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There isn’t much left to be said about John Wooden, who died last night at age 99, that hasn’t been said over the last 30 years, let alone today. But every basketball fan alive will, or ought to, try and express something about a real legend’s life and work. Here goes.

Point the first: Wooden’s status as the greatest coach in basketball, no, sports, history is beyond dispute. The parameters of college basketball have changed, making it impossible to duplicate his ludicrous domination of the sport in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but it should be noted none of his immediate successors and peers rightly considered legends, most of whom dealt with the same system as Wooden, came close to matching his accomplishments. Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski and Dean Smith have won a combined nine NCAA titles, one less than Wooden.

Point the second: Why and how did that happen? Of all the statements about Wooden’s coaching, the ones that have always stuck in my mind were the testimony by his players, both during and after their UCLA careers, that practices were both more physically and mentally exacting and, most important, more interesting and enjoyable, than were the mere games on the schedule.

John Wooden’s practices were more fulfilling for his teams than competition itself. I cannot think of a higher tribute to any coach in any sport.

(This post was finished at 9:18 a.m. June 5, 2010. It was posted later because we were offline at my house due to a router failure).

posted by Michael Gee @ 11:37 AM