13SEEK SIGNIFICANT CHANGE

“Be uncomfortable being comfortable, discontent being content.”

THE 1961–1962 SEASON would be a turning point for UCLA basketball, one that eventually produced 10 NCAA championships including seven in consecutive years and an 88-game winning streak. I had no idea it was all about to happen.

At the beginning of the season, I’d been coaching basketball at UCLA for 13 years in conditions I would describe as harsh, perhaps as bad as any major university in the country. Our practice facility, the Men’s Gym, was cramped and poorly ventilated and often jammed with student-athletes participating in other sporting activities during our basketball practices. There was constant commotion and distraction—hardly a place to teach ...

Get Wooden on Leadership now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.