Page 244 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
226
Almost from the start of the season, injuries and illness began to
hamstring our team. Everything seemed to change practically over-
night: Edgar Lacey broke a kneecap; Freddie Goss went down with
a mysterious flulike condition; Kenny Washington pulled a groin
muscle, an injury from which he never fully recovered. In a matter
of weeks, fate dished up more misfortune than in the two previous
years combined.
Not only didn’t we defend our national championship, with a
10–4 record we didn’t even win our conference title. So many cir-
cumstances had worked against us that were beyond our control.
Nevertheless, you make the best of what you’re given. I reminded
myself that during the two preceding seasons fate had smiled on
our program.

FATE REMOVES A WEAPON
When officials outlawed the dunk in 1967 it was ostensibly to stop
players from hanging on to the rim and occasionally shattering the
backboard. However, it also had a direct effect on Lewis Alcindor,
Jr.; specifically, it took away one of his strong offensive weapons.
Certainly it would be easy to bemoan what happened.
Although I supported outlawing the dunk for several reasons, in-
cluding the fact that it turned into a showboating device, Lewis felt
the action might have been directed specifically at him. I told him,
“Lewis, this will make you a better player because you’ll have to de-
velop additional aspects of your game. And, don’t worry, when you
go to the NBA you’ll still remember how to dunk.” And I was right.
He subsequently developed possibly the greatest offensive
weapon in the NBA: Kareem’s sky hook. He turned a negative into
a positive, a disadvantage into a great advantage. (A few years after
Lewis and Bill Walton left college basketball, the dunk was allowed
back in the game.)