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Goodbye.
Coach Wooden (nearly always "Coach" to everyone in Pauley Pavilion) had retired the year before I graduated High School..
But, even before I went to UCLA as a student, I went to UCLA Basketball games and Coach and his wife were sitting in the stands. Lower level, a few rows above the UCLA bench.
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I don't think there were many games where he wasn't there - a touchstone for the Bruins. He didn't hold press conferences and complain about his legacy, he didn't go coach somewhere else and coach for a zillion dollars. He was always charming and supportive. When interviewed about the Bruins he was always positive about the school and supportive of whatever coach was there.
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He was a gentlemen decades after it had moved from sweet to quaint to obsolete.
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The UCLA family, the basketball family and sporting family has lost a hero in him.
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His wife Millie attended each game with him until she was too ill. She passed away in 1985 after 53 years of marriage. Right after that, we named the court for him (there is a "Wooden Center" as well) and he was pleased, but he never looked for fame.
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Long after he left, he continued to hold Camps, both in Basketball and Leadership (he felt they were the same). Many of my friends, but most of all Steve Coyne, attended these and he (like my friend Clay) brought Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success into his life.
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Take a look at Coach Wooden's pyramid - it is a legacy as important as the Championships - and just as familiar to true Bruin fans (although we don't brag about it nearly as much as the 10 National Championships ;-) .
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I remember pointing John Wooden out to Ed at our first game. Ed was a little surprised to see him in the stands the first time - the guy was just sitting there - not mobbed - no huge amount of attention. After Nellie passed away Coach Wooden sometimes came with family, sometimes with famous players and coaches he knew - but always just as a fan of the game and the school. Eddie quickly got used to the quiet gentlemen. Coach Wooden made everyone (even a Badger) a member of the family.
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