I remember reading something about Sam gilbert being the real man behind John Wooden so i did a little search.
I hope you all find this as interesting as I did.
http://www.sportspages.com/content/blog....461&more=1
01.31.03
Time to be Honest About Wooden's Legacy [ By: Brian Seel ]
[email]bseel@msn.com[/email] @ 11:27:41
As Bobby Knight approaches his 800th career win, I canât help but look back at how we consistently demonize good people and yet exalt others as though thy are completely infallible. No, this isnât a column defending Knight, while it shouldnât be necessary that column will come later. This is a column about something that has bothered me for a long time. It is about a coach who is the most revered in his sport, even to this day. It is all based on a legacy that is less than pure. It is something that doesnât get talked about often enough. Given the stature this coach has attained, I am not surprised. But one of the benefits of being a blogger and not a sportswriter, is I can write about things like this.
We are going to talk about the legacy of John Wooden. We all know the records, the accomplishments. He won 10 titles in 12 years, a feat that will never again be equaled. He coached players like Walton and Alcindor. His teams ran off incredible winning streaks. You know about the pyramid of success. You know about his coaching genius.
But this is the rest of the story. What never gets talked about is how all of that talent got assembled, and how UCLA may have been the only college team in history to have their own General Manager. Sam Gilbert was that man. Gilbert was a huge booster for UCLA back during Woodenâs time. He always had a great seat, and he had unprecedented access to a college basketball program.
Dwight Chapin and Jeff Prugh wrote extensively about Gilbertâs relationship in their 1973 book The Wizard of Westwood. Gilbertâs relationship with the program starts with Willie Naulls, an All-American center at UCLA in 1956. Gilbert formed a business relationship with Naulls after he left school. Naulls would be very helpful in keeping Walt Hazzard in school in the 1960s.
Gilbert also frequently entertained players at his place at Lake Arrowhead. Here he would listen to the problems of the players and no doubt offer what support he could. Gilbert liked to refer to himself as a âsurrogate fatherâ of the players. The license plate on his car read, âPapa Gâ and he was often referred to as âPapa Samâ. The guy was just being friendly right? He couldnât possibly be one of those rich egomaniacs who enjoys the friendship of star collegiate athletes and doles out cash to earn those friendships?
Chapin and Prugh characterize Gilbert in the book as doing everything for his favored players, even picking up medical tabs for girlfriendsâ abortions. Jerry Tarkanian has told the Los Angeles Times, âEverybody knows what went on during the Sam Gilbert era. The only team with a higher payroll was the Lakers. During the Sam Gilbert era, UCLA was in a different class. All those guys lived in beautiful apartments and drove beautiful carsâ.
While one canât help but chuckle at the irony of Tarkanian challenging Woodenâs ethics, it is certainly an interesting juxtaposition. One coach, deemed a rebel, an outlaw carrying on a three-decade fight with the NCAA. The other, held in the highest esteem by those in the media, the national championship award named after him, and revered by many in his profession.
Marques Johnson, a former UCLA All-American, has downplayed the relationship Gilbert had with the players. Wooden himself, in an interview with CBS SportsLine two years ago said, âI never had him talk with a recruit and I never sent a recruit to him. I just knew that heâs one who might do things to help kids, in some way, that could get us into troubleâ.
By the sounds of it, Wooden wouldnât have had to send any recruits to Gilbert. The other players would have let them know, or Gilbert might have found them first. Trainer Ducky Drake once had to ask Gilbert not to disturb napping players on the road.
When you read the story of Gilbertâs involvement, it starts to become very clear why Wooden went 16 seasons before his first national title, then magically reeled off 10 in 12 years. As Gilbertâs involvement grew in the late 50s and early 60s so did the talent level at UCLA. Wooden was always a good coach, Gilbert provided the edge to get him the talent he needed.
What bothers me about this story, even more than the thought that somebody could buy that much influence and access to a program, is Woodenâs reaction to the whole thing. In the course of his interview with CBS SportsLine, Wooden said this, âIt (the criticism) doesnât bother me, no, because I had no relationship with him (Gilbert) and I tried to make sure my players tried to be very, very carefulâ.
Had no relationship with him? That sounds more like sticking your head in the sand. It is believable up to the point where you find out this guy was visiting playersâ rooms on road trips. Wooden went on to say, âIt does not bother me. If I had any guilt, I suppose it would bother me. But I feel no guilt at all. I did what I couldâ.
Wooden did what he could, he ignored something that was obviously wrong because he was benefiting from it enormously. The players were taken care of in ways that were clearly violations of NCAA rules. If these are the stories that come out, you can only imagine how bad what really went on was. It clearly influenced recruits to attend UCLA. With all of the advantages they already have (being in Bel Air, being in LA, near the beach, etc.) the fact that a recruit could be taken care of for four years would put them over the top. And it did, 10 times in 12 years. But they are tainted championships, every last one.
Lest some of you still think this was all innocent. Larry Brown paid the price for Woodenâs ambivalence toward Gilbert. The NCAA investigated after Woodenâs tenure, and put UCLA on probation in 1981 for two years. They also ordered the program to sever ties with Gilbert. No wrongdoing, yet they were punished, confused?
The answer is simple. The NCAA only really started to gain any kind of enforcement authority in the 1970s. By that point it was too late, the myth of Wooden and UCLA had grown. Much like the situation with Chris Webber now, the NCAA probably didnât want to know. Having a power team in the nationâs second largest TV market did wonders for the game. Had the NCAA investigated UCLA during Woodenâs tenure, they would have been forced to vacate 10 national titles in 12 years. A scandal of that proportion, at that time, might have crippled the sport.
Wooden has chosen to live off of his squeaky clean image as a great coach and teacher. He has casually ignored how his program acquired, retained, and kept very happy the talent that allowed the world to see his coaching genius. I can never hear about UCLAâs titles or see an interview with Wooden without thinking of Sam Gilbert. The man won 10 titles by cheating, and to see him held up as the ideal for all coaches to aspire to, is one of the great injustices of this world. But at least now, those of you who read this knowâ¦.the rest of the story.
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