Pistol Pete, Big Bill, Danny and the Miracles: 75 years of the AP Top 25 full of memorable moments
John Wooden was not effusive with praise
The best praise UCLA's players could expect from John Wooden was a twinkle in the eye or a slight upward curl in one corner of his mouth. After wins — and there were a lot — Wooden might give a player a pat on the shoulder or rub of the head, perhaps a nod and a quick “Good job.”
When Bill Walton produced one of the greatest performances in college basketball history, Wooden couldn't resist taking a tongue-in-cheek jab at the big redhead.
“When he got to me that day in St. Louis, he stopped, looked down at me and says: ‘I used to think you were a good player Walton until you missed that one shot,’ and then he was on to the next one,” Walton said. “He reminded me about one miss for the rest of his life.”
Walton was part of a UCLA dynasty that won 10 national championships in 12 years under Wooden, carrying on the standard set by Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). The Bruins had a prominent role in college hoops and were a fixture for decades in The Associated Press Top 25 poll, which marked its 75th anniversary this month.
