Good grief. We're going to slander John Wooden now to bolster Lavin's credibility?
Wooden was a three time all american as a HS basketball player, a three time all american as a college player, and played basketball professionally. He was 218–42 as a HS coach, 664–162 as a college coach, and won 7 NC in a row, the one sports record that will stand until life in the universe is extinguished. He was married to his HS sweet heart for 53 years, served 3 years in the navy during WW2, and lived to be 100. His favorite book was the Bible. That's a pretty full life, well lived.
Its undoubtedly true that his players got paid by Sam Gilbert. That was during the same era that Louie's players were getting paid by the Lucchese Family. It was a different, simpler time.