John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—seven in a row—as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games. He was named national coach of the year six times.

As a player, Wooden was the first to be named basketball All-American three times and he won a national championship at Purdue. Wooden was named a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (inducted in 1961) and as a coach (in 1973), the first person ever enshrined in both categories. Only Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman have since had the same honor.

He was one of the most revered coaches and was beloved by his former players, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players, including his "Pyramid of Success". These often were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball.

Christopher Patrick "Chris" Myers (b 28 March 1959) ) is an American sportscaster.

With more than 20 years in broadcasting, Chris Myers has covered premiere events, including the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, NCAA Final Four, The Masters and U.S. Open (golf), Triple Crown, the Olympics and the Daytona 500.

Chris Myers, a native of Miami and a Southern California resident, garnered his first major break in broadcasting as a 16-year-old high school student when he hosted his own show on Miami’s WKAT-AM radio, interviewing such sports heavy hitters as Muhammad Ali and Don Shula.^{[citation needed]} Myers graduated from Chaminade High School, Hollywood, Florida, May, 1977. He joined Fox Sports Net as an anchor in December 1998 where he hosted the National Sports Report, among other hosting duties. Prior to joining FOX, Myers spent nine years at ESPN reporting and anchoring SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight, as well as hosting “Up Close” from 1994 to 1998, which included the first live interview with O.J. Simpson after his acquittal. With more than 20 years in broadcasting, Myers has covered all of the sports world’s premiere events, including the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, NCAA Final Four, The Masters and U.S. Open golf, Triple Crown, the Olympics and the Daytona 500.^{[citation needed]} In 1990, Myers received an Emmy Award in the Sports Features category as an anchor/reporter.

William Theodore "Bill" Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while leading the Bruins to two Division I national titles. He then went on to have a prominent career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) where he was a league Most Valuable Player (MVP) and won two NBA championships. His professional career was significantly hampered by multiple foot injuries. Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on May 10, 1993 and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame that same year. He is the father of current Cleveland Cavaliers forward Luke Walton.

Walton was born in La Mesa, California, the son of Gloria Anne (née Hickey) and William Theodore "Ted" Walton. His listed adult playing height was 6 feet 11 inches; it has been reported that Walton was actually taller (7 feet 2 inches, or more), but did not like being categorized as a seven-footer.

Jamaal Abdul-Lateef (born Jackson Keith Wilkes on May 2, 1953) , better known as Jamaal Wilkes, is a retired American basketball player who played the small forward position and won four NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He was a three-time NBA All-Star and the 1975 NBA Rookie of the Year. Wilkes was also a key player on two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship teams under coach John Wooden for the UCLA Bruins.

Wilkes converted to Islam and legally changed his name to Jamaal Abdul-Lateef in 1975, but he continued to use his birth surname only for purposes of public recognition.

Wilkes was born in Berkeley, California and grew up in Ventura, California. His father, L. Leander Wilkes, was a Baptist minister. Wilkes attended Santa Barbara High School.

One of the smoothest, steadiest and most productive forwards to ever play in the NBA (he possessed a deadly accurate jump shot from the corner that Hall of Fame Laker announcer Chick Hearn dubbed the "20 foot layup") Jamaal "Smooth as Silk" Wilkes won championships at the scholastic, collegiate and professional levels.