NCAAM, NCAAF
Dear Bruin Family,
Dear Bruin Family,
I am a Bruin. I have never met
John Wooden. I have never met Ben Howland. I have never met Jim Mora.
I believe I know John Wooden,
Ben Howland, and Jim Mora. I know them because they have taught me and continue
to teach me. They have been exceptionally good teachers because they are an
essential part of my family, the Bruin Family.
Professors Wooden, Howland, and
Mora can be as inspirational and instructional as any academic professor, especially
when you attend one of the best sports schools of all time.
I need to share stories of my
continuing education even though I ended my formal undergraduate education at
UCLA in 2010.
In early 2011, I faced a
difficult time in my life. I had
personal health issues that required my immediate family to take care of
me. With their help and the support of
my extended family, including the Bruin variety, I recovered to where I now
feel that I am a better and stronger person than before my illness.
While I worked my way back to good
health—a day at a time—I read the writings of John Wooden’s book with Steve
Jamison:
WOODEN
A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off
the Court
This book was great to “drink
in.” It was not the novel ideas that
stuck with me. It was the reinforcement of ideals and values that I already had
acquired over the years from my family, my friends, my teachers, my community,
and from my own sense of self. In what was the least confident time of my life
I received a boost of confidence from John Wooden. It carries weight when John
Wooden tells you that you are a good person.
Ben Howland provided the best
entertainment of my college experience. From my first year, he gave me three
straight Final Fours. That was fun, but I think I loved his defense even
more. Watching the way in which he
produced championship caliber teams was entertainment in its purest form. He was only denied full vindication in the
record books because of two practically unbeatable Florida teams and a Memphis
team with one of the best players that plays basketball. I know that if those UCLA teams re-matched
the original victors 100 times each, Ben Howland would not allow the Bruins to
win less than 51.
Ben Howland was successful at
his dream job. Unfortunately, he was fired this year. He was fired because he
did not give what people demanded—wins and more trophies. I know he did
everything in his power to achieve wins without compromising how to be
successful. He was fired the year he
refocused a young team with no depth to win the conference season title. That
was magical work. He lost the conference tournament final and early in the big
dance because a tragic injury made overcoming depth issues too big to overcome,
for any man or team. The injury was
tragic because Jordan Adams injured himself committing to play elite Ben
Howland defense. Adams did not give up before the job was done. The job got
done that evening thanks to Adams and the entire UCLA team, but bad breaks can
happen to good people. Muhammad got the hype and the honors, Anderson got the
honorable mention, and Adams earned the title of the most essential player in
2012-2013 season. (By no means am I forgetting the leadership and record
performance of Drew or work ethic of the Wear twins down to the last man on the
bench. If people blindly focus too much
on the freshmen, then I must adapt to speak their language.)
Ben Howland was not successful
at UCLA because he went to three straight final fours. He was not successful
because he trained players that “somehow” do well in the NBA. He was not
successful because UCLA won conference titles or tournaments. He was successful
because he was a Coach in every essential way Wooden would envision. For those
of you who still demand “results,” here is one that a true Bruin should know:
John Wooden died on June 4, 2010. Ben Howland was coach of UCLA Men’s
Basketball on June 4, 2010. John Wooden went to rest peacefully knowing a man
like Howland was coaching his family.
I have a friend that knows Ben
Howland professionally and I imagine personally. While other students, media, and fans
criticized him, she never spoke ill of him to me. Far too many would salivate
at the opportunity to say negative things in a similar professional
relationship. Never once did I hear any malice or regret directed at
Coach. She is a Bruin. In fact, I was
lucky enough for her to share with me small things about Coach Howland that
made me laugh more than she knows. I never asked for her to share a story to
make me smile. She did anyway.
I have another friend who was
born with Bruin Blue blood. He was bred into the family. I was lucky enough to
be adopted in my teen years. One time at a home game, friends and I spotted
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar across Pauley. He was schmoozing with what we thought were
little kids. Then we realized Kareem was actually engaged with our die-hard fan
of a friend. We laughed. Kareem is really that tall. We were jealous and could
not be happier for our friend.
Today, I watched what Jim Mora
is cooking. The team played well in the first half while making mistakes. The players played as a team for each other
while honoring a fallen member of their family. Their mistakes were the reason
UCLA trailed at halftime. It did not matter. They were already prepared and
ready to end the game before it started.
UCLA went back to work in the second half. Beautiful. A Memorial win.
Watch Jim Mora’s post game
interview. Ignore the questions and drink in what you feel. There is not a wasted word, a compromising
emotion, or an unearned praise. That is how a Coach should perform. It is no
surprise that Mora’s team responded to the model he provides.
Bruin Family, please do not
forget the importance of the education we all receive from each other. Please,
do not demand a National Championship from Mora. Expect that he can deliver one, and one day
maybe he will. That will be a nice
trophy, but it will be moot to the education that UCLA gives. We are proud of our versatile education
because our educators are professors, mothers, fathers, coaches, and
friends.
It took more seasons for John
Wooden to build a championship team than it took for him to set the record for
“most championship winning coach.”
Love,
Bruin for Life