Report: UCLA's Wooden in 'grave' condition
Former UCLA college basketball coach John Wooden looks on during the John R. Wooden Classic match between the UCLA Bruins and the De Paul Blue Demons at Honda Center. (Dec. 13, 2008) Credit: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES - Former UCLA basketball coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden has been hospitalized in Los Angeles, according to Bill Walton.
The former UCLA star said last night that the 99-year-old Wooden was at UCLA Medical Center, where Walton last visited with him two days ago.
Walton spoke at the NBA Finals, where he declined to comment on Wooden's condition. "He's the greatest," he said, his voice catching. "We love him."
Los Angeles television station KCAL and the Los Angeles Times first reported that Wooden was in "grave" condition.
The Times cited an anonymous school source who said Wooden's health has been an issue in recent weeks and that he was briefly hospitalized about a month ago.
UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins told The Associated Press he spoke to a Wooden family member Thursday evening and that the family asked that no other information about Wooden be released.
UCLA Medical Center spokeswoman Roxanne Moster said she couldn't confirm whether Wooden was there or not because it would be a "violation of medical privacy laws."
Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships - at one time winning seven in a row - during a 27-year run that ended with his team cutting down the nets one last time in 1975. The Bruins won 88 straight games from 1971-74 and 38 straight NCAA Tournament games from 1964-74, both records.
The former coach always stressed winning the right way and believed character was every bit as important as a player's performance on the court.
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are," was one Wooden adage.
In 2007, Walton said, "To play for John Wooden was the greatest thrill of my life. They were the most challenging, demanding things I've done in my life . . . In four years, Wooden taught us everything we'd ever need to know. Not about basketball, about life."
