked him why. He responded, “how would you like to own a business where you guarantee all the salaries before they start work, and then they can tell you to go f*** yourself if you say anything to them about their performance”? It was blunt language, but I got the picture. I quickly crossed owning an NBA franchise off my bucket list.

As a member of the Memphis State basketball team for two years, I had the privilege of participating in the Metro conference tournament at the end of each season. My junior year it was held at the University of Cincinnati, and being the college hoops nut that I am I attended every game our coach would allow me to. Many of the guys stayed back at the team hotel eating and watching movies. I was at the arena soaking up the atmosphere. At one preliminary game I found myself sitting next to a familiar figure; legendary Louisville basketball coach Denny Crum.

Denny Crum was the top assistant for someone whom I believe is the greatest coach in the history of sports; UCLA’s John Wooden. As I introduced myself to Coach Crum and chatted a bit, all I could think of was the wealth of experience he must have gleaned from Wooden. Anyone can coach X’s and O’s, but Coach Wooden took it farther. I’ve read where he never talked to his team about winning, only about playing and preparing as best they could, and yet they won. How about 10 NCAA championships and seven in a row? Now that’s winning! And Denny Crum participated in that success with Wooden helping him to three of those titles as an assistant before becoming the Head Coach at Louisville in 1971, where he won two national championships himself.

I’m sure I bored him during our twenty minute talk. He probably at one point thought I was planted there by the Memphis coaches to distract him while scouting his next opponent. But he was very nice and polite and we shook hands as he left his court side seats to huddle with his assistants. I shook the hand that shook the hand of the greatest coach in sports history. For a basketball junkie like me, it doesn’t get much better than that.

I thought I would leave you with John Wooden’s seven point creed. It applies not to basketball, but more importantly, it applies to life:

Be true to yourself.
Make each day your masterpiece.
Help others.
Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
Make friendship a fine art.
Build a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Thanks Coach Wooden for your wisdom, and thanks to you Coach Crum for your patience … with a young man with stars in his eyes, and the courage to try and accomplish extraordinary things.

And I might add this; treat each day like its your single elimination NCAA tournament game. But like Coach Wooden, don't play to win. Play the game right, and you're sure to come out a winner.