Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Former UCLA college basketball coach John Wooden looks on during the John R. Wooden Classic match Dec. 13.`

SN: Your home has photographs of Abraham Lincoln and Mother Teresa. Are they heroes of yours?

WOODEN: Abraham Lincoln is my favorite American, and I have many, many books and pictures of him. And the person who has lived in my lifetime for whom I have the most admiration and respect is Mother Teresa, and I have a lot of pictures and books of her, too. I just missed seeing her. I had received the Medal the year after she did, and she was going to come back and be the presenter to me, but she wasn't able to make it. I would have loved to meet her.

SN: Did you ever believe you would live to see the election of America's first black president?

WOODEN: No, I never thought I'd live this long under any circumstances.

SN: If you could give advice to Barack Obama, what would it be?

WOODEN: Be like Lincoln.

SN: Why have you lived this good, long life?

WOODEN: That's very hard to say. I honestly feel that one of the reasons could be that I've practiced moderation in almost everything. I never used alcohol in any way. Does that have anything to do with it? I don't know. George Burns had a lot of it every day, and he lived to be over 100. I smoked a little bit when I was in the Navy, but that's all. Did that have anything to do with it? I don't know. But I do know this: I am very much at peace with myself. I'm not afraid of death. I'm at peace. Certainly as I get older, it's hard to ... (long pause)

I'm ready. I wish it would happen now. But I'm not going to try to hurry it. I'm not afraid of death. I'm not going to intentionally hurry it up, but I'm not afraid. I've been so blessed in my life. I'm thankful for so many things. My children, my 13 great-grandchildren, all live within an hour or less, and I see them all regularly. How many times does that happen? Within an hour or two, I can see the ocean, I can be in the mountains, I can be in the desert, I can be at Disneyland, I can be at an athletic event. There are so many things. I have been so blessed. And out yonder, I'll be with Nellie again.

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