Chris Erskine of the LA Times talked to Blair Buswell, the sculptor of the soon-to-be-unveiled statue of Coach John Wooden, and takes us through the thought process, the details, and the difficulties in capturing the "essence" of one of the icons of American sport.

When they finally unveil the monument, you'll see him on his three-foot pedestal, eight feet tall and staring slightly to his left in the same way he gazed out on his players on the court.

Wooden's arms will be folded (of course), and he'll be clutching a game program. He'll be standing — something Wooden seldom did while coaching.

And if sculptor Blair Buswell had his game on, the moment should be full of goose bumps. Fortunately, the former Brigham Young running back almost always has his game on.

"My whole thing from the beginning was trying to catch the essence of Coach," the sculptor says, "rather than sweating the right shoe laces or the right tie."

And while the larger Bruin nation has not yet had a chance to lay eyes on Coach's likeness, one individual who has has given it what could be called the ultimate stamp of approval:

Nan Wooden isn't worried in the least.

"That was very typical of Daddy," she says of the arms-crossed pose and the facial expression. "I really think the statue is everything he would've wanted."