John Wooden 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

I found the bench to be the greatest ally when I had to make individuals comply with what was best for the team — John Wooden

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

You'd like to see your team reasonably happy, but that's not your job. Gain their respect and get them to accept their roles — John Wooden

Loyalty is a cohesive force that forges individuals into a team. — John Wooden

The goal in life is just the same as in basketball: make the effort to do the best you are capable of doing — John Wooden

Characteristics of a Team Player We all fit into different niches. Each of us must make the effort to contribute to the best of our ability according to our own individual talents. And then we put all the individual talents together for the highest good of the group. Thus, I valued a player who cared for others and could lose himself in the group for the good of the group. I believe that quality makes for an outstanding player. It is also why the best players don't always make the best team. I mean by this that a gifted player, or players, who are not team players will ultimately hurt the team, whether it revolves around basketball or business. Understanding that the good of the group comes first is fundamental to being a highly productive member of a team. — John Wooden

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

The true athlete should have character, not be a character — John Wooden

I believe in the basics: attention to, and perfection of, tiny details that might be commonly overlooked. They may seem trivial, perhaps even laughable to those who don't understand, but they aren't. They are fundamental to your progress in basketball, business, and life. They are the difference between champions and near champions.
For example, at the first squad meeting each season, held two weeks before our first actual practice, I personally demonstrated how I wanted players to put on their socks each and every time: Carefully roll the socks down over the toes, ball of the foot, arch and around the heel, then pull the sock up snug so there will be no wrinkles of any kind. — John Wooden

When the legs go, the heart soon follows — John Wooden

I do not want players who do not have a keen desire to win and do not play hard and aggressively to accomplish that objective. — John Wooden

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

Do passing drills that come from your offense. — John Wooden

The more concerned we become over the things we can't control, the less we will do with the things we can control — John Wooden

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

The team is the star, never an individual player. — John Wooden

I discovered early on that the player who learned the fundamentals of basketball is going to have a much better chance of succeeding and rising through the levels of competition than the player who was content to do things his own way. A player should be interested in learning why things are done a certain way. The reasons behind the teaching often go a long way to helping develop the skill. — John Wooden

I always tried to make clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere. — John Wooden

You must have respect, which is a part of love, for those under your supervision. Then they will do what you ask and more. — John Wooden

I also wanted my basketball players to know that I really cared about them. Forget basketball; as a person, I cared, I cared about their family. — John Wooden

I never let our players get satisfied, I never let our Coaches get satisfied, I was never satisfied. We can always do it better. — John Wooden

The better conditioned team will probably win in the long run. — John Wooden

The greatest ally you have to get things working well and the players performing as a team is the bench. Don't be afraid to use it, either for the star player or anyone else. — John Wooden

Although I wanted my players to work to win, I tried to convince them they had always won when they had done their best. — John Wooden

Intensity makes you stronger. Emotionalism makes you weaker. — John Wooden

I am not a strategic coach; I am a practice coach. — John Wooden

We may not be the best conditioned team in the country, but our players think they are. — John Wooden

Ability may get you to the top, nut it takes chracter to keep you there - mental, moral, and physical. — John Wooden

1. Be on time. 2. Never criticize a teammate. 3. Never use profanity. — John Wooden

In 1948, I began coaching basketball at UCLA. Each hour of practice we worked very hard. Each day we worked very hard. Each week we worked very hard. Each season we worked very hard. Four fourteen years we worked very hard and didn't win a national championship. However, a national championship was won in the fifteenth year. Another in the sixteenth. And eight more in the following ten years. — John Wooden

The best competition I have is against myself to become better — John Wooden

John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach, says you aren't a failure until you start to blame. — Carol S. Dweck

It is most difficult, in my mind, to separate any success, whether it be
in your profession, your family, or as in my case, in basketball, from
religion. — John Wooden

It's not how big you are, it's how big you play — John Wooden

Remember this, the choices you make in life, make you. — John Wooden

Our titles would not have been possible without the unselfishness displayed by all our teams, the team wins, not the individuals — John Wooden

Team spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all. That defines a team player. — John Wooden

Once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player. — John Wooden

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Make friendship a fine art. — John Wooden

When people ask me now if I miss coaching UCLA basketball games, the national championships, the attention, the trophies, and everything that goes with them, I tell them this: I miss the practices. — John Wooden

I believe it's impossible to claim you have taught, when there are students who have not learned. With that commitment, from my first year as an English teacher until my last as UCLA basketball teacher/coach, I was determined to make the effort to become the best teacher I could possibly be, not for my sake, but for all those who were placed under my supervision. — John Wooden

Promise yourself to make all your friends know there is something in them that is special and that you value. — John Wooden

A Coach must never forget that he is a leader and not merely a person with authority. — John Wooden

We can have no progress without change, whether it be basketball or anything else. — John Wooden

Conditioning is essential to success in basketball. — John Wooden

Reverse the ball one time for a good shot, two times for a great shot, three times for a layup. — John Wooden

If you do the following three things, you will be successful in major college basketball. If you don't do them, it will be most difficult." He didn't say it would be impossible - typical of John Wooden - but he said it would be difficult. I was scrambling for my pen when he said, "Those three things are fairly simple: Number one, make certain, Dale, you always have better players than anybody you play. Now, with that locked up, make sure you always get the better players to put the team above themselves. And number three - this is very important, Dale Brown," he said, "don't try to be some coaching genius, or give the guys too much information, or too much stuff; always practice simplicity with constant repetition. — John Wooden

I tried to teach them [his sons] that about the importance of self-discipline, and that the culture of yes is built on a foundation of no. — Bill Walton

I would spend almost as much time planning a practice as conducting it. Everything was planned out each day — John Wooden

It's important to keep trying to do what you think is right no matter how hard it is or how often you fail. Never stop trying — John Wooden

It's not what you teach, it's what you emphasize. — John Wooden

Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile. — John Wooden

Be quick without hurrying. — John Wooden

Doing the best you are capable of doing is victory in itself, and less than that is defeat. — John Wooden

As a leader, you will receive a large amount of praise and criticism and you should not unduly affected by either. — John Wooden

I continually stress to my players that all I expect from them at practice and in the games is their maximum effort. — John Wooden