Podcasts
Wooden’s Wisdom Part 1 of 2
Priceless storytelling from "Sweat Hog" Craig Impelman sharing details of how he met Coach Wooden. This is a can't miss in a part one of a two-part series.
Timestamps
“I grew up in San Francisco. I’m a sweat hog…”
Craig tells a story that starts in high school (St. Ignatius) where he’s a “trash-talking and fancy basketball sweathawg” that did NOT making the high school basketball team.
After graduation, he applies and gets into UCLA.
He ONLY applied to one school (UCLA) and the ONLY reason he applied there was because he wanted to watch John Wooden’s team play basketball in person.
Craig would shoot hoops every night at Pauley Pavilion (Bruins basketball arena) when it was open to the students. A guy named Henry Bibby (yes, player/coach Henry Bibby) saw him playing and asked if he wanted to play one-on-one.
After nightly beatdowns on the basketball court, Henry Bibby talks Craig into trying out for the freshman basketball team at UCLA. UCLA has tryouts for the four (4) walk-on slots (there are six scholarships already locked up, and room for four more).
This is in circa 1970. This is the class of Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes.
While on the team, Craig meets Larry Farmer (UCLA basketball legend) and strikes up a lifelong friendship that has lasted even to this day.
Don’t miss this episode and check back for part two of two.
