So just how important are you?

John Wooden won 10 NCAA titles. But Al McGuire won one in a pink leisure suit. I'm calling it a tie.

This is a tale of two very important men in NCAA basketball history.

John Wooden

John Wooden was the legendary coach of basketball powerhouse UCLA which won 10 NCAA championships--including seven in a row--and had an 88-game win streak in his 12-year coaching career for the Bruins. His record over that stretch (1964-1975) was 291-10.

Al McGuire was the colorful coach of Marquette University for 13 years. His team won the NCAA championship in 1977, his last coaching year. He said of himself, "When I was losing, they called me nuts. When I was winning they called me eccentric."

When it comes to being important, John Wooden had the best take: "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is who you really are, your reputation is merely what others think you are."

If you have no character in a vital role, your importance will be measured by the consequences of your actions. Your value judged by others would be, for better or worse, your true relative importance.

McGuire told this story: At a fund raising dinner after his team's NCAA victory, food was being served to the head table seating 10 dignitaries, including McGuire. As one of the servers was dispensing one pat of butter to each diner, he asked for two. The server told him one pat was what everyone would receive. He said to her, "Do you know who I am? I am the coach of the Marquette basketball team that just won the national championship." She responded, "Sir, do you know who I am? I am the person giving out the butter. One pat!"  Importance is not who you say you are but how you are judged by your actions.

Wooden with Walton

Wooden helped turn out some of the best basketball players in the history of the game. He coached Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Lew Alcinder), Bill Walton and Walt Hazzard to name just a few. And they were all important as part of a team. That was Wooden's forte... build the team. After one incredible season and Championship, player of the year Bill Walton returned for the next season sporting a beard he grew over the summer. Wooden's teams were under a 'no facial hair' edict but Walton felt this was his time. He asked the coach how he liked his beard. Wooten nonchalantly said, "It is a fine beard Bill. Couldn't have done better myself. We will miss you though." Next day Walton arrived clean shaven for practice.

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given, Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be Careful."  JW

"I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession." JW

 To which Al McGuire, from a grittier background, added, "I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and then six months as a cab driver. Then they would really be educated.

So really, just how important are you... or better said, how important do you think you are? If you die tomorrow, are you so important than no one can take your place? In all of humankind, that hasn't happened once. Death has a way of leveling the real playing field.