Wooden Never Gave It a Second Thought

By Larry Stewart

March 29, 2006 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Gail Goodrich was a junior on the 1964 UCLA basketball team that started the run of 10 national championships in 12 years under John Wooden.

Speaking on the phone from the NBA TV studio in Secaucus, N.J., where he works twice a week or so as an analyst, Goodrich recalled Wooden’s pregame pep talk before the Bruins played the Duke Blue Devils in the championship at Kansas City that year.

“We were 29-0 and Coach told us we got here a certain way -- pressing, fast breaking, making it a 94-foot game,” Goodrich said. “Then he asked if any of us remembered who finished second the year before.

“I knew it was Cincinnati, but I wasn’t about to raise my hand. And if anyone else knew, they weren’t going to raise their hand, either.

“So Coach says, ‘See, no one remembers who finishes second.’ ”

Trivia time: Two-time defending national champion Cincinnati lost to what school in the 1963 championship game?

Big and Bigger: ESPN analyst Rick Majerus told the Chicago Tribune that he is taking UCLA over Louisiana State despite the prowess of sophomore Glen Davis, the 310-pounder nicknamed “Big Baby.”

“Big Baby will have to look elsewhere to feed his tapeworm,” Majerus said, “because he won’t be able to eat a Bruin.”

Leave it to Majerus, the former coach at Utah, to come up with a food metaphor to spice up his analysis.

A stock exchange: CBS’ Billy Packer had an unusual exchange with Richard Deitsch of SI.com Monday during a conference call with reporters.

Deitsch: “How difficult is it to sell the potential of a Florida-LSU final to an audience on the West Coast or even here in New York City, where the SEC means something much different than the Southeastern Conference?”

Packer: “The SEC means something different?”

Deitsch: “The Securities and Exchange Commission, for people on the street.”

Packer: “Well, I think you are trying to be a wise [guy].”

Heck of a toothache: Michael Olowokandi, who the Clippers made the first overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, is averaging only 5.1 points and 20 minutes a game as a backup center for the Boston Celtics. And he missed the last seven games after having oral surgery.

Reader Chris Reed says, “Only Olowokandi could miss that many games after a visit to the dentist.”

Looking back: On this day in 1982, Michael Jordan’s jump shot with 17 seconds left gave North Carolina a 63-62 victory over Georgetown in the NCAA title game at New Orleans.

Trivia answer: The Loyola of Chicago Ramblers defeated the Bearcats, 60-58, in overtime.

And finally: The Associated Press reported Tuesday that a patron at a Burger King in Palmdale last week was charged $4,334.33 -- instead of $4.33 -- on his debit card for four hamburgers.

Reader Bill Littlejohn says, “They’re called ‘Ryan Leaf Burgers.’ ”

Larry Stewart can be reached at [email protected].