by Seth Davis
First published 2014
John Wooden built the most dominant dynasty in college basketball history. His UCLA teams won ten NCAA championships in twelve seasons during the 1960s and 1970s, including an eighty-eight game winning streak that remains unbroken. But success came with a price. Seth Davis draws on over two hundred interviews with players, coaches, and Wooden himself to reveal the man behind the legend. From his All-American days at Purdue through his early coaching career to the championship years at UCLA, Wooden fought for every victory. At the peak of his success, he faced mounting tensions with alumni, referees, assistants, and even his own players. Stars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, and Walt Hazzard speak candidly about their complicated relationships with their coach. Davis shows how Wooden's relentless pursuit of excellence created both triumph and turmoil, revealing a coach who taught lessons while learning them himself.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, sports, basketball, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, mentor-mentee
Setting: UCLA
Period: 1960s, 1970s
608 pages · Hardcover · Times Books