Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court

Kareem Abdul Jabbar is one of our most intelligent athletes ever and has always followed a different drummer. Now a committed author with books and opinion pieces in papers like The NY Times. As a fan of John Wooden I had to read this book with low expectations. They were FAR exceeded.Jabbar is a very good writer and has quite a story to tell. How could a thin, tall athlete with left leanings maintain such an intimate relationship with a much older, conservative MidWesterner? How could these two opposing personalities meld until Wooden was in his 90s? And how could this amazing athlete write such a touching, compassionate story of the love and respect shared between Jabbar and Wooden? It's all here in these pages. Abdul-Jabbar was a GREAT basketball player, clearly intelligent. Most don't get a great chance at a second career. But Jabbar is a great writer/activist that deserves our attention. He's led an interesting, reflective life.Truly a special book that I could not recommend higher.

I knew Coach Wooden, his wife Nellie and daughter Nan. I've met Kareem a couple times but I don't "know" him. This book was very readable and surprisingly intimate coming from Kareem who was always quiet and not gregarious as were most of the other Wooden players I knew, and still know, from over the years. I read half the book, then while traveling across country, I listened to Kareem read the book on a CD. I eas very touched and having known Coach Wooden, I cried in several places. He was a truely wonderful man and this book shows that plus the fact that he was also human, not a saint, but a beautiful and wonderful man. I am blessed to have been part of the Bruin family during many of the years that Coach Wooden was coaching. I couldn't more highly recommend this book to anyone. It would be a terrific book for a father, mother, or parents together to read to their children or play the CD of Kareem reading it himself. There are many lessons young people coud learn from both Coach & Kareem.

I am not a big basketball ball fan since the Knicks have stunk for the last 20 years. I always rooted for Larry Bird's Celtics against the Lakers. I always perceived Kareem to be arrogant. Always heard about the legend of John Wooden but heard he was kind of racist. This book was such a great read I didn't want to put it down. Have such respect for Kareem now having read this book which chronicles his growth not only as a professional basketball player but as a complex human being. Feel the same way about John Wooden after reading this. The anecdotes about the racism Kareem and other African American players faced and how an older white coach from Indiana handled it are compelling for their humanity and how he learned to adapt. This book was enjoyable and I highly recommend it.

My book club read this book, which is the only reason I would have read it. I'm not a sport fan, but I am a fan of memoirs and learning about relationships. Jabar is a surprisingly easy writer to read even when the topic is basketball. His style is conversational and gently revealing. I didn't know his conversion to Islam was based on spiritual reasons, not political. I didn't know Wooden put becoming a great ball player as the 5th item of what is important for his players to learn. It was a delightful book full of surprising information about Wooden and Jabar.

Every parent should read this and try to pass these lessons on to their children. He was an inspiration for all of us.

Loved the book. It was an easy read. So engaging that I read it in a couple days. I highly recommend this book. I enjoyed reading about Kareem and Coach Wooden’s relationship. Made me long for yesteryear when college sports was much more about prepping young men into good humans instead of just getting them ready for the pros.

Having grown up during the UCLA heyday ('60-"70s), this book brought back a lot of memories for me. That's especially true because I was a student at and a huge Memphis fan. Kareem was a phenomenal player and Coach Wooden, a great teacher and man. I loved the fact the two of them were such good friends and learned so much from one another. The bond they had was admirable and proves that people of different backgrounds and cultures can, and do, learn to be friends and respect one another, when they give it a chance. Well-written and great read whether you're a sports fan or not. It was terrific!

I read this book because of being a long time fan of basketball. I couldn’t stop reading it. I already knew that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was an excellent author since I’ve read other things written by him. I was surprised by how many things I didn’t know about their lives. It made me cry when reading about the racism that Kareem faced since his childhood and the tragedies in their lives. In 1984 -1988 a friend and I used to see Kareem eating lunch in a Westwood, California restaurant but didn’t want to interrupt his meals. Their friendship is one that all people should be lucky to have. Strangers used to think that my dad was Coach Wooden because they both had narrow faces and grey hair. My dad was taller than him and younger. Their personalities weren’t alike. I used to wish my dad had patience and compassion for others as described in this book. He was flattered by the mistake since he admired Coach Wooden. My dad passed away in 2007 so I can’t share the book with him. He would have enjoyed it, too. We watched a lot of UCLA and Lakers’ games together. There wasn’t anything that I disliked about it.

Coach not as coach.

A really good and enjoyable read, exploring friendship, life, development and the challenges of America over the past 50 years.

This book goes well beyond basketball. I really recommend it.

Very good account of the various stages in their relationship. Some vignettes of the Power Memorial and UCLA days, as well, including his recruitment (Alcindor, that is). I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Abdul-Jabbar and/or Wooden.

Un libro excelente, bien escrito y que narra la amistad de por vida entre uno de los mejores jugadores de la historia del baloncesto y el nombrado mejor entrenador de Estados Unidos de cualquier deporte. Una obra muy recomendable para todo aquel que quiera profundizar en una relación muy interesante que trasciende los límites de la cancha y deja muchas lecciones para la vida.