Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

Bringing Out Your Best (Whatever It Is)

As a player at Purdue University I had not been blessed with height or size. Those were things over which I had no control. But the Good Lord had given me quickness and speed, and those were things over which I had some control. I focused on them with great intensity. I worked very hard on conditioning for quickness and speed.

When I graduated, Coach Piggy Lambert said I was the best-conditioned athlete he had ever seen in any sport. I had worked at it—at what I had control over.

Later, I applied the same philosophy to our teams: focus all your effort on what is within your power to control. Conditioning is one of those things. How your mind functions is another.