Top Five John Wooden Quotes

Every once in awhile a coach comes along that changes the way their respective game is played. John Wooden was one such coach.

Wooden was successful, not because he was a great basketball strategist, but because he demanded excellence from his players. As head coach of the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team, Wooden led the Bruins to 10 National Championships in a 12 year span, including 7 championships in a row. This stretch of dominance is one of the greatest team sports feats in history.

Wooden was not only a basketball coach to his players, but a mentor in life as well. He was and still is widely known for the inspirational messages he gave to his players. Here is my selection of the top five John Wooden quotes:

5. "Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."

Coach Wooden not only had wise words of wisdom, but he had the dedication and determination to back his words up. Wooden compiled a career record of 885-203 and he is the only coach to lead his team to four different undefeated seasons.

4. "Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts."

Wooden was the first and one of only three men to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach and as a player.

3. "Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

To John Wooden, his faith came first and greatly influenced his life.

2. "What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player."

Many of the great basketball players that Wooden coached, including Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton, considered Wooden their close mentor. The legendary coach not only wanted his players to be good basketball players, but good men as well.

1. "Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character."

As aforementioned, Wooden led his team to seven consecutive championships. He had an inate ability to get the very best out of his players

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