Quotes and Insights from Jim Harrick, Head Coach of the 1995 NCAA Champion UCLA Bruins

Jim Harrick
  • “I just could never get enough of competing.”
  • “We all got a master’s degree in coaching at those John Wooden summer camps.”
  • “If you can find a mentor that can teach you your craft, can push the button that makes you better, you’ll be so much better off. Find someone that you can latch on to and learn from.”
  • “I drove into Los Angeles in 1960 and I knew my cousin, his brother, sister, and mother. 19 years later I’m the head basketball coach at Pepperdine and 28 years later I’m the head basketball coach at UCLA. I just marvel at the opportunities.”
  • “I get on my knees every day and thank the Lord for John Wooden.”
  • “I’ve told my players for years, you’ll never be successful if you cannot communicate your thoughts and ideas to others.”
  • “Pepperdine was the greatest. training ground for Jim Herrick in the history of the world.”
  • “I’ve made my name all my career on Southern California high school basketball players. I believe in them. I trust them. I know how good they are.”
  • “You must go through adversity before you reach the mountaintop.”
  • “I always preach to my seniors, coach the freshmen, teach them how to be a leader, teach them what it’s like in the locker room, teach them what it’s like to win, to be together, to share the ball, to win and lose together, and keep your head up and support each other.”
  • “When you stop learning, you’re through.”
  • “I don’t make the lineup. You make the lineup. You play your way in the lineup and you play your way out.”
  • “You either win or learn.”
  • “I always also had a no sniveling rule and I’d preach it all the time. You’re not allowed to snivel.”
  • You are a teacher of basketball. The court is an extension of the classroom.”
  • “The laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, correction, and repetition.”
  • “We try to build habits in everything we do.”
  • “I want my assistants spread out.  I don’t want them standing there ever, ever, talking to each other. They got to be coaching.”
  • “For all the coaches in the world, I don’t care about your resume, I don’t care how many games you win or how many games you lose. It’s how you treat young people.”
  • “It’s absolutely amazing how a young person’s hearing improves when he hears praise.”