Carol Shea-Porter: “Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1427, honoring the life of John Robert Wooden. John Wooden…”

“Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1427, honoring the life of John Robert Wooden. John Wooden loved basketball. As a young man in Martinsville, Indiana, starting on his high school basketball team in 1927, Wooden led his team to an Indiana State high school basketball title, marking the beginning of a basketball career brimming with great success. In college, at Purdue University, his athletic victories continued, winning All-American honors 3 years in a row, as well as a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The great success on the basketball court Wooden achieved while in school set the foundation for the great athletic accomplishments he would later go on to achieve. After being offered a spot in the NBA, Wooden turned it down, deciding rather to teach high school English and to coach high school basketball. His only break from the school setting was during World War II, when he served honorably as a lieutenant in the United States Navy. In 1948, Wooden accepted an offer to coach the University of California team in Los Angeles, the UCLA Bruins basketball team, and he quickly established a record of success with his student athletes both on and off the court.”