John R. Wooden Classic
SportMen's college basketball
Founded1994
Ceased2013
Replaced byWooden Legacy
No. of teams4
CountryUnited States
Venue(s)Honda Center, Anaheim, California

The John R. Wooden Classic was an annual college basketball event hosted by the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Named after coach John Wooden, the event featured a December neutral-site doubleheader until its final two editions, which were single games.

The event was merged in 2013 with the DirecTV Classic, an eight-team, three-day tournament, to form a new event, the Wooden Legacy.

History

The John R. Classic was founded in 1994 by Atherton Communications in honor of the former Hall of Fame Purdue player and UCLA head coach John Wooden. The inaugural event was nationally televised by NBC Sports and featured four top 10 teams, including the first meeting in 20 years between UCLA and Kentucky, when they played for the 1975 NCAA Championship (won by UCLA), which marked John Wooden's 10th national title and the final game of his illustrious coaching career.

The Wooden Classic grew to include a charity golf tournament and coaches banquet, which raised over $1 million for Children's Hospital and Special Olympics, two of Coach Wooden's favorite charities. The 1998 and 1999 events also included the John R. Wooden Classic High School Invitational, which featured future NBA players, Tyson Chandler (Dominguez), Keith Bogans (DeMatha Catholic), Joe Forte (DeMatha Catholic) and Casey Jacobsen (Glendora).

The Classic was historically a high-profile doubleheader invitational event in early December. After Wooden died in 2010, it became a single game in January in the 2011–12 season due to scheduling conflicts and the transition to the event's new owners, Honda Center.[1][2] The classic returned to December in the 2012–13 season, but was again a single game.[3] Since its inception, the games were played in Anaheim, California, at the Honda Center, known earlier as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. In June 2013, the Wooden Classic merged with the DirecTV Classic to form the Wooden Legacy, a three-day, eight-team event.[4]

Results

Date Winner Score Opponent
12/01/2012 San Diego State 78–69[5] UCLA
01/05/2011[2] UCLA 65–58 Arizona
12/18/2010 Saint Mary's 82–74 Long Beach State
UCLA 86–79 BYU
12/12/2009 Georgetown 74–66 Washington
Mississippi State 72–54 UCLA
12/12/2008 Saint Mary's 67–64 San Diego State
UCLA 72–54 DePaul
12/08/2007 Saint Mary's 69–64 San Diego State
UCLA 75–63 Davidson
12/09/2006 UCLA 65–62 Texas A&M
USC 74–65 George Washington
12/10/2005 Washington 81–71 New Mexico
UCLA 67–56 Nevada
12/05/2004 Arizona 68–64 Mississippi State
Boston College 74–64 UCLA
12/06/2003 Stanford 64–58 Kansas
Kentucky 52–50 UCLA
12/07/2002 Georgia 78–73* Cal
Missouri 78–72 USC
12/08/2001 Arizona 79–66 Purdue
UCLA 79–57 Alabama
12/02/2000 USC 65–60 Utah
Georgia Tech 72–67 UCLA
11/27/1999 Stanford 67–58 Auburn
Duke 81–68 USC
12/05/1998 Kansas 62–55 Pepperdine
UCLA 69–66 Oklahoma State
12/06/1997 UCLA 69–58 New Mexico
Stanford 76–74 Georgia
12/07/1996 Arizona 69–61 Utah
Louisville 93–87* LSU
12/09/1995 Villanova 67–50 Purdue
UCLA 73–63 Maryland
12/03/1994 Kansas 81–75 Massachusetts
UCLA 82–81 Kentucky

All-time team records

Rank School Wins Losses
1 UCLA 11 5
2 San Diego State 4 2
т-3 Saint Mary's 3 0
т-3 Stanford 3 0
5 Arizona 3 1
6 Kansas 2 1
7 USC 2 2
т-8 Boston College 1 0
т-8 Duke 1 0
т-8 Georgia Tech 1 0
т-8 Louisville 1 0
т-8 Missouri 1 0
т-8 Villanova 1 0
т-8 Washington 1 0
т-15 Georgia 1 1
т-15 Kentucky 1 1
т-17 Alabama 0 1
т-17 Auburn 0 1
т-17 California 0 1
т-17 Davidson 0 1
т-17 George Washington 0 1
т-17 LSU 0 1
т-17 Maryland 0 1
т-17 UMass 0 1
т-17 Mississippi State 0 1
т-17 Nevada 0 1
т-17 Oklahoma State 0 1
т-17 Pepperdine 0 1
т-17 Texas A&M 0 1
т-30 New Mexico 0 2
т-30 Purdue 0 2
т-30 Utah 0 2

References

  1. ^ Plaschke, Bill (January 5, 2012). "A Wooden Classic that sure didn't resemble one". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Bolch, Ben (April 8, 2011). "UCLA's Wooden Classic shifts to Pac-10 matchup for one year". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ Hammond, Rich (November 30, 2012). "UCLA-Wooden Classic relationship murky". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014.
  4. ^ Payne, Terrence (June 4, 2013). "The Wooden Legacy an all new tournament to begin this year". NBCSports.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013.
  5. ^ "2012 Wooden Legacy Box Score" (PDF). GoAztecs.com. San Diego State University Athletics.
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