Former UCLA basketball coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden has been hospitalized in Los Angeles, the school said late Thursday night.

The athletic department said in an e-mail that Wooden was at UCLA Medical Center, but per the wishes of his family would not comment on his condition.

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.”

Former Bruins star Bill Walton told the Associated Press from the NBA Finals that he last visited with Wooden two days ago at the hospital.

“He’s the greatest,” Walton said, his voice catching. “We love him.”

Walton also would not comment on his condition.

Wooden, 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 AP 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 and UCLA staff would not comment to ESPN.com.

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.”

Walton and Stern weren’t the only people at the Finals thinking of Wooden.

“My heart goes out to him and his family,” Lakers guard Derek Fisher said after Los Angeles’ win over Boston in Game 1. “He’s meant so much to the game of basketball and to Los Angelenos in particular. I don’t think there’s anyone other than maybe Magic Johnson who can even come close to being as important in the history of basketball here in Southern California as John Wooden.”

Here is my list of the top 5 college players that I want on my NBA team next year:

1. John Wall, Fr-PG- Kentucky– Wall’s mix of size, speed, athletic ability, and sheer basketball talent put him at the top of the list. But he also has shown the ability to lead a team and make everyone around him better. Wall will be the number one pick and surely is on a fast track to NBA rookie of the year.
2. Al-Farouq Aminu- Soph-SF- Wake Forest– Last year was a trial by fire for Aminu as he was surrounded by NBA talent and NBA attitudes. That Wake team lost to Cleveland St. in the NCAA. Aminu saw this and now is leading the Demon Deacons this year and has shown his versatility which the NBA craves.
3. Derrick Favors- Fr-PF- Georgia Tech– New to the NCAA scene, Favors is already showing the skills that made him a top 5 recruit. His frame and potential make him a coveted NBA prospect. Think Blake Griffin his freshman year, only with a better jump shot
4. Xavier Henry- Fr- SG- Kansas– Joining a strong Kansas squad, Henry has immediately made a name for himself and the NBA is watching. His smooth game with a strong jump shot and superior athleticism make him a perfect NBA two guard.
5. Dexter Pittman- Sr- C- Texas–Although not a hyped as the other four, Pittman has shown a strong work ethics, he lost 100 lbs since he came to Austin. His strength and athleticism makes him an appealing center prospect and at 6′1” 290lbs, he has a frame to compete with the best in the NBA

2. You have absolutely ZERO depth perception:

3. You think the trampoline is a great place to dunk from:

4. You had to enlist in the military instead of the NBA . . . and still can’t dunk:

5. If you think Sir Isaac Newton’s laws do not apply to chairs and dunking off of them:

6. The high school asked you to be the mascot instead of the center:

7. They ask you to put on a Scream mask before attempting a dunk:

8. You’re fat, dunking depends on your life, and there’s only a bucket:

9. See (5) and apply to shopping carts:

10. You’re a nerd and you have a dunk called “the Spidey” involving wall climbing:

11. If your friends convince you to jump off their backs . . . from 10 ft out:

12. You don’t believe in the slippery powers of freaking ICE:

Hansbrough is expected to miss up to 2 months with a shin injury that has been lingering since his senior year at UNC.

“Hansbrough No Feel Injury…Doctor Tell Me”
- Tyler Hansbrough

YouSayToo – Promote Blog

America’s most notorious hoopster prima-donna has made his decision to be with Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats next season. After a small courtship with Baylor, Duke, Memphis, NC State, and Miami, the Raleigh Word of God senior made his decision late last night. According to Wall, it was his personal relationship with Coach “Cal” that helped make the decision so easy. Sources aren’t clear if this relationship means replacing Wall’s 1998 Pontiac Sunfire with a new H2, but with Calipari in charge we can lean towards that assumption. The addition of Wall makes the Wildcats’ starting lineup as: 

PG - John Wall
SG – Eric Bledsoe
SF – Jodie Meeks
PF – Patrick Patterson
C – DeMarcus Cousins

I’m sure Ashley Judd is rejoicing over these reports at this moment . . . after all, she’s the only trouble John Wall could get into in that state. Hey oh!

Source : SLAM Magazine  ; News and Observer 

And while most Tar Heel fans see this as a blow to the program, I see it more along the lines as a great opportunity. The #1 recruit in the nation, John Wall, has been holding out in announcing his decision for college basketball for weeks now. It is reported that his eyes are on Memphis, Kansas, Kentucky, NC State, Duke, and Baylor. However, he has made clear his intentions to announce on Monday, fully knowing the deadline to declare for the NBA was the Sunday prior.

With 2 new scholarships opening up in the UNC lineup, I fully expect Roy Williams will send an offer to the Raleigh native. If Roy can avoid his AAU handlers and Wall can meet the admission requirements, I believe it is a great possibility we could see him in a UNC jersey next season. After all, UNC was the dark horse during the Brandan Wright recruiting fiasco as well. It is known that Wall is has been a UNC fan, he has toured the school, yet without a scholarship to offer, he could never publicly declare UNC an option.

Brian Clifton, Wall’s AAU “handler/pimp” has expressed his dislike for Roy Williams, but if Wall happens to gain his own mind, then who knows where Wall will head. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. As for Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, these guys were class act players.

News and Observer : Duo Heads to NBA

Here’s a little excerpt:

In 2001, Wes’s godson and Milt’s son, Dajuan Wagner, was the consensus best high school basketball player in the world. If Dajuan had entered the NBA draft after his junioryear at Camden High, he might have been the number one pick. But Wes persuaded him to let the NBA wait and spend a year or two playing for John Calipari at the University of Memphis. The deal came with plenty of strings attached: Wes made it clear to Calipari that Dajuan was more inclined to sign with a school that also gave a free ride to his best friend, Arthur Barclay, an all-state player who’d been passed over because of poor test scores. (Done.) Then Milt, despite lacking a college degree, was hired to be Memphis’s head of basketball operations. When news of the deal leaked out, the media crucified Calipari, painting it as nothing more than legalized graft. Wes answered accusations that something shady had gone down, saying, “Man, I’ve heard the second-guessing. It’s simple: Juanny needed to improve his defense and prove that he can play on the next level. Coach Cal can help him do that. What do I have to gain by him going to Memphis?”

Wes had been managing Dajuan’s career since the boy was 11, and so when it came time for Dajuan to head to Memphis, Wes went along. After only one season—in which Dajuan averaged twenty-one points a game—Calipari called Milt and Dajuan into his office. “I tore up Dajuan’s scholarship in front of him to make sure he understood he wasn’t coming back,” Calipari says. Dajuan was ready for the NBA. The Cavaliers selected him in the first round of the 2002 draft, and as Dajuan made his move from college to the pros, Wes was there to ease the transition. In his first year, Dajuan was among NBA rookie leaders in scoring, assists, and minutes played. 

I’ll give you a second…

Those that answered Raja Bell, you play way too much Fantasy Basketball.

Character is obviously not a precondition for getting a coaching job at FIU. The Golden Panthers also courted former Miami Heat and Golden State guard Tim Hardaway. Hardaway, of course, is remembered more for hating gay people than hitting a jump shot.

While this may be a great PR move and will get people talking about their program, can this stunt really last? Does anyone else think Isiah Thomas living in Miami is a bad idea? He couldn’t keep it in his pants in New York City. How in the world is he going to behave himself on South Beach?

I give it a year, two at most. For the fans and students at FIU, God Speed. Hopefully it doesn’t cost you as much to get out of this as it cost James Dolan and Madison Square Garden.

It seems that over 10 times the amount of people were arrested in East Lansing at 21 people, compared to 2 being arrested in Chapel Hill. Police in East Lansing reported 12 fires and a crowd of 1,700 people outside an apartment complex. In comparison, only 10 people were taken to the hospital and a total of 26 were treated for injuries in the victor’s home streets.

Rioting after a loss is nothing new, but I have only heard of this if there was a shot at the losing team winning. In this case, the game was over by the first television time out. At that point, it was time to either lay off the booze or begin drinking until you believed the Spartans won.

And just to make a point: there were 30,000 plus people packed into Franklin Street, many of which made the trip from the notoriously violent city of Durham. Yet, we all celebrated in harmony and only TWO managed to be cuffed.

Franklin Street: The Celebration from The Daily Tar Heel on Vimeo.

Timelapse: Franklin Street after the victory from The Daily Tar Heel on Vimeo.