First, picture this: Small town kid demonstrates he is a gifted athlete early. Well grounded in faith, family and scholarship, he rises as a leader and excels in sports. Loves baseball best.

To the kid, team ahead of self rates far even as he rises to first team all-state recognition. Division I college recruiters find him, want him, come calling. More and more big dog colleges, including his state’s flagship university, are courting.

The kid discusses scholarship options with family and coaches. Some in his community want him to sign with State U not far from home. His priorities are unshaken. Education ahead of sports. Goal? A degree in engineering.

Kid chooses Purdue University at West Lafayette.

Elijah Sindelar, senior-to-be quarterback at Caldwell County High School, right?

Wrong!

The right answer is John Wooden.

The parallels, Sindelar at Princeton and Wooden growing up in Martinsville, Indiana (1924-28) are striking (so far).

At Martinsville, Wooden came from a faith-based home where he was a passionate player, but academics came first. A promising underclassmen, Wooden grew into an all-state basketball player whose first love was baseball. Wanted to pitch.

Recruiters came calling from Wisconsin, Notre Dame Butler and flagship U., Indiana University was 20 miles from home. But Wooden chose Purdue for its engineering school. A Dean’s List student, he became an All-American basketball player. He eventually changed his major and became a high school English teacher, first at Dayton High School in Kentucky.

The rest is history. Wooden: A Coach’s life, a new book by Seth Davis, is riveting:

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Observations.

2. Turning point in the Florida-Kentucky game. John Calipari’s technical foul. Asked, “the (Florida) points scored off that technical foul, it seemed to swing the game. Do you think it might have done that?

Kentucky’s coach replied, “It could have. It could have.”

3. What was his technical for? “You have to ask (the official). … I don’t know what he heard me say with my back to him, so you have to ask him.”

4. Real reason, Calipari has violated the coach’s box and walked on court during play more often this season than Dick Vitale has flapped his lips. His technical was no surprise.

5. Close look at Kentucky’s 2013-14 schedule in Rupp Arena tells us the crowd watching the Florida-UK game saw one of the two premier coaches in basketball today. Billy Donovan. The other is Jim Boeheim at Syracuse.

6. Last two seasons, Calipari has proven he can recruit high school stars. He has also proven, minus Anthony Davis, he can’t make a college team, nor even NBA ready one-and-doners, in seven months.

7. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers … from a 14-point first half at home against South Alabama last Saturday, Ray Harper’s team hasn’t been the same since the bottom fell out of the Corvette Museum.

8. Darel Carrier’s No. 35 at Western will be retired to the rafters at Diddle Arena this Saturday. Too long coming for a fellow who scored 1,318 points in only 69 games (1962-64), 19.0 points per game and sixth on Hilltopper score list? In fact, the timing is ideal for family and friends to witness celebration of one of our state’s best ever scorers. Before Carrier’ was a Hilltopper, he put 3,148 points on the board for Bristow High School. He ranks in the Top 20 all-time in Kentucky.

9. Bleacher Report offered its ‘College Basketball Predictions that look Foolish,’ last week. First up: Kentucky will go 40-0. Teevee analyst Jay Bilas denies Calipari said it. Bilas skipped over the “… at Kentucky we ARE basketball,” part.

10. Bleacher Report: New hand check rule will kill college basketball. In fact, the rule may create a new one to stop pushing off by player dribbling the ball.

11. Another Bleacher Report prediction: Florida will struggle because of its roster situation.

12. John Wooden college basketball player of the year list should include no freshmen and, with emphasis on play and academic achievement, the candidate-to-beat should be Doug McDermott, senior at Creighton.

13. College player whose name sports writers had better learn to spell and pronounce: Egidijus Mockevicius 6-10 sophomore center at Evansville is going to be special.

14. Fun to Watch Dept.: Kentucky’s women’s 75-71 win over Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena last Sunday was first rate entertainment. First win in Knoxville since 1985. Junior Jennifer O’Neill was named the SEC Player of the Week.

15. Basketball coaches enjoying their jobs and are extraordinary at it: Jim Boehiem (Syracuse), Billy Donovan (Florida), Jay Wright (Villanova) and Greg McDermott (Creighton).

16. Coaches whose body language says they’re not: Tom Crean (Indiana), Cuonzo Martin (Tennessee) and Calipari.

17. College basketball entertainment supreme in 2014: See Creighton and Wichita State.

18. SEC player of the Year: Scottie Wilbekin, Florida.

19. Team leading the nation in scowls, bewilderment and litany of excuses … see Kentucky.

20. Mt. Rushmore of basketball? Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Bill Russell, said Kobe Bryant last week. Of more than 17,000 internet voters, 52 percent agreed.

21. If basketball-rich Kentucky had its own Mt. Rushmore it would include Adolph Rupp, Ed Diddle and you fill in the others. Note: Anthony Davis doesn’t qualify because he doesn’t meet residency requirement.

22. Best ESPN analysts today for college basketball are Doris Burke, Dan Dakich, Lynn Elmore and Jay Bilas.

23. From the Red-Faced Dept. – In last week’s column I mentioned Oklahoma State’s basketball star as Keith Smart. In fact, the Cowboys player is Marcus Smart.

24. Consider, five rules for Happiness: Free the heart from hatred, free the mind from worry, live simply, give more, and expect less.

And so it goes.