This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

John Wooden died last Friday at the age of 99. He was one of the greatest 20th-century Americans in sports. He was an excellent college basketball player. He led Purdue University to a national championship in 1932. After college he was a high school coach. He also taught English for nine years.

But where he really made his mark was at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was head coach of men's basketball for 27 years.

His teams won a record ten national championships. These included seven in a row during the late 1960s and early 70s. The Bruins have won just one other championship since then.

An announcer described him in 1975 after his final championship victory, which was also his final game.

ANNOUNCER: "As Wooden enters the playing court, he receives a standing ovation from an overflow crowd and true to the Wooden tradition, on the outside everything appears calm."

He coached famous players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, known then as Lew Alcindor, and Bill Walton.

Several years ago, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke at a ceremony honoring John Wooden. He said many top athletes worry they will be exploited for their skills by their coach.

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR: "That never, ever had a possibility of happening in my experience at UCLA because of this man here. He really wanted myself and all of us who participated in the program to get our degrees and learn what it meant to be a good citizen, and to be good parents and husbands and responsible human beings. And that was the most important thing for him."

John Wooden was praised for how he taught the basics of the game, like passing, defense and moving without the ball. But he also offered life lessons as a speaker and author. His books included the self-improvement guide "Pyramid of Success."

At a speaking event when he was already in his 90s, he explained that his father had taught him a few things about success.

JOHN WOODEN: "I was raised on a small farm in southern Indiana and Dad tried to teach me and my brothers that you should never try to be better than someone else. Always learn from others and never cease trying to be the best you could be. That's under your control."

Those words later helped him with his own definition of success.

JOHN WOODEN: "Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction and knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable. I believe that is true. If you make the effort to do the best of what you are capable, trying to improve the situation that exists for you, I think that is success and I do not think others can judge that."

His wife of 53 years, Nell, died in 1985.

At UCLA the man known simply as "Coach" had a record of 620 wins and 147 losses. Current coach Ben Howland calls John Wooden "the greatest coach in the history of basketball."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, with reporting by Nico Colombant and Jim Stevenson. You can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Jim Tedder.

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（來(lái)源：VOA 編輯：陳丹妮）