Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court

Writing: 4.5; Theme: 5.0; Content: 4.5; Language: 5.0; Overall: 5.0

This was a wonderful biography/memoir of the fifty-year plus relationship between arguably the greatest coach of all-time and one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. Kareem shares so many wonderful moments between him and his coach- John Wooden. They had their differences, but through it all they mutually respected one another. As Coach Wooden, I didn't agree with Kareem on certain issues, but he was fair and he shared the principles that shaped him, respectfully. Kareem and Coach Wooden were both very highly-principled men. It was well written and was quite touching. Highly recommend to sports fans and biography readers. Great!

***May 2, 2023***

What attracted me to this book was that I had always admired Coach John Wooden for his attention to being a good person above all else. Also I saw the President Obama give the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and wanted to learn more about him too. I was not disappointed. This is a true gem of a book. The key word is friendship, one that lasted 50 years.

I am from Indiana, the home of Hoosier Hysteria so basketball has always been my favorite team sport. I was surprised to learn about the Coach's early connections to Indiana. One thing that made him very different from other coaches is that winning was not the ultimate goal, preparation was. This is the same thing that I realized in college and grad school. show more Do everything possible to prepare, do your best and that is your reward. This meant that he was not like some coaches, to bust up a coke machine because of a lost game. I have seen great coaches and some not so great and he definitely was a great coach.

Also I feel very happy that Kareem opened up about his childhood and what it was like being teased for being so tall and also for being so open about the racial slurs that he has experienced. It was a difficult subject but the two tackled more and more as their friendship grew.

I love this book for its frankness, its gentleness and the mutual respect that that the two had for each other. I highly recommend it for all who want to learn about friendship, life and being the best that you can be.

I received this Advance Reading Copy by making a selection from Amazon Vine books but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review. I also posted this review only on sites meant for reading not for selling show less

A heartfelt and moving tribute to the legendary Coach Wooden. Kareem Abdul-Jabar minces no words and puts his heart and soul in these pages. He talks of their ups and downs; Coach Wooden's encouragement, advice, and friendship. Not just for basketball fans, this book highlights how to not only take good advice, but to truly live it. Inspiring and heartfelt this book moved me to wipe my eyes more than a few times. Not only do you learn about Kareem's life, but you learn about Coach Wooden's, most importantly though the reader learns hows their lives intersected repeatedly until a solid friendship had been formed between a 7 hoot tall New York black man and a white hick Midwesterner. A Beautiful read.