In this video, Bill Walton is asked who is the true GOAT, Mike Krzyzewski or John Wooden?
There is an argument for both of course. John Wooden did things that no one will ever do again, winning 10 championships
including every championship from 1967 to 1973 (the others were ‘64, ‘65 and ‘74, his last game ever).
He also brought the Indiana fast break style to the West Coast, much as Everett Case and Vic Bubas brought it to North Carolina.
And his players rave still about his willingness to reach out to them and his care and concern.
Yet there was the issue of Sam Gilbert, a booster who engaged in money laundering, and was possibly involved in illicit drug businesses. He was a frightening figure to many. When Gene Bartow left the UCLA job after following Wooden, it was partly because he feared for his life.
Wooden said he had no idea about all that, but it’s kind of hard to believe. Basketball is a pretty intimate sport and you know a lot about people in your program.
Incidentally, this is exactly why we never bought that Roy Williams had no idea about UNC’s academic fraud. In our opinion, the academic advisors had to know, because they review the academics on a daily basis. If, say, Tyler Hansbrough had a Swahili class and only had to write a paper at the end of the semester, the advisors knew that. If they didn’t, they ran a risk of being fired.
And that means that the assistants also had to know, because at least one of them monitored academics constantly, because you can’t afford to have a key player flunk out because he didn’t go to class.
And if the assistants knew, then Ol’ Roy would know, too. Why? Because a situation like that had to be carefully managed – it was a threat to the entire program, which meant it was also a threat to Williams’ job and legacy, not to mention those of his assistants.
In short, everyone had to know. But we digress.
No one can knock Wooden’s ability to coach and teach basketball, but the whole Gilbert thing just reeked.
And we’re not saying Mike Krzyzewski is a saint. We’re sure Mickie K would slap that down in a big hurry.
But he never indulged anything like what Gilbert did.
But again, we digress.
Coach K coached in a vastly more challenging environment. He started at Duke in 1980 and the sport evolved dramatically. Start with the rise of ESPN, then the age of one-and-dones, then NIL, then liberal transfer rules, realignment and on and on and on.
And yet he managed to win consistently and reeled in five titles in an era of 64-team tournaments. Wooden’s titles came in an era when the NCAA tournament was between 22 and 25 teams and the field was unseeded and no one left their region, meaning that UCLA typically had a very easy path through the Western regional to the Final Four. Take 1965, for instance: the Western regional had Oklahoma City, Colorado State, BYU, San Francisco and UCLA.
The Bruins only had to beat BYU and San Francisco to get to the Final Four.
Obviously it was very different in Krzyzewski’s era.
Walton’s conclusion at the end is correct. Like most UCLA guys, his loyalty to Wooden is profound. However, despite that, his basic conclusion is that it’s not possible to decide who is best, which is a fair answer.
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