John Cox Basketball Quotes & Sayings

No matter how you total success in the coaching profession it all comes down to a single factor - talent. There may be a hundred great coaches of whom you have never heard in basketball, football, or any sport who will probably never receive the acclaim they deserve simply because they have not been blessed with the talent. Although not every coach can win consistently with talent, no coach can win without it. — John Wooden

What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player. — John Wooden

I don't have to say to you or anyone in our WRESTLING community that we are a small world unto ourselves and there is often a big difference in how much we love and understand each other and how little we're understood or appreciated by people who spend their weekends watching basketball. — John Irving

John Stockton is one of the true marvels, not just of basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization! — Bill Walton

I do not judge success based on championships; rather, I judge it on how close we came to realizing our potential — John Wooden

Good players can take coaching; great players can take coaching and learn. — John Wooden

I sing the 'Star Spangled Banner,' so I can get into football, basketball and baseball games for free. — John Cullum

If you are honest with yourself and can look into a mirror and believe that you have given 100 percent, you should feel proud. If you cannot, then there is more work to be done. — John Havlicek

My philosophy of defense is to keep the pressure on an opponent until you get to his emotions — John Wooden

I tried golf for a while, but I wasn't very good at it, so I didn't play a lot of golf. I enjoy all sports, not just football. I like basketball, baseball, and I got into the World Cup. So really, sports in general are my life, and football specifically. — John Madden

I've got five grandkids. They play baseball, they play football, they play basketball. I go to all the games. You always have that urge to say something when you're watching them. But I've learned to keep it to myself. I've blurted out some things and embarrassed myself. — John Madden

What we do at LSU is to develop players and make them better. — John Brady

Writing 'Hoop Roots' was a substitute or a surrogate activity. I can't play anymore - my body won't cooperate - so in the writing of the book, I was looking to tell a good story about my life and about basketball, but I was also looking to entertain myself the way that I entertain myself when I play. — John Edgar Wideman

Magic Johnson is the best player who plays on the ground, and Michael Jordan is the best player who plays in the air. — John Paxson

Make friendship a fine art. — John Wooden

Teamwork is not a preference, it is a requirement. — John Wooden

The goal in life is the same as in basketball: make the effort to do the best you are capable of doing
in marriage, at your job, in the community, for your country. Make the effort to contribute in whatever way you can. You may do it materially or with time, ideas, or work. Making the effort to contribute is what counts. The effort is what counts in everything. — John Wooden

I always say to my guys, 'The most important day of your life is today. This very minute is the most important of you life. You must win this minute. You must win this day. And tomorrow will take care of itself. — John Chaney

If you let social activities take precedence over your academic activities, then you will soon lose your basketball activities. — John Wooden

Freshman want to play. Sophomores want to start. Juniors want to score. Seniors want to win — John Beilein

Generally speaking, individual performances don't win basketball games — John Wooden

The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. If you can improve players' self-esteem and confidence, get them to relax, teach visualization and routine, they will shoot as well, or better, with the pressure on. — John Calipari

Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness, and prosperity as often as possible. — John Wooden

There is nothing, I think, more unfortunate than to have soft, chubby, fat-looking children who go to watch their school play basketball every Saturday and regard that as their weeks exercise. — John F. Kennedy

I always stress condition with my basketball players. I don't mean physical condition only. You cannot attain and maintain physical condition unless you are morally and mentally conditioned. — John Wooden

Promise to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit trouble to press on you. — John Wooden

When I was teaching basketball, I urged my players to try their hardest to improve on that very day, to make that practice a masterpiece.
Too often we get distracted by what is outside our control. You can't do anything about yesterday. The door to the past has been shut and the key thrown away. You can do nothing about tomorrow. It is yet to come. However, tomorrow is in large part determined by what you do today. So make today a masterpiece. You have control over that.
This rule is even more important in life than basketball. You have to apply yourself each day to become a little better. By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better. Only then will you will be able to approach being the best you can be. It begins by trying to make each day count and knowing you can never make up for a lost day. — John Wooden

Growing up, my parents were very, very strict. And then I went to UCLA with John Wooden, who was just off the charts. — Bill Walton

Losing is only temporary and not encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it. — John Wooden

I'm playing the guys who are going to fight. If you're not into this, I'm going to someone else — John Calipari