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

A Coach’s Highest Compliment

One of the finest things a player could say about me after he left the team was that I cared every bit as much about him as an individual as I cared about him as an athlete.

It was important to me because I really did care about them. I often told the players that, next to my own flesh and blood, they were the closest to me. They were my extended family and I got wrapped up in them, their lives. Their problems. There was a great deal of love involved in my coaching. That’s what a team should be to a coach.