Page 85 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Good Values Attract Good People
and Lewis had watched UCLA outscore Duke in the national 67
championship game a few days earlier. Coach Donahue went on
to say that his young student-athlete had narrowed the list of col-
leges he was considering down to five. UCLA was on his short list.
He suggested we talk further at an upcoming coaches’ clinic the
two of us would be attending at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. I
agreed.
At the clinic, Coach Donahue asked a few questions about our
program at UCLA and told me about Lewis—his family, academic
achievements, attitude, work ethic, ability to get along with team
members, and more. Coach Donahue indicated that Lewis wished
to visit UCLA and meet me at a later date.
I had a single request: Could UCLA be the last on the list of
schools that Lewis visited? Coach Donahue said he would pass my
request along to Lewis and his family. During his trip to our
campus—even though it rained the whole time—Lewis realized
that we had much to offer, including a new sports facility, Pauley
Pavilion. It would replace the old Men’s Gym and be ready for use
by the time Lewis arrived.
Nevertheless, other schools had good basketball programs and
excellent facilities. Additionally, all of them offered something very
important that UCLA lacked, namely, they were much closer to
Lewis’s friends and family in New York. In other words, he had a
number of alternatives—many fine schools and opportunities—
when it came to making a decision on his future.
Why did Cora, Lewis’s mother, and Lewis Alcindor, Sr.—and
their son—choose UCLA? There were several reasons, but four in
particular resonated with the young man and his parents. All four
reasons had to do with their values. And those they found at UCLA:

Evidence of equality: One evening while Lewis and his parents
were watching the old Ed Sullivan Show, Ed Sullivan went