Earth to all student athletes: "The NBA's all-time leading scorer loved his college English class"

At a time when collegiate sports departments look increasingly like business operations, a time in which only a couple percent of college football and basketball players move on to "the next level," student athletes should think carefully before taking the easy courses, those passing them through instead of educating them during their precious time on campus.

Although I believe Bill Russell is the greatest collegiate and professional player of all-time for reasons I shall not enumerate here, I must put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a nearby orbit. My point here, however, is to credit Jabbar for his writing career, the career he was able to pursue after a successful professional career because he was a legitimate student-athlete while at UCLA. Addul-Jabbar has to date written two well-received books. From Sports Editor Bill Dwyre's column in the Los Angeles Times quoting Abdul-Jabbar on his student days in UCLA:

"I loved school, loved UCLA," Abdul-Jabbar says. "I remember, in an English class taught by a Mr. Lindstrom, we were asked to do essays and he said he would read the best three to the entire class. He read the first two, then said he was going to read the best one, and it was mine. It was right then that I thought maybe I could do this, that maybe I had what it takes."

Dwyre: "He (Abdul-Jabbar) also played at UCLA for John Wooden, always more English teacher than coach."

Adbul-Jabbar: "We'd sit on the bus and talk about when to use a colon and when a semicolon," Abdul-Jabbar says. "We'd argue the difference between "like" and "as if."*

Particularly gratifying is the fact that Coach John Wooden was also English teacher John Wooden, and that Wooden combined the two aspects of himself successfully with his student-athletes. Coach Wooden was also presumably a prescriptivist concerning grammar and usage, someone who believes in a grammar code and its proper enforcement, no doubt accomplished by Wooden in a thoughtful, even humorous manner.

Regarding the old argument between Adbul-Jabbar and Wooden about using "as if" for "like," the Oxford English Dictionary disapproves, presumably siding with Wooden: "It is considered unacceptable in formal English to use like as a conjunction meaning ‘as if’ (as in he's behaving like he owns the place). Use as if or as though instead.

There is a conflict, however, and this is what I love about grammar. Looking further in the OED definitions below, you will see that like may be used as a conjunction meaning "similar to," "very closely resembling." Thus, "He's behaving in a manner like (closely resembling) an actual owner" now seems to work. This one appears to be a draw. You decide.

At any rate, kudos to Kareem for caring and for choosing a writing career!

The Oxford English Dictionary definitions of "as if" and "like":

* as if (or though): as would be the case if; conj: despite the fact that, although; adverb: however.

* like may be used in many ways, and depending upon its syntax (where it is located in the sentence and which words it most closely relates to) may serve as a different part of speech:

adj: having similar characteristics; conj: similar to, very closely resembling; as if;
prep: similar to, resembling; in a similar way; adv: nearly, approximately; probably (Slang); as if, such (Slang); v: enjoy; be fond of; want; prefer; n: person or thing which is similar or comparable; kind, type; things which are preferred or liked.
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