When you're 97 years old you should probably be spending whatever limited amount of time you have left doing the things you love to do. Like playing shuffleboard, or watching Matlock. If you're John Wooden, that probably means spending some time around UCLA and its men's basketball team.
Unfortunately for the legendary Wooden, the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that Wooden is the greatest threat to this country's youth (even more than bears). As the L.A. Times reports, the NCAA is after him.
Just before the start of this college basketball season, UCLA received a letter of inquiry from the NCAA, seeking information about possible illegal contact between a recruit and a person representing the interests of the university.Are you kidding me? The NCAA has decided to go after the man that helped make the game relevant in the first place? Did Congress subpoena Babe Ruth today as well for their steroid hearings?
The recruit was Kevin Love, now the Bruins' star freshman center.
The person representing the interests of the university was John Wooden.
The NCAA has not disclosed who made the complaint.
The problem the NCAA has with Wooden stems from the fact that Wooden had contact with Love before he committed to UCLA. The coach even had dinner with the family. Of course, since he's still a paid employee of UCLA, Wooden's visit with Love would seem to be entirely legal.
So I really don't think this inquiry is ever going to get anywhere, but the idea that it even exists just blows my mind.
He's 97-years old! Leave the man alone.
What's he going to do? Give recruits tips on where all the good early bird specials are around campus?
(Thanks to SportsbyBrooks) Sorry, No Photos
Comments (Page 1 of 12)
Please tell me you're kidding.
This is the kind of chickensh*t that makes people pine for the NCAA's demise.
These are the people that probably used to get embarassed and beaten by john Wooden's team in the past. This is the only way of beating him maybe because Wooden's past teams were unbeatable. Leave the man alone.
I don't understand.
If you are Kentucky basketball, for example, why is not okay for one of your staffers to visit and talk with a player and his family but it is okay for Coach Wooden to do so?
Do you think that he would advise a player NOT to go to UCLA?
Oh, and please enlighten me, at what age or due to which accomplishments exactly does someone become above the law?
The rules exist for all. You want to change them, no problem; but don't start picking and choosing when they should be enforced. That's one of the biggest issues with the NCAA as it is.
Rules are rules and everyone should have to obey them. The problem, however, is that most of the recruiting rules from the NCAA are stupid and shouldn't be there in the first place.
I don't understand, nothing wrong seems to have transpired. If no wrong-doing has occurred, why is the NCAA taking action?
YGBSM...the NCAA has finally gone off the deep end. They need to clean up their own house before that start going after great-great-great granddaddys. John Wooden is probably the number one coach in college basketball history that has helped it make it what it is today. They'll be going after Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny next!
Wonder why we as sports fans wish each and every board member of the NCAA could be in a plane crash. John Wooden is and will always be the king of college basketball. I grew up playing his system, taught his press to hundreds of kids and will always be amazed at what he accomplished doing things the right way. Shame on the NCAA and it's outdated system. Apologize and kiss Mr Woodens ass while begging for forgiveness.
Wooden cheated from day 1...what does age have to do with it. Once a cheater, always a cheater. I don't always agree with the NCAA & their rules are absolutely laughable, but Wooden has always felt he's above any rules. To me, it totally tarnished his "accomplishments". He may well be the best coach ever. He may have the greatest basketball mind ever...which makes it even more mindboggling that he would stoop to lower levels to win.
give me a fing break the ncaa is a bunch of idiots
were always trying to deny greatness for our own personal gain... who put ncaa basketball on the map so know it's worth millions in tv right's ......john wooden and the ucla briuns of the sixties& early seventies
Dude,
If you are going to write publically, you really should learn the difference between "its" and "it's" and use them appropriately.
“Its” is possessive as in “its infinite wisdom” or “its men’s basketball team.”
“It’s” is a contraction of “it is” as in “it’s a good idea to know how to write properly.”
BTW, cool picture of Cartman.
Kevalou, I'm curious: what specific things are you referring to regarding John Wooden allegedly cheating? Coach Wooden may be the most honest man on the planet. What supposed facts are you looking at to back up your (ridiculous) claims?
It is not against the rules for a UCLA representative to talk with, eat with or admire a potential recruit. If it were no University would be able to recruit until the committment was in place. Then the person would not be a recruit but a student of the University. This is just so much BS.
If the kid went to UCLA based on John Wooden and his dinner then thats illegal and he knows it. It is a stupid rule that also comes from a group of people that will not allow coaches to text message potential recruits.
Hey N. James...The irony is palpable here. You criticized the author for his use of it's, its, etc., and actually went through the demeaning methodology of defining the use of it for him, and yet you didn't even spell publicly correctly?
LMAO
Yeah, oh yeah, John Wooden is definitely a threat to the integrity of the process of recruiting B-ball palyers to UCLA. He's a crafty of geezer, eh?
Let's see. The leadership of the NCAA flies around on private jets, stay at four-star hotels, charge their meals to NCAA-issued credit cards, attend banguets and golfing outings paid for by university presidents, and hob-knob with the CEOs of Nike, Addidas, and K-Swiss.
In the meantime, student athletes are barred from taking "in-season" jobs even if they can't make ends meet. Forget the fact that the vast majority of the athletes in the major college sports who need the most help come from the most impoverished backgrounds. No temptation there even when they see their more affluent teammates sporting Lincoln LX SUVs, such as the one now being driven by the University of Missouri quarterback. (No issues there; his daddy bought it for him)
There was a time when "student-athletes" received "stipends" from their schools in additrion to their scholarship monies. That arrangement changed with the influx of African-American athletes to major college sports programs. I guess it became too expensive for the schools to pick up the check for a Big Mac and fries.
Big money donors have been perverting for several decades the entrance procedures of many of the most prestigious schools of law, medicine, business, engineering, computer sciences, and denistry. But, no one has been even remotely interested in policing the connection between who gave what to whom and whose son, daughter, niece, nephew, or grandchild got into Harvard Law School as a result.
Oh, but those student-athletes and sneaky old men such as John Wooden. That's where we must take a stand, dammit! Wooden's butt is the grass and the NCAA would now appear to be the lawnmower.
Justice will prevail!
Jesus Christ could be next; but, He's already been crucified.
Let's find Bin laden and forget about going after a legendary coach who probably made an honest mistake, if even that.
The truth be known, more NCAA violations probably occured under Wooden's watch at UCLA than any other 3 teams combined.
Fire away!
13. Kevalou, I'm curious: what specific things are you referring to regarding John Wooden allegedly cheating? Coach Wooden may be the most honest man on the planet. What supposed facts are you looking at to back up your (ridiculous) claims?
May you someday receive the LAVISH treatment UCLA's recruits received from boosters during Wooden's reign.