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

Keep Priorities Straight

I stressed three important things to athletes before they joined our team and while they were students at UCLA.

I told them they were coming to UCLA to get an education, a degree. That, I stressed, should always be first and foremost in their minds. Their education would serve them well throughout their lives. Their physical skills would serve them only briefly.

“Second on the priority list,” I told them, “is basketball. This is paying for your education, but it will be meaningful for only a short period of your life now and perhaps after graduation, except for a very few.”

Third on the list of priorities was their social activities. I wanted them to be very clear that social activities were third.

I told them, “If you ...