Here at UCLA Wire, we’re dealing with an uncomfortable situation for both football and men’s basketball. Both programs are facing noticeable difficulties after previous successes. A lot of Bruin fans are depressed at the state of their football and men’s basketball operations (although DeShaun Foster might provide some hope). It’s exactly the right time to taste a little nostalgia for the past and the most famous coach in UCLA history.
John Wooden is the gold standard by which all other college sports coaches are measured. Not even Bear Bryant or Adolph Rupp or some of the other iconic coaches in college sports had the dynastic run Wooden and UCLA enjoyed from 1967 through 1975. UCLA won eight national championships in nine seasons. The Bruins won seven national titles in a row. Can you imagine that happening today? Imagine how that would play on social media and on television in the modern age. Of course, the NCAA Tournament was much smaller back then, but the accomplishment is still astonishing.
Nick Saban retiring at Alabama as — in many people’s eyes — the greatest college football coach of all time gives UCLA Wire a chance to remember what it was like when John Wooden, the greatest college basketball coach who ever lived, retired in 1975.
Let’s take a trip down Memory Lane, helped by Trojans Wire editor Matt Zemek. I talked to Zemek about Wooden-Saban comparisons, the final season for Wooden at UCLA, and the events that followed his retirement after a storied career in Westwood: