LOS ANGELES -- Former UCLA basketball coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden has been hospitalized in Los Angeles, according to Bill Walton.
The former UCLA star said Thursday night that the 99-year-old Wooden was at UCLA Medical Center, where Walton last visited with him two days ago.
Walton spoke at the NBA Finals, where he declined to comment on Wooden's condition.
"He's the greatest," Walton said, his voice catching. "We love him."
Television station KCAL in Los Angeles first reported Wooden's hospitalization, and the Los Angeles Times confirmed it through school sources. Both outlets described his condition as "grave."
The former UCLA coach and Hall of Famer has been confined to a wheelchair after a series of minor health setbacks in recent years. He was hospitalized briefly a month ago and spent weeks in the hospital a year ago being treated for pneumonia.
UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins told The Associated Press he spoke to a Wooden family member Thursday evening and the family asked that no other information about Wooden be released.
UCLA Medical Center spokeswoman Roxanne Moster said she couldn't confirm whether Wooden was there or not because it would be a "violation of medical privacy laws."
Family members couldn't be reached for comment Thursday by the AP.
Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships -- at one time winning seven in a row -- during a 27-year run that ended with his team cutting down the nets one last time in 1975.
The Bruins won 88 consecutive games from 1971-74 and 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games from 1964-74, both records.
NBA commissioner David Stern was asked about Wooden's contributions to the sport of basketball before Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
"We decided that we would not declare his obituary now, other than to say that he's the winningest coach in our history, four 30-0 seasons, and the ultimate aficionado of our game," Stern said. "We hope he's in peace right now, and we'll wait on events."
"An unnamed NBA source close to the Cleveland Cavaliers stated late Saturday evening that Lebron James has been in close contact with representatives from the New Orleans Hornets as well as all stars Chris Paul and David West about possibly joining forces in New Orleans. It is well known that James and Paul have been close friends off the court ever since Paul entered the NBA in 2005. The two have formed a very close friendship that even includes competing against one another in charity bowling tournaments every year. The deciding factor of this happening is solely based on new ownership taking over for the Hornets. Gary Chouest is currently in the process of purchasing the team from long time owner George Shinn who has always been one of the least wealthiest owners in the NBA. If and when Chouest gets full control over the team, the Hornets will have the financial backing that very few NBA teams have the luxury of having because Chouest is said to have a personal net worth of roughly $1.5-1.75 billion dollars. He is also a Louisiana native and has stated numerous times that he is fully committed to spending whatever amount of money needed to win.
The source also noted that "Lebron knows that the sky is the limit for him and that any NBA team would kill to have him, but he is very close to Chris Paul and loves the city of New Orleans and its unique vibe. He also likes the fact that both Chris Paul and David West have reached out to him during the off season with the invite which is something no other players on other teams have done yet."
Anything is possible in the NBA, but Lebron to the Big Easy playing alongside Chris Paul? wouldn't that throw the media into an unexpected frenzy!"
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You know nothing about Basketball, never utter those words again.
"You know nothing about Basketball, never utter those words again"
.... 20 point lead at start of 4th quarter
The former UCLA star said Thursday night that the 99-year-old Wooden was at UCLA Medical Center, where Walton last visited with him two days ago.
Walton spoke at the NBA Finals, where he declined to comment on Wooden's condition.
"He's the greatest," Walton said, his voice catching. "We love him."
Television station KCAL in Los Angeles first reported Wooden's hospitalization, and the Los Angeles Times confirmed it through school sources. Both outlets described his condition as "grave."
The former UCLA coach and Hall of Famer has been confined to a wheelchair after a series of minor health setbacks in recent years. He was hospitalized briefly a month ago and spent weeks in the hospital a year ago being treated for pneumonia.
UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins told The Associated Press he spoke to a Wooden family member Thursday evening and the family asked that no other information about Wooden be released.
UCLA Medical Center spokeswoman Roxanne Moster said she couldn't confirm whether Wooden was there or not because it would be a "violation of medical privacy laws."
Family members couldn't be reached for comment Thursday by the AP.
Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships -- at one time winning seven in a row -- during a 27-year run that ended with his team cutting down the nets one last time in 1975.
The Bruins won 88 consecutive games from 1971-74 and 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games from 1964-74, both records.
NBA commissioner David Stern was asked about Wooden's contributions to the sport of basketball before Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
"We decided that we would not declare his obituary now, other than to say that he's the winningest coach in our history, four 30-0 seasons, and the ultimate aficionado of our game," Stern said. "We hope he's in peace right now, and we'll wait on events."
The source also noted that "Lebron knows that the sky is the limit for him and that any NBA team would kill to have him, but he is very close to Chris Paul and loves the city of New Orleans and its unique vibe. He also likes the fact that both Chris Paul and David West have reached out to him during the off season with the invite which is something no other players on other teams have done yet."
Anything is possible in the NBA, but Lebron to the Big Easy playing alongside Chris Paul? wouldn't that throw the media into an unexpected frenzy!"
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