John Wooden was head basketball coach and athletic director at Indiana State University for two successful years in the late 40's. The legendary "Wizard of Westwood" went directly from ISU to UCLA, where he led his Bruin basketball teams to an unprecedented 10 national championships, including eight consecutive titles.
Wooden, a native of Martinsville, Indiana, led his high school team to the Indiana state finals three times, winning once. He continued his career at Purdue University, where he was a three-time All-American, and known as perhaps the finest guard of his time.
A high school coach in South Bend before World War II, Wooden entered Indiana State University after the war to earn his Master's Degree, and subsequently was named head basketball coach and athletic director.
In the two years at the helm of the Sycamore program, he led ISU to a 44-15 record and his team finished runnerup in the NAIB National Tournament in Kansas City. Indiana State lost to Louisville in the finals of that tournament.
Wooden never lost a finals again. Coaching such stars as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Lucius Allen, SIdney Wicks, Gail Goodrich, and countless other great players, he established championship records which will probably never be broken.
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Led team to two post-season tournament appearances (1947, 1948)
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Coached UCLA to 10 NCAA Championships
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National Basketball Hall of Fame, Player and Coach
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Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (1964)
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Six-time NCAA College Basketball Coach of the Year (1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973)
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Sporting News Sportsman of the Year (1970)
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Inducted into Hall of Fame February 3, 1984
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Inducted into Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame 2009
