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SoCalHoops Tournament News

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The Last John R. Wooden Classic
As We Know It? Could Be. . .--(Nov. 28, 1999)

We attended the Sixth Annual John R. Wooden Classic yesterday and saw Stanford finally learn how to break Auburn's press, and Duke hammer USC in the end, but there was one much more disturbing and unsettling moment during the event. One that has us worried about it's future. . . and we're not talking about Coach Wooden's health. He's 89 years old, and appears to be in great shape, chipper, alert and as always, impeccably dressed and sharp.

But something else was nagging at us throughout the Duke v. USC game. . . Could it be we were witnessing the last and final John R. Wooden Classic at the Pond? Perhaps the final college basketball game to be played in Southern California with the name "Wooden" appended to it?

No one said anything about this being the last such great event, at least not up front and not publicly yesterday. Wooden lives here in California, in Encino to be specific. His children and grandchildren all live, as he is fond of noting "within 55 miles of me." He doesn't travel much these days, but when he does travel it's often to Indiana and his hometown of Martinsville, where he sometimes makes a stop at Poe's Cafeteria and visits the graves of his parents, and his beloved Purdue University where he was a three-time All-American. Wooden is an Indiana native, and a state treasure for the Hoosiers, where he was raised, played, and taught school.

But he's also a SoCal treasure, UCLA's most-prized legend, and those 11 banners hanging from the rafters at Pauley Pavilion, ten of which are his, the first of which wasn't earned until he'd been coaching in Westwood for 17 years, all attest to the fact that he's become our institution too. But maybe not for long. Sure there's a "Wooden Center" at UCLA, but the real John R. Wooden Center should be Pauley Pavilion. For the last six years, it's been the Arrowhead Pond at Anaheim which has functioned as the real heart of Wooden basketball, a seemingly strange place for an event which features as it's namesake the greatest coaching legend UCLA will probably ever have. But if Pauley doesn't want to claim this event, Indiana certainly does.

No one said anything yesterday, at least not directly, about an end to the John R. Wooden Classic, but likewise, there was no announcement forthcoming about the 7th Annual John R. Wooden Classic. The Atherton Communications group which runs the event didn't say a word about it. But something else which was said spoke volumes about the direction this event is headed.

Here's why we think we may have witnessed the last John R. Wooden Classic, at least for the next five years: About midway between the end of the Stanford v. Auburn game and the start of the Duke v. USC game, the "jumbotron" video screens on the overhead scoreboard flashed a message about a new event, which will take place in Indiana next year at Conseco Fieldhouse. . . it's going to be called the "Wooden Tradition," and it's going to be a college basketball doubleheader to be played in November each year for the next five years. . . . The announcer proudly proclaimed: "The Wooden Tradition. . . Next Year In Indiana."

No cheers from the crowd. Just a hushed silence. Huh? Indiana? Wooden Tradition. Hey, we've got our own "Wooden Tradition" and it's here every year, right where it's been for the previous five years. Tradition indeed. Somehow, we had a strange feeling that someone wasn't telling us the whole story. . . We had a feeling we were witnessing the Sixth and final "John R. Wooden Classic" Every year for the previous five years, the official program for the Wooden Classic has always announced the next year's four participants, as a kind of "look who's coming next year" teaser. But not this time.

This year's program for the Sixth Annual John R. Wooden Classic makes no mention whatever of the 7th Annual Wooden Classic. What it does contain is equally disquieting: There's a glossy article with a photo spread on this new thing, this college doubleheader which is going to be called "The Wooden Tradition."

The "Wooden Tradition?" What's that? Hey, Indiana, get your own tradition. The man has lived here for the last 50 years. You may have raised him, but he's our tradition.

This year's official program explains what the "Wooden Tradition" is, or rather what it's going to be, with a reprint of an article written by Bill Benner of the Indianapolis Star/News, in which he describes a banquet which took place in Indiana this past September where the "Wooden Tradition" game was announced. Here's what Benner wrote, describing the banquet:

The schoolboy from Centerton who became the gentleman from Martinsville, the All-American from Purdue, the English teacher from South Bend and finally, the Wizard of Westwood at a faraway college named UCLA, had come home to Indiana.

The good news was, this time we get to keep him.

At least we have the pleasure and privilege of retaining his name, his legacy, his place in Hoosier basketball tradition and --most importantly--the dignity and humility he represents.

The occasion [of the banquet] was the announcement of the John R. Wooden Tradition. It wil be a major college basketball doubleheader at Conseco Fieldhouse to be played, beginning next year, every November for at least the next five years and maybe far into the new millennium.

* * * * *

His alma mater, Purdue, is committed to the first three Wooden Traditions with an option for the next two. The Boilermakers' first opponent on November 25, 2000, will be Arizona, featuring Indiana Mr. Basketball's Luke Recker and Jason Gardner. Notre Dame and Cincinnati will play in th eother half of th edoubleheader. While Purdue will be a constamt in the Tradition field, other teams will change.

As we read the passage above, and looked at the pictures of the new Conseco Fieldhouse, we started to get a sick feeling. An uneasy feeling. We searched the program thoroughly, frantically, looking for dates and teams for the 7th Annual John R. Wooden Classic. But nothing. Nada. Zero. No announcment at all of a 7th Annual John R. Wooden Classic. Oooh those Atherton folks are smooth. Just a subtle and confusing announcement of something called the "Wooden Tradition," an event with a different name, but which will be played at just about the same time as the Wooden Classic has been played every year for the previous six. Could it be that there will be both a Wooden Classic and a Wooden Tradition? Who knows. . . but we're beginning to suspect that we've just witnessed a little bit of history, perhaps more historical than anyone knew, when we watched the awards being given out at the Sixth Annual John R. Wooden Classic yesterday by the Wizard of Westwood.

If there's going to be a 7th Wooden Classic, we'll be there. If not, we're booking our tickets now for Indiana. Heck, we might even move there. . . but only if the Legend leaves Encino too.