Colts’ Manning, Giants’ Coughlin remember Wooden
Published: June 5th, 2010 | Tags: John Wooden, Peyton Manning, Tom Coughlin
Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden died Friday at the age of 99. While he built a dynasty at UCLA, winning 10 titles, his reach went well beyond the hardwood. NFL figures are weighing in with what Wooden meant to the sporting world.
When asked Friday, Colts QB Peyton Manning remembered meeting Wooden during the 2006 NCAA Final Four and called the encounter “a tremendous honor.”
Giants coach Tom Coughlin called Wooden a “national treasure.”
“What I have always appreciated about his philosophy is its simplicity and that it transcended sports,” Coughlin said in a statement released by the team Saturday. “He wasn’t just a basketball coach, he was and is a life coach, and for that, we can all be thankful. He was the best living example of his teachings about teamwork, preparedness and humility.”