I first saw John Wooden at court side in 1963.  My neighbors had an extra ticket for the L.A. Basketball Classic, an invitational college basketball tourney hosted jointly by USC and UCLA, which at the time shared the L.A. Sports Arena as their home court (until two years later when UCLA opened Pauley Pavilion on campus).

They said, "We're going to see Michigan with Cazzy Russel."  "Who they playing?" I asked. "UCLA."  It was the semi-finals.  As a football honk, I paid scant attention to...