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Wooden on Leadership
                246
                        handed manner that only compounds the problem. Thus, a leader
                        must both know how to deliver criticism and teach others how to
                        receive criticism.




                        NOTES PRIOR TO UCLA’S FIRST
                        NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
                        Prior to the opening game of the 1963–1964 season that produced
                        UCLA’s first national championship, I realized we had the makings
                        of a formidable team. All our starters were returning, and they were
                        extremely well suited to the demands of executing the Press, a full-
                        court system of playing defense which we had installed the previ-
                        ous season. Coupled with UCLA’s fast-break offense, I felt that our
                        players would be strong contenders for a national championship.
                          In fact, I even wrote a little poem about my feelings and the
                        team’s future:

                          With every starter coming back,
                          Yes, Walt and Gail and Keith and Jack
                          And Fred and Freddie* and some more
                          We could be champs in sixty-four.

                          Going into the 1963–1964 season, I wrote these notes to myself
                        as reminders of where I wanted emphasis and improvement. As
                        much as I believed in the potential of our team, I realized it would
                        not be realized without continued—ceaseless—efforts to improve.
                          The notes you see here are a preseason list of things I intended
                        to work on and, if possible, perfect. It includes “work a lot” (num-
                        ber 3) on the various systems of the zone press; “work a lot on the





                        * Walt Hazzard, Gail Goodrich, Keith Erickson, Jack Hirsch, Fred Slaughter, and Fred-
                         die Goss.
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