Wooden hospitalized but is ‘in good spirits’

John Wooden, UCLA’s 96-year-old Hall of Fame basketball coach, was hospitalized Sunday but is entertaining visits from several former players and doing well, according to his daughter, Nan Muehlhausen.

Muehlhausen said Wooden began suffering symptoms similar to those he’d had a year ago when he was hospitalized for what was diagnosed as diverticulitis, inflamed pockets in the colon.

Although doctors were investigating the possible recurrence of diverticulitis, Muehlhausen said Monday afternoon that Wooden’s doctors now suspect he is suffering a reaction to arthritis medication and the solution may be as simple as changing dosages.

Wooden was hospitalized for three days in April 2006, including the night UCLA played in the national championship game against Florida.

Muehlhausen said Wooden had received two blood transfusions since Sunday and may receive two more.

“He was hemorrhaging Sunday, but he didn’t want to go to the hospital,” she said. “It took some convincing.”

Wooden, who recently renewed his driver’s license and agreed to be the best man at former UCLA coach Steve Lavin’s planned August wedding, had not traveled to Atlanta to see UCLA play in the Final Four on March 31.

He did appear March 29 at the McDonald’s All-American High School game in Louisville, Ky. Wooden is chairman of the game and an advisor to the selection committee.

Muehlhausen said her father was scheduled to speak to the Kansas State athletic department later this week but had postponed that meeting.

“He’s in good spirits, cracking jokes, seeing people,” Muehlhausen said. “He lost a lot of blood and we had to get the paramedics out, but he’s doing reasonably well now. He was joking that he renewed that driver’s license for five years so he’s got to hang around that long.”

diane.pucin@latimes.com