Tech. He averaged 18.6 points, 14.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.2 blocks and Portland finished 4933. Walton was named the 1972 NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player. [104], Walton's sister Cathy was an outstanding youth swimmer and played some basketball at the University of California. Thank you Celtic nation. And another one. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Luke Theodore Walton (Little Wheats) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right 6-8, 235lb (203cm, 106kg) . [77][78], Walton said about his speech issues and subsequent career, "I'm a stutterer. [46], On May 13, 1979, Walton signed as a veteran free agent with the San Diego Clippers; the Portland Trail Blazers received Kevin Kunnert, Kermit Washington and a 1980 first-round draft pick (Mike Gminski was later selected) as compensation ordered by the NBA. He passes. Walton said of the loss, "We could have, we should have won them all, and we didn't get it done. "When that happened, he'd tell me and I'd take him out. I was never so embarrassed in my life. [43], Walton's first two seasons in Portland were marred by chronic foot injuries. 2x NBA CHAMPION. "[20], "I would love to play one more game", Walton said he wished. I found a safe place in life in basketball. [18], "It was a dream come true to be a part of a special team", Walton said. When the Walton children were in junior high and high school, Mr. Walton formed an informal family band: Bruce and Bill played trombone or baritone, Andy played the saxophone, and Cathy played the flute. The craziest part? Updates? But as soon as I got on the court I was fine. But an incident between his junior and senior seasons at UCLA nearly ended his pro career before it started. Walton scored in a variety of ways against Memphis State. Bill Walton was one of the greatest college basketball players in history. A famous free spirit, he was known for his social activism, outspoken opinions, and devotion to the Grateful Dead rock band. Arguably the most impressive feat of his collegiate career was the key role he played in UCLAs NCAA-record 88-game winning streak, as he led the team to the final 73 victories of that run during his first two and a half years at the school. He was named first-team All-American with Jim Chones of Marquette, Bo Lamar of the Louisiana-Lafayette, Ed Ratleff of Long Beach State, and Tom Riker of South Carolina. After retiring from the NBA, Walton overcame stuttering and embarked on a second career as a sportscaster, working both as a studio analyst and color commentator with stints for several networks and teams. Or write about sports? Center Bill Walton was an absolute monster during his three-year stretch at UCLA in the '70s. I thought everybody had the same thing: great parents, great schools, great neighborhoods, great colleges, great coaches. [citation needed], Said Walton of Coach Wooden: "I was John Wooden's easiest recruit. Bill Walton - Basketball Hall of Famer, former NBA MVP and one of only four players in the history of basketball to have won multiple NCAA and NBA Championships - returned to ESPN in 2012 as a college basketball analyst for Pac-12 games. He earned an Emmy Award in 1991. "Of which I had no interest in doing", Walton said. Walton took music lessons, and although his parents were not sports-oriented, Walton followed in the footsteps of his older brother Bruce, who had gravitated toward sports. "But then I would want to play another one. Walton averaged 29 points and 25 rebounds, as Helix finished 330 in his senior season. Bill Walton was born on November 5, 1952. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? As was his belief, Wooden did not call time-outs late in games and stuck with the strategy. He and his first wife, Susie, had four sons: Adam, Nathan, Luke, and Chris. I regret the circumstances in which I left the Portland Trail Blazers family. [11], Before his sophomore season, Walton underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage on his left knee. Nate was on the ballot for the 2003 California Recall election, receiving 1,697 votes. [108] He attended more than 850[109] Grateful Dead concerts, including traveling with the band to Egypt for its famous 1978 performance before the Pyramids (joining the band on drums),[110] and quotes Grateful Dead lyrics in TV and radio interviews. "[12], On Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Walton commented, "The checks bounced higher than the basketballs when Donald Sterling took over. The basketball was awful, and the business side was immoral, dishonest, corrupt, and illegal. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Walton averaged 7.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 19 minutes, and finished with a career-high 56.2 field goal percentage. But to win, we also felt we had to control Walton. [57][58][11], During the off-season, Walton demanded to be traded, citing unethical and incompetent treatment of his and other players' injuries by the Blazers' front office. 2x NBA ALL-STAR. That's why I have the utmost respect for Bill Walton and that's the main reason why he was my inductee into the Hall of Fame. Bill Walton Greatest Games: 44 Points vs Memphis State (1973 NCAA FInal) - YouTube 0:00 / 5:04 Bill Walton Greatest Games: 44 Points vs Memphis State (1973 NCAA FInal) Larry Legend 20.2K. "I came back and told Coach Wooden that this Walton kid was the best high school player I'd ever seen", Crum recalled. His commentary has been noted for his frequent use of catchphrases and hyperbole. He said, 'Bill, I know you feel very strongly about this, but I just don't think that you getting arrested and taking part in this demonstration is what it's all about", recalled Walton. [15] In addition, Walton's 825 rebounds that season ranks No 3 all-time. Twitter: [12][43][44][45], Walton was the number one overall pick by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA draft. "Off the floor I worried. I don't think anyone can get in a run-and-shoot contest with them and win not us, not the Boston Celtics, not anyone. Walton received the NBA Retired Players Association Humanitarian Award in 2002. UCLA next defeated San Francisco 8360 in the Western Regional Final to reach the Final Four. In fact, the number of jumpers he made outside of the lane might be the most impressive part of his 44-point, 95-percent shooting performance. I'll never be able to wash that off, and I carry it with me forever. So we had no real idea how fragile everything was. The Bruins averaged winning by over 20 points, averaging 81.3 points to their opponents' 60.1. Walton reportedly agreed to a seven-year, $7 million contract. Do you have a sports website? 2 (2003), NBA Street V3 (2005), NBA 2K12 (2011), NBA 2K13 (2012), NBA 2K14 (2013), NBA 2K15 (2014), NBA 2K16 (2015) and NBA Jam: On Fire Edition (2011), and lent his voice to NBA 2K5 and NBA Shootout 2004. Playing with four personal fouls, Walton fell hard to the floor on a play and injured his left knee and ankle. [88][89], Walton resides in his hometown of San Diego with his wife Lori (m. 1991). At age 32, Walton wished to move to a winning franchise and reached out to teams after the season ended in 1985. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. He was a good but injury-prone pro. I'm the luckiest guy on earth. Bill Walton is a 6-11 junior center from Helix, Calif. who is the best college basketball player ever. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. He is a real estate executive. Walton played wearing a back brace, as he had suffered a major back injury in a fall against Washington State the week before. William T. "Bill" Walton. "[74], "I'm here to try and make amends for the mistakes and errors of the past", Walton, said to the press in returning to Portland in 2009. Bill Walton Bill Walton couldn't escape the injury bug in his NBA career. Walton appeared in the premiere of the third season in the reality TV show Shark Tank on January 20, 2012, where he helped to sell the "Clean Bottle", a water bottle that unscrews at both ends for easier cleaning.[121][122]. The UCLA streak contributed to a personal winning streak that lasted almost five years, in which Walton's high school, UCLA freshman (freshmen were ineligible for the varsity at that time) and UCLA varsity teams did not lose a game from the middle of his junior year of high school to the middle of his senior year in college. [48][46], In 197677 season Walton played in 65 games and, spurred by new head coach Jack Ramsay, Walton and a newly acquired ABA draftee in Maurice Lucas, the Trail Blazers became the Cinderella team of the NBA. Some school's results have been altered by retroactive NCAA penalties. Walton had 28 points and 14 rebounds against Arizona State, on 13 of 18 shooting, and 9 points and 14 rebounds against San Francisco, taking only 7 shots. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Portland lost the series to Seattle in six games. Coach Wooden never tired of telling us that once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player. UCLA's 1971-72 squad quickly became nicknamed "Walton's Gang," in honor of the 6-11 sophomore. But I will take one. In the locker room after the 1973 Championship game, Coach Wooden introduced Walton to representatives of the ABA, who hoped to convince him to turn pro. [51][50] In a 40 series sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1977 Western Conference finals, Walton averaged 19.3 points, 14.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 blocks playing against fellow UCLA alum Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 2x NCAA CHAMPION . Walton scored eight of UCLA's first 12 points in the game and never looked back. Overall in 197273, Walton averaged 20.4 points and 16.9 rebounds in 30 games on 65.0% shooting, as UCLA again finished 300 (140 in the Pac-8 conference). In a Final Four game against Louisville in the 1972 NCAA tournament, Walton was 11-of-15 from the field, scoring 33 points to go along with 21 rebounds. The Portland Trail Blazers selected Walton with the first pick in the first round of the 1974 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. After several players on the Celtics said they liked the idea of having Walton as a teammate backing up Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, Red Auerbach made the deal happen. Walton worked for CBS (1990), NCAA on CBS (1991),[80] NBC (19902002), the Los Angeles Clippers (19902002) and ABC/ESPN (20022009). [1][2], Walton's early career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) was very successful, winning the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and an NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers, for which he was also named Finals MVP. [93][94] Luke was the head coach of the Lakers (20162019), after two years as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors. "Walton has averaged 21.3 points per game and 15.5 rebounds per game, despite riding the bench much of the time after the starters had built insurmountable leads," wrote The Daily Herald's sports editor Joe Watts. After 19 years working in broadcasting, he left ESPN in November 2009, as the result of back problems, which dated back to an injury he suffered in college at UCLA. William Theodore Walton III Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [115], His memoir, Back from the Dead: Searching for the Sound, Shining the Light and Throwing It Down, was released by Simon and Schuster in March 2016. [22], The 197172 UCLA basketball team had a record of 300, winning its games by an average margin of more than 30 points, averaging 94.6 points to opponents' 64.3. [116] It remained on The New York Times bestseller list for two weeks in April 2016. He has been highly successful in the oil business. On the black day in 1974 against North Carolina State, he produced 29 . He was a dynamic big moment guy, and I just wish I could have risen to the occasion. I just wish I could do a lot of things over, but I can't. 3 [deleted] 10 yr. ago Thank you Boston Celtics. (Bill Walton had attended Stanford Law School for two years while with the Clippers, but never graduated.) College College Basketball Almost Perfect SI Staff Mar 2, 2013 1:10 Almost Perfect UCLA center Bill Walton was nearly perfect in the 1973 NCAA men's national championship game,. [36], Overall, as a senior, Walton averaged 19.3 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. And they're saying, 'Red, come here. Coach Gordon Nash promoted him to the varsity team the end of the season. Wow. Bill Walton probably had one of the best games anybody ever had in the history of college basketball."[33]. "Yes", said Gloria Walton, "then when the referee wasn't looking, Bruce would give the player an elbow and let him know that the skinny guy was his kid brother. He utilized shot fakes and refined post moves to get clean looks. His high arch, which made the foot bones susceptible to breaking, was lowered to relieve the stress on the bones. Bill Walton, UCLA center who scored a record 44 points in the final game of the NCAA basketball tournament at St. Louis, lies on the floor where he had fallen when he was injured with just. The following series of photographs in The Daily Herald (Provo, UT) show Walton's technique of grabbing a rebound, holding the ball high over his head and throwing a two-handed overhead pass to a teammate. . [62] In the Eastern Conference Finals 40 sweep against the Milwaukee Bucks, Walton averaged 8.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 18 minutes. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. [28][27], In the 1973 NCAA title game against Memphis State, Walton had arguably the best individual performance in an NCAA championship game, which was the first held on Monday night. [4][5][6], Walton's father Ted was a music teacher and social worker and his mother Gloria, a librarian. In a 2004 interview with ESPN, Walton stated that "for the first time in my life, I was exposed to negative coaching and the berating of players and the foul language and the threatening of people who didnt perform. I had no idea what we had at UCLA. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions. Bill was taller, but frail as he had not filled out his growing frame. Well, he scored at least 20 points in five other NCAA tournament games, including two 20-point, 20-rebound games in the 1972 NCAA tournament. | Mike Lawrie/Getty Images. When UCLA led Memphis State 35-30, Walton wasn't that far behind the Tigers with his individual point total of 20. 7 Arizona, Indiana outruns Purdue, UNC and Florida State earn stunning wins and more from a men's hoops Saturday, How two HBCUs won an NCAA tournament game in the same year for the first time, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, 1971-72: 21.1 points, 15.5 rebounds, 63.9% field goal shooting, 1972-73: 20.4 points, 16.9 rebounds, 65.0% field goal shooting, 1973-74: 19.3 points, 14.7 rebounds, 66.5% field goal shooting, One of the top 15 players honored in th e75 Years of March Madness Celebration, The most points scored in an NCAA tournament championship game: 44 points (1973), The most field goals in an NCAA tournament championship game: 21 (1973), UCLA's all-time leader in career rebounds: 1,370 rebounds, UCLA's all-time leader in career rebounds per game (min. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. BillWalton, (Big Red, Grateful Red, Red Baron, Redwood, Chief), Position: 13 on USA Today's list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. "[72], In the men's basketball final, the United States controversially lost to the Soviet Union 5150, finishing in second place. Crum first saw Walton in 1968 as a high school junior and was at first dubious when hearing of Walton, but went to scout him anyway. He earned Academic All-American honors in 1972, 1973 and 1974. With Walton, UCLA won the NCAA Championship in 1972 over Florida State and again in 1973 with an 8766 win over Memphis State in which Walton made 21 of 22 field-goal attempts and scored 44 points. Please refer to the floor on a play and injured his left knee and ankle the.... Seattle in six games no 3 all-time Wooden 's easiest recruit I had no idea what we had UCLA! His belief, Wooden did not call time-outs late in games and stuck with the strategy ``... 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