Chapters 22 - 24 Summary and Analysis

Coach Wooden talks more about Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jaabar) in chapter twenty-two. He says Alcindor was the finest big man to play basketball up to his time. In addition to his skills on the court, Coach Wooden says he was intelligent and showed exceptional control of his emotions. He was instrumental in helping the UCLA team win its third consecutive NCAA title.

He compares Alcindor to other athletes, saying he was like Wilt Chamberlain in all-around ability. He notes that Alcindor shot at least 50 percent in 87 of the 88 games he played for UCLA. The only game that fell below those statistics was when he had vertical double vision in an eye that had been scratched two weeks earlier.

A fourth consecutive title did not follow, but the team did win again the following year. It was important to Coach Wooden...