Ah John Wooden died

His civic and athletic honors seem like the achievements of many men, not just one.

He is enshrined in the basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.

He was a three-time all-state high school player — a 5-10 guard — in Martinsville, Ind., leading his team to a state title in 1927.

He was a three-time All-American at Purdue and led the Boilermakers to two Big Ten titles and the 1932 national championship.

He was a high school teacher and coach for 11 years, served in the Navy during World War II and then was hired in 1946 as the athletics director, basketball coach and baseball coach at Indiana Teachers College, which became Indiana State University. His basketball teams at the college went 47-14.

He was hired in 1948 to coach basketball at UCLA, beginning a 27-year tenure with the Bruins that ended with the 1975 national championship, his 10th. He was 620-147 at UCLA.

Wooden was a man of wisdom and patience and, on occasion when he didn't like a referee's call, of bad temper. But he rarely if ever cursed on the bench. A typical outburst from Wooden might be something like "goodness gracious sakes alive."

He gathered together his principles and philosophy of life and sports into what became known as "The Pyramid of Success," and it certainly worked for him on and off the court.

Wooden admired those who served others, and he frequently told people his greatest heroes in history were Abraham Lincoln, for his courage and his ability to say a lot in a few words, and Mother Teresa, for her passion in helping others.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2010-06-04-john-wooden-obit_N.htm