LOS ANGELES (AP) -Former UCLA basketball coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden was hospitalized in Los Angeles on Thursday night, according to Bill Walton.
The former UCLA star said the 99-year-old Wooden was at UCLA Medical Center, where Walton last visited with him two days ago.
Walton spoke at the NBA finals, where he declined to comment on Wooden’s condition.
“He’s the greatest,” Walton said, his voice catching. “We love him.”
Los Angeles television station KCAL and the Los Angeles Times first reported that Wooden was in “grave” condition.
The Times cited an anonymous school source who said Wooden’s health has been an issue in recent weeks and that he was briefly hospitalized about a month ago.
UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins told The Associated Press he spoke to a Wooden family member Thursday evening and that the family asked that no other information about Wooden be released.
eswoman Roxanne Moster said she couldn’t confirm whether Wooden was there or not because it would be a “violation of medical privacy laws.”
Family members couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday by the AP.
Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships – at one time winning seven in a row – during a 27-year run that ended with his team cutting down the nets one last time in 1975.
The Bruins won 88 consecutive games from 1971-74 and 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games from 1964-74, both records.
NBA commissioner David Stern was asked about Wooden’s contributions to the sport of basketball before Game 1 of the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
“We decided that we would not declare his obituary now, other than to say that he’s the winningest coach in our history, four 30-0 seasons, and the ultimate aficionado of our game,” Stern said. “We hope he’s in peace right now, and we’ll wait on events.”
Add A Comment