NEW YORK — I've long envied the privileged legions that played for John Wooden and bonded with him for so long.
I've always been jealous of Bill Walton and Gail Goodrich and Jamaal Wilkes and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and so many others who could get together with him, it seemed, any time they pleased, or reach him by telephone whenever they liked.
Walton always promised to set up a meeting. All I had to do was name the day and he would escort me over to his condo in Encino, Calif., or to his favorite place to eat.