St. John's Steve Lavin on the passing of John Wooden

Here is the statement St. John's basketball coach Steve Lavin released on the passing of the great UCL coach John Wodden, 99, who died of natural causes on Friday:

St. John’s mentor Steve Lavin forged his coaching career over 15 years in head and assistant roles at both UCLA and Purdue University; the former is the program with which Wooden is most-closely associated, and the latter is Wooden’s alma mater. Lavin served as the head coach of UCLA from the 1996-97 to 2002-03 seasons and spent 12 years with the Bruins as a head or assistant coach.

"Coach Wooden leaves all of us a lasting legacy from a lifetime devoted to goodness,” Lavin said. “Coach believed the court was his classroom and basketball was a metaphor for life. He was an eternal learner and teacher. He was the best friend and mentor one could hope for. It is difficult to imagine a college basketball season without John Wooden being with us."