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Wooden on Leadership
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Kareem was known as Lewis Alcindor, Jr., when he played for
UCLA. During his three years on the varsity team, the Bruins
won three consecutive NCAA championships and 88 of the 90
games on our schedule. Had he been allowed to play basketball
his first year at school—freshmen were ineligible back then—I
believe UCLA might have won another NCAA championship.
My reason is simple: In a preseason game, Lewis’s freshman team
easily defeated our varsity squad 75–60. The varsity Bruins had
won the NCAA championship several months earlier. Onlookers
couldn’t believe what had happened to the defending national
champions.
In fact, the score would have been even more lopsided if Gary
Cunningham, coach of the freshman squad, hadn’t pulled the
starters, Lewis included, from the floor in the last minutes of
play. Nevertheless, he scored 31 points, with 21 rebounds against
the NCAA national basketball champions. (Some reporters
thought that I’d be upset about the loss, but I took comfort in the
fact that in 12 months Lewis would be wearing a UCLA varsity
uniform.)
His presence obviously had a profound, positive, and lasting im-
pact on our program. But before it did, something had a profound
impact on Lewis. That “something” was values. I believe Lewis’s
story—like my lesson in Cleveland—has meaning for any organi-
zation; specifically, that good values attract good people.

BASKETBALL IS ABOUT MORE
THAN BASKETBALL
When Lewis Alcindor, Jr., was a student-athlete at New York’s
Power Memorial High School, he was gaining national fame for his
great physical skills and ability to play the game of basketball. He
was also an outstanding student who came from a good home. Col-