Coach Wooden Post Office Advances

Washington, D.C. - A House panel Thursday approved legislation by Congressman Brad Sherman to name a Valley post office after UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, a long-time San Fernando Valley resident.

œWith the Bruins once again in the Final Four, the timing couldnt be better, Sherman said. œIts now time for full-court press to dunk this bill through the last legislative hoops.

The House Government Reform Committee advanced the measure to name the Reseda Post Office the Coach John Wooden Post Office. The quick committee passage came after every member of the California congressional delegation cosponsored Shermans bill. The action leaves the legislation on the verge of final passage by the full House.

As a UCLA undergrad in the early ˜70s, Sherman watched the Wooden-coached Bruins win Pac-10 and NCAA championships each season while he was a student.

Under the guidance of Coach Wooden, the Bruins had four perfect 30-0 seasons, 88 consecutive victories, won 38 NCAA tournament games, 20 Pac-10 championships, and 10 national championships, including a winning streak of seven in a row.

Off the court, Wooden shared his wisdom in books like Wooden on Leadership, My Personal Best: Life Lessons From an All-American Journey and Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success. œThe coach taught his players and all of us how to be successful in life, Sherman added.

Wooden was a standout college player at Purdue University before he became the most successful coach in college basketball history. Wooden was named College Player of the Year in 1932, when he starred on the Boilermaker team that won the national championship. He is one of only three people enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.

Wooden, 95, has lived in Encino for the past three decades. (The Encino Post Office was named for Lakers sportscaster Chick Hearn in 2002.) Woodens daughter, Nancy Anne Muehlhausen, lives in Reseda.