He did ration out a tiny amount of dribbling and shooting, strictly planned for a few times per game. He thought that Henry Bibby (Walton's sophomore year) and Wilkes (junior and senior years) needed to shoot outside about 5 times per game to keep the defense honest. That was it for outside shots. I said those shots were 3rd or 4th option, but come to think of it, if the play failed, Wooden would just accept a turnover from the opponent's steal rather than shoot it outside. One time Swen Nater (Walton's backup, later ABA rookie of the year on the Spurs, and if he'd been in the NBA he would have still won ROY--Ernie DiGregorio won it) dribbled the ball about 4 times because nobody came to help him. Wooden usually pulled a player for doing that, but this time he called, "Swen, you are not to dribble the ball !" Nater stopped in his tracks. That's also an example of how Wooden spoke in complete sentences, even when at his most emotional. Many other coaches seemed rougher than him. He wanted the ball moved via passes, not dribbles, which made all his players into good passers. Because his system was big man oriented, Walton led the team in assists despite being a center. Wooden talked in idealistic terms, head in the clouds, which appealed to both liberals and conservatives. Many times I heard him say in an interview, "Goodness gracious." Articles now claim he said, "Goodness gracious sakes alive." No, he didn't go that far. Since UCLA is next to Hollywood, I don't know why no movie biography has ever been made, even a cheap one. Here is more negative stuff, about Sam Gilbert, who was seen as a harmless donor until Wooden retired. Some stars on other campuses drove cars of mysterious origin, but Bruin stars drove bicycles. Despite this article, I think Wooden was honest and kept Gilbert in check until Wooden retired. Gilbert grabbed more power from subsequent coaches. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=dw-uclalegacy040206
You misspelled Ernie iGregorio's name. No D. That goes for his much better teammate in Buffalo, Bob McAoo
