Your Favorite Coach Wooden Quotes

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes”

One of the best things about Coach’s quotes is that they are relevant to all parts of life not just sports.

Coach told a story about the day after his team won the first championship. He was leaving the hotel with Nell feeling pretty smug, and got hit on the head or on the shoulder by a giant bird dropping. He said something to the effect that you’re never really quite as big a deal as you might think you are.

I’m sure there will be some people who remember that quote, but I wish I could find it.

As a point of contrast, during last night’s NBA draft, John Calipari said it was "the biggest day in the history of Kentucky basketball." Apparently, those seven national titles Kentucky has won mean nothing compared to the day five Wildcats bolted early and were drafted in the first round. Absolutely pathetic. Hey Cal, have you ever heard of John Wooden? Yeah, he never had five guys drafted in the first round but he won 10 titles. Priorities, priorities…

when wil you have time to do it over?"

(One of my favorites.)

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“When you’re through learning, you’re through.”

So many great ones, but this one is my favorite.

Ones I like from Part II alone…and this is probably enough to fill up a fanpost on its own:

In my coaching, I informed every player who came under my supervision that the outcome of a game was simply a by-product of the effort we made to prepare.

We may not have won a championship every year. We may have lost games. But we had no failures. You never fail if you know in your heart that you did the best of which you are capable.

If you prepare properly, you may be outscored but you will never lose.

You can make mistakes, but you aren’t a failure until you start blaming others for those mistakes.

I have never gone into a game thinking we were going to lose. Never. Even though there have been games where the experts said there was no way we could win. Even if we were big underdogs I always felt anything could happen. Often enough, I was right. That’s also why I never assumed we were going to win.

I believe in the basics: attention to, and perfection of, tiny details that might commonly be overlooked. They may seem trivial, perhaps even laughable to those who don’t understand, but they aren’t.

I had no desire to become a mustache inspector as part of my daily responsibility. Thus, no mustache at all.

I never dreamed about winning a national championship. It happened before I even thought it was possible.

People usually know what they should do to get what they want. They just won’t do it They won’t pay the price.

There is great joy and satisfaction in competing against an opponent who forces you to dig deep and produce your best.

I hear the saying, ‘Follow your bliss’ now and then. It’s probably good advice – unless you pick something that’s not so good to be your bliss. I think Timothy Leary followed his bliss.

The jersey and number on it never belong to just one single player, no matter how great or how big a ‘star’ that particular player is. It goes against the whole concept of what a team is. The team is the star, never an individual player.

The recognition I received at UCLA was not all that important. Recognition appeals to the ego, but it is a secondary consideration and is often counterproductive.

It is given for what was done in the past and can take your mind off what you must do to prepare for the future.

It is best not to drink too deeply from a cup full of fame. It can be very intoxicating, and intoxicated people often do foolish things.

No one is an overachiever. You can only give what you have, and you have only 100 percent.

The very worst thing you can do is to beat yourself. By that I mean not function to your level of competency because you didn’t put out your full effort in all ways.

My coach at Purdue, Piggy Lambert, constnatly reminded us, “The team that makes the most mistakes will probably win.”

I could have made Kareem the greatest scorer in college history. I could have done that by developing the team around that ability of his. Would we have won three national championships while he was at UCLA? Never. Besides, he wouldn’t have wanted that. He was a very unselfish player, the best kind of player, one who put the welfare of the team ahead of his own personal glory.

Promise yourself to make all your friends know there is something in them that is special and that you value.

Promise to give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

I came to understand that losing is only temporary and not all-encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again.

I’ve also learned that winning games, titles, and championships isn’t all that cracked up to be, and that getting there, the journey is a lot more than it’s cracked up to be.

I understood that ultimately the winning or losing may not be under my control.

Many years ago, a friend told me that the best thing a coach can do is to always come close.

To worry about whether what I’m building is going to be better than what somebody else is building elsewhere is to worry needlessly. I believe that if I’m worried about what’s going on outside, it will detract from my preparation inside.

I think someone who is too competitive as an individual is overly worried about the final score.

Because of our lack of a real home court an unanticipated benefit occurred. Our team became a much stronger road team because we were virtually on the road all of the time.

Adversity often produces the unexpected opportunity. Look for it. Appreciate and utilize it. This is difficult to do if you’re feeling sorry for yourself because you’re faced with the adversity.

There are no shortcuts. If you’re working on finding a shortcut, the easy way, you’re not working hard enough on the fundamentals.

When you hurry, you tend to make mistakes. On the other hand, if you can’t execute quickly, you may be too late to accomplish your task. It’s a delicate but crucial balance.

Failure to change is often just stubbornness that comes from an unwillingness to learn, an inability to realize that you’re not perfect. There cannot be progress without change — even though not all change is progress.

Don’t compare yourself to somebody else, especially materially. If I’m worrying about the other guy and what he’s doing, about what he’s making, about all the attention he’s getting, I’m not going to be able to do what I’m capable of doing. It’s a guaranteed way to make yourself miserable.

I believe ability can get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you thre. A big part of character is the self-discipline needed to avoid complacency, resist temptation, and understand that past success doesn’t guarantee future success.

Lewis, this will make you a better player. You’ll have to work harder developing your hook shot, the little short shots off the boards, and the shots around the basket. There is no way this will do anything but make you a better ballplayer. Lewis, remember when you get to the pros, you won’t have forgotten how to dunk. When Kareem became a professional, one of his most feared shots was the skyhook, a shot he had developed and perfected after the rule change.

My nickname when I was a basketball player at Purdue was the India Rubber Man because when I was knocked down I would immediately bounce right back up and keep playing.

There is no area of basketball in which I am a genius. None. Tactically and strategically, I’m just average, and this is not offering false modesty. We won national championships while I was coaching at UCLA because I was above average in analyzing players, getting them to fill roles as part of a team, paying attention to fundamentals and details, and working well with others, both those under my supervision and those whose supervision I was under. Additionally, I enjoyed very hard work.

You must have respect, which is a part of love, for those under your supervision. Then they will do what you ask and more. They’ll go the extra distance, make the extra effort in trying to accomplish the most they can within the framework of the team.

Fairness is giving all people the treatment they earn and deserve.

Leaders don’t just talk about doing something; they do it.

Pride is a better motivator than fear. I never wanted to teach through fear, punishment, or intimidation.