John Wooden created the UCLA basketball program. He inherited a program that was mediocre, at best, in the Pacific Coast Conference, going 12-13 the year before Wooden came in.
Under Wooden’s leadership, he began by winning 4 straight conference championships. From that ostentatious beginning, Wooden built the UCLA program to unprecedented levels.
- Four undefeated seasons. No other college basketball coach has more than one
- Ten national titles
- And his never-to-be-broken record: Seven straight national titles
Part of Wooden’s lore is that he recruited Lew Alcindor — one of, if not the greatest college player of all time — by saying that he was building a new basketball arena just for him. If he would only come to UCLA!
Of course, Lew Alcindor came to LA, was a part of 3 national championship teams, and was the MVP of the tournament each of those 3 years. Imagine that!
A careful watcher could have seen this coming, though. After the June 1965 completion of Pauley, it hosted its first basketball game that fall: an exhibition between the NCAA Champion varsity team, and the freshman team led by Lew Alcindor. The freshman team won!
And Pauley Pavilion became an icon of college basketball. That began with the building’s dedication in 1965. A renovation was announced in 2007, and completed this year. The first game is on Friday against Indiana State … ironically, the first college team coached by John Wooden.
Here’s a photo collection of the new Pauley Pavilion, taken today at the public open house. A new statue of John Wooden was unveiled a few days ago; it’s on the north side of the building, facing UCLA’s intramural fields.
Reblogged this on Walter's Basketball Blog. Served with Food.
Glad you enjoyed the photos. Pauley looks awesome now! Can’t wait to enjoy some games there.
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