McCarter reflects on Wooden’s achievements
Andre McCarter spoke at Pauley Pavilion Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the passing of John Wooden.
By Daily Bruin Staff
June 6, 2010 8:49 p.m.
When Andre McCarter first heard of the Presidential Medal of Freedom ““ and all of the attributes of past winners ““ he couldn’t think of a better person for the award than his former coach.
That’s why in the late 1990s, the former Bruin point guard started the campaign to get John Wooden the highest civilian award in the United States.
But McCarter knew he had to keep it under wraps. There would be no telling Coach ““ or anyone else, for that matter.
“You can’t tell people, because they run their mouths,” McCarter said. “He didn’t like you to call people to do things in regard to him.”
“The only way I could approach it was to maybe not get the volume that I wanted, but to go to his boys.”
And so McCarter went to Wooden’s “boys” ““ those former players who still revered their coach ““ with a goal to get players from each of the four decades Wooden’s career spanned on board.
It’s hard to believe that when he first got to Westwood, McCarter didn’t see eye-to-eye with the legendary coach.
Heavily recruited out of Philadelphia, McCarter decided to join UCLA ““ which had won its fifth straight national championship ““ in 1971, and brought his flashy game with him.
That didn’t exactly fit the Bruins’ style of play, and McCarter was quickly introduced to John Wooden, the disciplinarian.
“I came from a basketball environment where we were trying to entertain while we were playing,” McCarter said. “That just didn’t wash with Coach Wooden.”
“On the 3-on-2, because of my great dribbling abilities and vision, instead of making the basic pass, I liked to put a little flavor on it, and then get the guy the ball. Coach Wooden didn’t like that, so we kind of hit heads in the beginning. At the beginning I didn’t understand … why I had to not do things the way I was. But I made a decision to stay, and adhere to and try to understand what he was saying about the game.”
McCarter quickly adapted to his new coach and found success in return. By his sophomore year, he was a starter, and during his junior year ““ the 1974-75 season ““ he played every minute of the NCAA tournament as Wooden won his 10th national championship in what would be his final season as head coach.
Twenty-five years later, McCarter was fighting to get Washington to honor the coach who changed his life. He had 30 hand-written letters from different players during Wooden’s years at UCLA, but could not get a response from the White House.
“I had gotten to the point where I was frustrated,” he said. “I said, that’s enough, I’m not going to let them defeat me. Every year for the rest of my life I’m going to send these letters for Coach to get nominated. I’m just going to put it in the mail, not calling no senators or politicians, just put it in the mail.”
McCarter’s work finally paid off after three years of campaigning. George W. Bush presented John Wooden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House on July 23, 2003.
“But all his players will tell you, the most important man on that team was not on the court,” Bush said, referring to Wooden. “He was the man who taught generations of basketball players the fundamentals of hard work and discipline, patience and teamwork.”
Reflecting after his coach and longtime friend passed away, McCarter fondly looked back to that summer day when he got to see John Wooden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom draped around his neck.
“To see him actually go in and get the award,” McCarter said, “was monumental.”
