Basketball Quotes by John Wooden

Do passing drills that come from your offense.

— John Wooden

I am not a strategic coach; I am a practice coach.

— John Wooden

It's not how big you are, it's how big you play

— John Wooden

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

— John Wooden

Conditioning is essential to success in basketball.

— John Wooden

The team is the star, never an individual player.

— John Wooden

Be quick without hurrying.

— John Wooden

Drink deeply from good books.

— John Wooden

Once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player.

— John Wooden

The best competition I have is against myself to become better

— John Wooden

We may not be the best conditioned team in the country, but our players think they are.

— John Wooden

Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness, and prosperity as often as possible.

— John Wooden

Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile.

— John Wooden

Generally speaking, individual performances don't win basketball games

— John Wooden

Good players can take coaching; great players can take coaching and learn.

— John Wooden

A player who makes a team great is better than a great player.

— John Wooden

Team spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all. That defines a team player.

— John Wooden

As a leader, you will receive a large amount of praise and criticism and you should not unduly affected by either.

— John Wooden

“It is most difficult in my mind, to seperate success, whether it be in your profession, your family, or as in my…

— John Wooden

I always stress condition with my basketball players. I don’t mean physical condition only. You cannot attain and maintain physical condition unless…

— John Wooden

I never let our players get satisfied, I never let our Coaches get satisfied, I was never satisfied. We can always do…

— John Wooden

Perfection is impossibility but striving for perfection is not. Do the best you can. That is what counts.

— John Wooden

I found the bench to be the greatest ally when I had to make individuals comply with what was best for the…

— John Wooden

I do not want players who do not have a keen desire to win and do not play hard and aggressively to…

— John Wooden

No matter how you total success in the coaching profession it all comes down to a single factor - talent. There may…

— John Wooden

In 1948, I began coaching basketball at UCLA. Each hour of practice we worked very hard. Each day we worked very hard.…

— John Wooden

I discovered early on that the player who learned the fundamentals of basketball is going to have a much better chance of…

— John Wooden

Motivating through fear may work in the short term to get people to do something, but over the long run I believe…

— John Wooden

I always tried to make clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total…

— John Wooden

The goal in life is the same as in basketball: make the effort to do the best you are capable of doing--in…

— John Wooden

I believe it’s impossible to claim you have taught, when there are students who have not learned. With that commitment, from my…

— John Wooden

“if you do the following three things, you will be successful in major college basketball. If you don’t do them, it will…

— John Wooden

Build shelter against a rainy day.

— John Wooden

Make friendship a fine art.

— John Wooden

When the legs go, the heart soon follows

— John Wooden

Confidence comes from being prepared.

— John Wooden

Be quick, but don't hurry.

— John Wooden

The team with the most talent usually wins.

— John Wooden

It's not what you teach, it's what you emphasize.

— John Wooden

Teamwork is not a preference, it is a requirement.

— John Wooden