YouTube Gold: Reggie Miller On Legendary Pickup Games At UCLA

It’s a shame there’s no video of any of this.

UCLA basketball hasn’t been the same since John Wooden retired, which is totally understandable: how could it be? Nobody wins seven championships in a row and walks away with 10 total. Nobody gets two of the very best big men in the history of the game within a few years of each other. Nothing about UCLA was normal in the later Wooden years.

However, the Bruins have had plenty of great players since Wooden retired in 1975, including Reggie Miller.

In this video, Miller talks about being at UCLA and the unbelievable summer pickup games that he was able to take part in there, often led by Magic Johnson.

In one video we linked to before, a retired Wilt Chamberlain got in a bad mood over one game and said no more baskets at this end of the court, and he backed it up.

In this one, Miller talks about Larry Bird showing up to play. This was in Bird’s prime and during the height of his rivalry with Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers.

He talks in awe of the level of play he saw and what he learned about the commitment needed to play at a championship level. it’s pretty interesting, not least of all if your’e a young player. If you are, you should listen and learn.