Pete is no John Wooden, that is for sure.

by muircoach on Jan 2, 2009 12:18 PM PST Comment 25 comments

I have had this argument with my Trojan friends (yes, I have some) who don't give John Wooden the proper credit because they said he got all of the talent that he wanted and had no competition. Well, that is just a farce, and 10 championships in 12 years speaks for itself, as well as the man and what he is all about. But that is not my purpose of this post, instead it is to argue another point......that of Pete Carroll.

Has any coach in America been "less" suceessful than Pete Carroll when considering that with all that talent, he only has one National Championship to show for it? No, that AP championship is not a championship. If you don't hoist the crystal ball, you aren't the champs!

Anyways, Pete Carroll is a great recruiter. We can admit that. However, when it comes to coaching, he is average at best. Is there any other coach in the country, in any sport, that when he takes the field he has a better player at every position than the coach across from him? I haven't thought of one yet. Not Coach K at Duke, not Phil Jackson with the Lakers, not Bill Belicheck with the Pats. Only Pete Carroll, of all the coaches around, always has better players at every position that the coach he is coaching against. And what does he do with that talent? One true national championship (2004-2005) and many of memorable losses. How about 13-9, how about losing to Vince Young and Texas, the debacles against Oregon State.....and do I need to mention Stanford? Yet, after every Rose Bowl and playing an overrated Big Ten team, Pete and Co. always say they are the best and they are being robbed. The facts are that Pete goes into every year with supreme talent, only to figure a way to "screw it up". In college football, with the talent he has, he only has a few games each year where his team has to play their best to win........maybe one or two games each year. The other games, they just have to show up and give a decent effort. Hell, this year they were losing to Stanford at halftime, were challenged by our Bruins, were threatened by an average Arizona team.......yet, here we are after beating a bad Big Ten team listening to them get cocky and give out the usual Trojan belllyaching!

John Wooden won with great talent, not an easy feat. Pete Carroll figures out a way to lose with great talent, and is never called out for it. He has had the best recruiting classes in the country for something like a billion years in a row, and no BCS title? I won't even talk about the men when it comes to integrity and respect, that isn't even worth the discussion. However, if there ever was a coach who has done less with more than Pete Carroll? Well, I would like to meet him.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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If Wooden's feat was based on the talent:

Why hasn’t it been done since then by UNC, Duke, or UNLV. UNC in particular had the pick of the litter for many years. After Coach Dean retired, it was Duke that could name whoever they wanted and they would come. To a lesser degree, UNLV was dominant in the late 80s and early 90s and came closest to an undefeated season, losing in the National Championship game to Duke. At that time, Tarkanian was easily one of the best coaches in the game, and with back to back National Championship appearances, he could have any recruit he wanted. And none of them came close to doing what John Wooden was able to do.

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Jan 2, 2009 12:44 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

The Shark!

I actually know Jerry, and my fiancée and I are good friends with his son and daughter in-law. Jerry would say that UCLA’s success was due to them being one of the highest paid basketball teams in LA(behind the Lakers).

by IronBruin on Jan 6, 2009 11:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Shark

Hey, I was at his daughter, Jodie’s Wedding. Were you there, too?

by bornagainbruin on Jan 7, 2009 11:21 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Coach Wooden

accomplished what he did by walking his talk, living by his Pyramid of Success, and remaining true to those principles, win or lose. This, of course, drew those with talent and, critically, those of character, to him, to learn from him.
“Success” is not a trophy, not at all. It is what Coach still has, and Cheatie will never have.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Jan 2, 2009 1:32 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Wooden's talent

was clearly the best from 1967 through 1969 and 1972 through 1974 (though the Bruins lost that year). But in 1964, Duke had an all-American guard and two 6-10 inside men and got destroyed by a Bruin team with a 6’5"" center and a 6’2"" forward. In 1965 Michigan was favored over the Bruins, and 6’0" Gail Goodrich completely outplayed 6’5" Cassie Russell. The Wicks-Rowe-Patterson teams of 1970 and ‘71 weren’t supposed to win, but 6’8" Wicks stuffed Jacksonville’s 7’2" Artis Gilmore and the Bruins won in ‘70. And who can forget 1975, when UCLA was considered an also-ran in a field of Indiana (which lost in the regionals), Kentucky, and Louisville, but the underdog Bruins won anyway. It wasn’t always talent that made the difference. It was discipline, attitude, endurance, speed, and style. It was the fast break and the zone press and the high post rotation that’s still called UCLA in drills. It was drawing satisfaction from being the best you can be. All of us who lived through that era drew inspiration from Coach, and it has guided our lives as much as it has those of the basketball players.

by Herodotus on Jan 2, 2009 4:12 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

WELL SAID

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Jan 3, 2009 1:58 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Ditto

Well said.

by Bruinut on Jan 3, 2009 7:21 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Technically 1 BCS title

But were they really the champs that season? I recall another undefeated team that season that possibly could have been the champs… not that it will stop the usc shills and the people at HH to dust off the record books to claim more mythical national titles based on some obscure poll.

by UCLA4Life on Jan 3, 2009 1:25 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Carroll vs Wooden.

The only thing about John Wooden’s team’s is they won with class, Unlike USC who when i was at the game yesterday saw the USC team jumping up and down on there sideline and Rey Malaluga coming out onto the field taunting the Penn State fans. I don’t think any USC player know’s what the word class is. Since they don’t attend it and certainly don’t demonstrate it on the field.

by MonroviaBruin on Jan 3, 2009 2:48 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

what the...

how dare people but the two names together…shouldn’t be done in the same sentence, let alone in the same conversation…

by bruin_98 on Jan 4, 2009 12:40 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

If Pete could win 5...

If Pete could win 5 national titles in 6 years, with and without the best talent in the country, he would have to do it all over again to equal Coach in the number of championships. But then he would have to go back in a time machine and perform well enough to be college player of the year and Hall of Fame player to match Coach. And then the tiebreaker would be what is really the most important: character. Who is the better man? Can anyone imagine Pete writing the Pyramid of Success?

by ucla7477 on Jan 5, 2009 10:11 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Pete's Pyramid of Success

/ Cheat \

/ Bend the rules – Complain to referees \

/ Lie with a smile – Insult other coaches – Never accept a loss \

/ Pay your players well – Promote violence – Revel in your greatness – Never take responsibility \

But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.

by tasser10 on Jan 6, 2009 8:29 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

please please please please please

can someone please work with this and turn into an awesome graphic!!!!!!!

by UniversityofSecondChoice on Jan 6, 2009 8:47 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Let's see if this works:

But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.

by tasser10 on Jan 6, 2009 1:37 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

great work!

you should put this in a separate post!!!!

by UniversityofSecondChoice on Jan 6, 2009 2:03 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Tasser

You have a great knack at these graphics. Fun stuff.

by Barnes2JJ on Jan 6, 2009 2:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

We could add...

Commitment to Arrogance
Recruit Anyone — Poor Grades and Criminal Records Welcomed
Resent Successful Coordinators
Never Discipline — You Never Know how a Thug Might React
“Success is peace of mind knowing you did something very wrong and got away with it”

by ucla7477 on Jan 6, 2009 4:24 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Up to you,

now, to start a list of would-be PC quotes, as corrupted versions of the gold from Coach.

"Success is peace of mind knowing you did something very wrong and got away with it"

I’ll chime in with:

Be quick, but don’t get caught.

by Bruinut on Jan 6, 2009 8:38 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Pete says:

The team that makes the most felonies usually wins.
I always talk to my players about winning. ( I mean, what am I supposed to talk about, schoolwork, integrity, morality, contribution to society?)
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. I can ‘t do this, so I don’t try.
It is what you do, not how you do it.
What you are as a person is far less important than what you are as a football player.
Victory is the greatest of all words in our language.
Make each day your photo op.
I have always tried to make clear that football is the ultimate.
Young people need models, preferably supermodels.
I never told our players that our team condition depended on two factors: how hard they worked during practice and how they behaved between practices.
A man may make mistakes, but he isn’t a failure if he starts blaming someone else.
Be prepared and be honest. Choose one.
Sports do not build character. Especially in my program.

by ucla7477 on Jan 6, 2009 9:21 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs