Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court

In 1965, 18-year old Lew Alcindor, who would later change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, left New York City to play basketball for Coach John Wooden at UCLA. It was the beginning of what was to become a 50-year long relationship that ended with Kareem sitting at his 99-year old coach’s bedside on a June evening in 2010, holding his hand, just before he died. This is the story of their enduring friendship, both on and off the court.

On the court, Jabbar led UCLA to three national champions, and was named the Outstanding Player in the NCAA for each of those years-a feat that has yet to be matched in college basketball. Wooden coached UCLA for 27 seasons and won more NCAA championships than any other coach in history. Off the court, they transcended their athletic achievements to gain even wider recognition and tremendous national respect. They came together at the height of the civil rights era, and Coach Wooden made sure that every player on his team got the same opportunity and was treated equally. Even when Kareem controversially adopted the Muslim faith, and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wooden was there to support him.

Abdul-Jabbar will intimately reveal the lessons Coach Wooden taught - from putting your socks on right, to the philosophies in his famous  Pyramid of Success, - and how they shaped his life, and more generally take you back to the basics of what a coach should be.

Part memoir, and part inspirational, this book is filled with untold stories about the famous pair; private correspondence; exclusive interviews with other teammates and coaches, friends, and even family, on Coach Wooden’s impact; and much more.