I don't know of anyone that disputes the fact that John Wooden is the greatest basketball coach who has ever lived. His UCLA basketball teams won ten NCAA National Championships in twelve years, including seven in a row. In his book entitled Wooden, he begins with this story:

My Dad, Joshua Wooden, was a strong man in one sense, but a gentle man. While he could lift heavy things men half his age couldn't lift, he would also read poetry to us each night after a day working in the fields raising corn, hay, wheat, tomatoes, and watermelons.

We had a team of mules named Jack and Kate on our farm. Kate would often get stubborn and lie down on me when I was plowing. I couldn't get her up no matter how roughly I treated her. Dad would see my predicament and walk across the field until he was cl…