Who could come close to John Wooden standards? An assembly line of top-drawer coaches tried. They came and went. Five in 13 years. In 1988, almost desperate, UCLA turned to little-known Jim Harrick to lead the Bruins back to their former glory. In 1995, Harrick -- the former junior high teacher who rose slowly through the coaching ranks -- led UCLA to the national championship. Not alone of course. He was aided in no small measure by Tyus Edney's miracle shot at the buzzer against Missouri and by the team's masterpiece game in the final against defending national champion Arkansas.
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UCLA won 10 NCAA college basketball titles in 12 years under legendary coach John Wooden. The five coaches who succeeded Wooden were all successful by any reasonable standard, but at UCLA, they were considered failures. Along comes Jim Harrick--not the first choice for the job--who slowly set out to rebuild the program. His efforts culminated in last spring's NCAA championship. Harrick's memoir tells the UCLA story, of course, but it is really the professional memoir of a lifetime coach. Harrick fully intended to be a career teacher and fell into coaching almost by accident--he spent 9 years as a junior-varsity coach in Inglewood, California. It was a long way from that first job to an NCAA title 31 years later, and Harrick relates the sometimes humbling journey with self-deprecating humor and surprising personal insight. Along the way, he discusses the current state of the college game and the issues that swirl around it, such as payment for athletes and lucrative shoe contracts for coaches. The lesson here? Sometimes nice guys finish first. Wes Lukowsky
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Common Man,
By A Customer
This review is from: Embracing the Legend: Jim Harrick Revives the UCLA Mystique (Hardcover)
What I can't really construe is how an individual with so much knowledge and love for the game of basketball, be it in Los Angeles, Rhode Island, or Georgia, would have the stupidity and ignorance for the morality of life? How can an individual be blessed with so much greatness in teaching kids the essence of one sport up and turn his back on young men who need a sense of integrity and direction in life for the next 50 years after their career in sports has ended? It would be absolutely hypocritical for us to say that we are all Saints...but to continuously try and outfox the world and disregard our mistakes and values in life is merely capital punishment! I hope one day in the near future THE COACH can sit back and see that what is the most valuable ingredient in this short period of life is not the fame and fortune but the decency to be honest with oneself and to others.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Common Man,
By A Customer
This review is from: Embracing the Legend: Jim Harrick Revives the UCLA Mystique (Hardcover)
What I can't really construe is how an individual with so much knowledge and love for the game of basketball, be it in Los Angeles, Rhode Island, or Georgia, would have the stupidity and ignorance for the morality of life? How can an individual be blessed with so much greatness in teaching kids the essence of one sport up and turn his back on young men who need a sense of integrity and direction in life for the next 50 years after their career in sports has ended? It would be absolutely hypocritical for us to say that we are all Saints...but to continuously try and outfox the world and disregard our mistakes and values in life is merely capital punishment! I hope one day in the near future THE COACH can sit back and see that what is the most valuable ingredient in this short period of life is not the fame and fortune but the decency to be honest with oneself and to others.
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