Wooden in the family tree

Mike Sciacca

John Impelman is the type of player that a coach loves to train,

Jimmy Harris said.

Jimmy Harris and his father, Jim, are head coaches of the boys’

basketball team at Ocean View High, for which Impelman plays.

The Seahawk program is one of the most solid and successful in

Orange County and many a player has come into the fold hoping to get

the most out of that program.

Impelman, although not a starter nor a prolific scorer, certainly

makes the most of every moment.

“He plays tenaciously every second he’s on the floor,” Jimmy

Harris said of the 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard/forward who usually

replaces starting center Bear Wurts. “His contributions to this team

come in a variety of ways.

“John’s strengths are his undying love for basketball, his smarts

about the game, and how he motivates his teammates,” Jimmy Harris

said. “Those aren’t tangibles that come up on a stat sheet, but they

are immeasurable.”

Impelman’s influences, as well as work ethic, come from the very

best.

He began playing basketball at 5. He played until the age of 12 on

a very successful La Canada Spartans youth basketball team, one that

included current Ocean View teammate Matt Sargeant, junior guard,

when the Impelmans lived in La Canada.

The coach of that team was Impelman’s father, Craig, a former UCLA

men’s basketball assistant to head coach Larry Farmer.

Farmer, who played on UCLA’s national championship teams in the

early 1970s, is John Impelman’s godfather.

Farmer played for the legendary John Wooden, who just happens to

be John Impelman’s great-grandfather.

At his retirement after the 1974-75 season, Wooden had won an NCAA

record 10 national championships -- including seven in a row between

1967-73.

The Bruins sent him off to retirement with a victory over Kentucky

in the 1975 championship final.

He left the game with unequaled collegiate records that still

stand: In addition to the 10 titles and seven-in-a-row feat, he

coached UCLA to 88 consecutive victories and 38 consecutive NCAA

tournament victories, and he had eight undefeated conference

champions and four teams finish the full season undefeated.

All that happened before John Impelman was born. But the

16-year-old said he has seen documentaries, read old newspaper

clippings, gone through various books and heard stories told by his

family, so he knows of the record-setting accomplishments established

by his great-grandfather, who is 92.

He says he has gained most of his knowledge and inspiration

firsthand, as he sees the man he was named after on a regular basis,

most recently at a large family Christmas celebration.

“He’s pretty amazing, but what most people don’t know about my

great-grandfather is that he jokes around a lot,” Impelman said. “I

know what he means to the game of basketball, but to me, he is

probably one of the funniest men I know. He’s just my great-grandpa.”

Coaches at all levels -- professional, college and high school on

down -- have implemented Wooden’s philosophies in their coaching

styles.

His famous “Pyramid of Success,” a diagram Wooden created of

personal qualities necessary for achieving success, has been used in

the coaching and business worlds as a model of inspiration.

Wooden, who has seen his great-grandson play on two occasions,

even spoke at an Ocean View basketball camp run this past summer by

Jim Harris and Craig Impelman.

“I’ve had that pyramid up on my bedroom wall and have other

memorabilia of him, as well,” Impelman said. “It’s a great reminder

as to what he has done and how he has shaped basketball.

“But what my great-grandpa has taught me is not so much about

basketball, but more about ethics, morals and how to be a good human

being,” he said. “He would definitely approve of the Ocean View

program.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.