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Thank you to Matt Friedman for introducing me to Swen Nater!  In this conversation, I learned so much and appreciated the insights and wisdom he shares with us that he learned directly from John Wooden!  Yes, the Wizard of Westwood!!!

Born in the Netherlands, Swen Nater immigrated to the United States at age nine through a series of events that ended on the Hollywood stage where Swen and his sister, Renee, were reunited with their parents and little brother, Ibo, on national television. Swen had never seen a basketball until he came to the US.  

Swen became a Community College All America, player of the conference, the leading rebounder in the state setting a record of 39 (still a California record) in one game, and numerous other honors, the greatest of which was a scholarship offer to UCLA where John Wooden was head coach and they had already won six national championships.  While with the Bruins, Swen played behind the great Bill Walton and saw limited playing time, two minutes per game. However, impressive performances at the Olympic trials and the Pizza Hut All-Star Game resulted in Swen becoming the only player ever to have not started a college game and yet be drafted in the first round of the NBA.

Swen Nater has produced six basketball instructional videos and is author of the following books:

• The Fundamentals of Rebounding
• You Haven’t Taught Until They Have Learned
• John Wooden’s UCLA Offense
• Playing Big
• A Reason for the Rhyme
• Q and A for Post Play (to be released spring 2014)

You can learn more about Swen Nater at https://www.swennater.me to learn more about his books and ways to book him for speaking engagements!

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