Brantley Watson: Coach Wooden’s influence reached the Lakers through general manager Mitch Kupchack
By Brantley Watson
Oct. 14, 2010 2:47 a.m.
Basketball in Los Angeles has a storied legacy to say the least.
When you think of hoops in L.A., undoubtedly, two things come to mind: Lakers and UCLA.
As we all know, the Lakers are currently the two-time defending NBA champions and have tallied 16 NBA championships since joining the NBA in 1948. In the college ranks, UCLA is also at the top of the heap, racking up 11 NCAA championships, tops in NCAA history.
So, surely, the two squads have to be linked on some level, right? The obvious connection is through players, most notably Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gail Goodrich, Jamaal Wilkes and others.
A question that has crossed my mind on occasion is what kind of success could John Wooden, whose 100th birthday would have been today, have had on the professional level?
Well, since he never coached professionally, what effects did Wooden have, if any, on pro basketball, namely the Lakers organization?
If he had no effect on the organization as a whole, Wooden surely had an effect on those within the organization, one of whom is current Lakers general manager and former Lakers player Mitch Kupchak.
Kupchak, who played his college ball at North Carolina, was a member of the Lakers team from 1981-1986, winning two championships during his tenure as a player in L.A. Some of his main contributions within the organization have come from behind the desk, as he took over for Jerry West as Lakers GM in 2000.
Kupchak, who received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is credited with landing the likes of Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest during his current reign as Lakers GM, and as he explains, prior to the passing away of Wooden, Kupchak maintained a 20-year relationship with the late coach.
“I got to know him over the last 20 years,” Kupchak said. “Like a lot of people, I got together with him for lunch and would go back to his apartment and sit and talk basketball. He was very gracious with his time and knowledge. That’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to share information, whether it was life experiences or just talk about basketball.”
Wooden and Kupchak first met in the early ’70s at a basketball camp, explained the Lakers GM, which is when Kupchak was first introduced to Wooden’s famous Pyramid of Success.
“You get introduced to the Pyramid of Success 30 or 40 years ago, and from then on a lot of the things that he wrote about and he talks about can be applied in life. So obviously he’s helped me off the basketball court,” he said.
During those trips to Wooden’s condominium, which Bill Walton so eloquently dubbed “The Mansion on Margate,” Kupchak said he would talk mainly about basketball and baseball with Wooden and would also seek out the late coach’s thoughts on the Lakers.
“We talked about the Lakers all the time. I would ask his opinion, to tell me what he saw, and he was kind of cryptic in his answers,” he said.
“He didn’t want to criticize anybody by name on our team, but you could kind of tell by talking to him who he was talking about, and what he liked and what he didn’t like.”
And it’s no surprise which types of players Wooden expressed his admiration for with Kupchak.
“It was clear though that he liked people who played the game the right way. In other words, great effort, great teamwork, the simple play in basketball, those kinds of things.”
In 27 years at the helm of the UCLA basketball program, Wooden amassed 10 national championships, including seven in a row from 1966 to 1973. He coached the Bruins to four undefeated seasons, as well as win streaks of 47 and 88 games.
“I wasn’t here for his greatest success … but it’s safe to say he changed the landscape in Southern California regarding basketball,” Kupchak said.
“I would even venture to say that he changed the college basketball landscape period with his success and his principles and his legacy in general.”
Wooden was also the recipient of the NCAA Coach of the Year award on seven different occasions. All of these statistics combined, to say that coach Wooden laid down the groundwork for basketball in Los Angeles would be a wise assumption.
Actually, it’s a fact.
“Pro basketball didn’t come to Los Angeles until 1960 and UCLA didn’t have great success in basketball until the 60s,” Kupchak said. “So … I happen to think basketball now in Los Angeles is really popular, and certainly, you could say it started with coach Wooden and UCLA, and continued when the Lakers came to Los Angeles in the 60s.”
Upon Wooden’s passing, Kupchak, who has been a vital piece of the L.A. basketball scene for the past decade, explained that his heart went out to the basketball community as a whole, especially in Los Angeles.
“I felt a loss for the city and for the game of basketball. I think everybody was rooting for him to get to 100. I just think there was a deep sense of loss in this city and in general, and I think that played out with the memorial service in Pauley, the reception and the people that attended.”
But in reference to Wooden’s memorial service in Pauley, clearly the overwhelming consensus was that as much success as Wooden had coaching, his contributions as a friend, mentor and citizen amount to much more than his coaching career ever possibly could have.
“I can think back to all the UCLA players I’ve met over the years and … I think the UCLA players feel the same way we do at North Carolina,” Kupchak said. “They’re proud to have gone to UCLA and to have been a part of such a select group and to be part of the legacy of such a great coach.”
Happy birthday, coach Wooden.
Want to share a memory of Coach Wooden? E-mail Watson at [email protected].
