wooden crum award

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SoCalHoops College News

Denny Crum To Receive Wooden
"Legends of Coaching" Award--(Oct. 8, 2001)

File this one under the heading "Local boy makes good....again."

We received the following press release from the Wooden Award folks, and it's nice to see that Denny Crum will be able to share the stage with John R. Wooden at this year's upcoming Wooden Award Banquet, which will take place on April 7, 2002 at the LA Athletic Club when the college player award is announced. The press release below doesn't have much in the way of background information on Coach Crum, but most people forget that even though he was the head coach of Louisville, he is also the quintessential story of "local boy makes good".

Born in the City of San Fernando, he attended San Fernando High school where he was a three-year letter winner (back in the days when winning a letter and putting it on a sweater or jacket was special), and after graduation, attended LA Pierce Junior College (remember when they had a men's basketball team? Sadly, Pierce doesn't have one any more....). He then transferred to UCLA where he played for two seasons ('56-'58) under coach Wooden. He then coached high school for a year, returning to UCLA from 1958-60 as a graduate assistant for Coach Wooden and the coach of UCLA's frosh team (this was back in the days when there really was a freshmen team, and incoming freshman weren't eligible for varsity competition). He then returned to the San Fernando Valley where he coached at Pierce as an assistant for two years(1962-64), and for another two (1964-68) as the head coach. He then rejoined the Bruins for three seasons, working as Coach Wooden's chief recruiter from 1968-71. In 1971, he got the Louisville job, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Here's a little more of that history: During his career, Coach Crum was named College Coach of the Year three times (1980, 1983, 1986), and was also named Metro Conference Coach of the Year five times. His record includes 14 straight 20-or-more-win seasons, and three seasons with more than 30 wins. Until his retirement, he was No. 13 on the list of all-time winningest coaches at the D-I level. He coached Louisville to 22 NCAA tournament appearances, including 19 in his last 23 years. He also coached the 1977 USA World University Team to a gold medal, and in 1987 coached the Pan American team to a silver. Coach Crum not only played for Coach Wooden, he was also Wooden's top assistant and chief recruiter, and thus it's only fitting that the Wooden Award will be honoring him with the "Legends of Coaching" Award.

Here's the press release we received. Congratulations to Coach Denny Crum.

DENNY CRUM SELECTED TO RECEIVE
JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD’S
“LEGENDSOF COACHING” HONOR

LOS ANGELES, Calif., -- Former Louisville University Head Basketball Coach Denny Crum, one of the most successful NCAA Tournament coaches of all time, will be given the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching” honor, the Award’s chairman and founder Richard “Duke” Llewellyn announced today.

The Wooden Award Committee adopted the “Legends of Coaching” Award in 1999. Crum joins an accomplished list of previous winners that includes North Carolina’s Dean Smith, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and last year’s recipient, Arizona’s Lute Olson. The honor recognizes the lifetime achievement of coaches who exemplify Coach Wooden’s high standards of coaching success and personal achievement. Crum will be given the award on April 7, 2002 during the Wooden Award Ceremony, honoring the collegiate basketball player of the year, at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Crum’s credentials easily qualified him for the prestigious honor. He is one of only 10 coaches in NCAA history to win two or more National Championships, doing so in 1980 and 1985. He directed the Cardinals to 23 NCAA Tournament appearances and 675 victories overall, ranking him 15th on the all-time list. In addition, his 30 year tenure at one school is the second longest ever.

The Los Angeles Athletic Club inaugurated the John R. Wooden Award in 1977. Past winners have included Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Larry Bird. Shane Battier won the honor in 2000.

The Los Angeles Athletic Club, founded in 1880, is one of Los Angeles’ landmark buildings. The current facility, built in 1912, has 12 stories and more than 150,000 square feet of space including 72 European-style hotel rooms and four unique dining experiences. In addition to the Wooden Award, the club’s athletic heritage includes a tradition of unparalleled Olympic success—club members have won more Olympic medals than any other club contingent in the nation.

For more information on the Wooden Award, please contact [formula] PR at 310-372-2511 or visit their website at www.formulapr.com