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. I think I can, Red.' He did not get his wish and sat out the entire 1979 season in protest. Corrections? It was just a nightmare. Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III Twitter : BillWalton (Big Red, Grateful Red, Red Baron, Redwood, Chief) Position: Center Shoots: Right 6-11 , 210lb (211cm, 95kg) More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame 2x All Star 1976-77 TRB Champ 1976-77 BLK Champ 2x NBA Champ 2x All-NBA 2x All-Defensive 1976-77 Finals MVP 1977-78 MVP However, he returned to broadcasting the following year. If Bill Walton was getting physical treatment in a basketball game, Bruce returned the treatment. Freshmen were prohibited by the NCAA from playing varsity at the time. 1977 NBA Finals MVP. [deleted] 10 yr. ago For the curious. "I wish we had NBA basketball here, and we don't because of me. I'm the lucky one, in that I never thought going through all of it that I would be healthy at the end. In July 2012, ESPN and the Pac-12 Network announced that Walton would return to full-time broadcasting as a game analyst for Pac-12 conference basketball coverage. [11], Walton played a career-high 80 games for Coach KC Jones and the Celtics during the 198586 season. 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. "Whenever there was a big moment for little Luke, big Luke would show up unannounced to make sure it all turned out right. Nate was on the ballot for the 2003 California Recall election, receiving 1,697 votes. He said of his efforts that day, "A complete failure on all levels, particularly as a human being. He shot 52.1% from the floor for his career. Shoots: 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. 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. [46][11], Due to injuries, Walton spent more time on the disabled list than on the court with his hometown team. 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. [21], After Walton initially refused to cut his hair as an incoming freshman, Coach Wooden told Walton "we'll miss you." If you let him have the ball around the basket, you're dead. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 6:40AM. [46], Walton described doctors looking at his X-rays at the hospital after he arrived in Boston: "And then Red, he bursts in through the double doors and he's smoking his cigar in the hospital, and he walks in and says, 'Who are you guys and what are you doing with my player?' He never talked about strategy, statistics or plays, but rather about people and character. He had 24 and 16 at halftime. It was a humbling honor and privilege to be on the same squad as true legends Monroe Nash, Wilbur Strong, Phil Edwards, and Bruce Menser. [23], In the 25-team 1972 NCAA tournament, UCLA defeated Weber State 9058. And another one. Thank you Red Auerbach. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. He became the only player to have won an NBA Finals MVP, Sixth Man Award, and regular season MVP. However, they were outscored 120, missing six consecutive shots with four turnovers. Bill Walton, byname of William Theodore Walton III, (born November 5, 1952, La Mesa, California, U.S.), American collegiate and professional basketball player who is considered one of the best all-around post players in the sports history. As a matter of policy, Sports Reference only reports the results of games as played on the field. The basketball was awful, and the business side was immoral, dishonest, corrupt, and illegal. The Trail Blazers with Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, and LaRue Martin finished 3844 under player/coach Lenny Wilkens. Right, Born: Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? At halftime, the game was tied 3939. There were running jump hooks and short jumpers off the glass. Throughout his career, nagging injuries continually slowed Walton. [11], Before his sophomore season, Walton underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage on his left knee. Walton was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 1984. He played 20 minutes in his last game for UCLA and Coach Wooden. The vitals for Bill Walton School: UCLA Position: Center Height: 6-11 Weight: 210 pounds Years active: 1971-74 NCAA tournament record: 11-1 College averages: 20.3 points per game, 15.7. He originally joined ESPN in 2002 as a lead analyst for ESPN and ABC's NBA coverage. Center Bill Walton was an absolute monster during his three-year stretch at UCLA in the '70s. 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. The team leader on defense, Walton was a superb rebounder and outlet passer to start the fast break. As we mentioned earlier, Walton had 33 points and 21 rebounds against Louisville in the national semifinal, then he had 24 and 20 against Florida State in the national championship game. Walton, who missed a 12-foot shot off an inbounds pass to win the game as time expired, finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. 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. Or, as Walton himself would call it, "The Conference of Champions." home/away, monthly, etc More Bill Walton Basketball Reference pages. "[12], In 169 games with the Clippers, Walton averaged 11.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 blocks, shooting 53.2%. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. And he had a great head, a very dedicated team player. "Maurice was so important in my life and in little Luke's life", Walton said. His efforts were rewarded with the NBAs Sixth Man Award for the 198586 season. All rights reserved. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 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. Join our linker program. It's not like he attempted 22 dunks, and still, he missed only once all game. Or write about sports? | Mike Lawrie/Getty Images. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. "He thought enough of me to make sure I was comfortable with him being on the team. [43], Walton's first two seasons in Portland were marred by chronic foot injuries. Portland lost the series to Seattle in six games. He then limped off the floor, receiving an ovation from the 19,301 fans. Walton also received the USBWA College Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year as the top college basketball player in 1972, 1973, and 1974. "Walton started UCLA's famed fast break with quick outlet passes," noted the AP. [82], Walton's 2003 TV series Bill Walton's Long Strange Trip aired on ESPN with Walton as subject and star. [84], While broadcasting a WashingtonOregon January 2019 game with Dave Pasch, Walton mentioned he had appeared in the motion picture Ghostbusters. When you're right there and it's there for you and the whole world is watching, and it's recorded as history that can never be changed, that is a terribly heavy burden. In 2018, Walton received the CoSIDA Dick Enberg Award. CAN'T MISS: Find out which March Madness Moment was voted the greatest of all time. [83], While broadcasting a game between the Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans, Walton talked about a speech Bob Dylan gave at MusiCares, and ESPN had prepared graphics about Dylan's career highlights. "Coach Wooden looked at me and said, 'Walton, I used to think you were a good player until you missed that one shot,'" Walton said. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Coach Gordon Nash promoted him to the varsity team the end of the season. Watch the incredible performance for yourself: The fact that Walton once scored 44 points in an NCAA tournament title game while nearly being perfect from the field completely reframes the discussion about his greatest games. A better player. In 1971-72, the Walton Gang went 30-0 and had only two games settled by single digits. He missed three games. "I came back and told Coach Wooden that this Walton kid was the best high school player I'd ever seen", Crum recalled. UCLA was leading 7059 with 3 minutes remaining. That's the day the oft-injured Hall of Famer, whose career had . Thank you Celtic nation. Playing with four personal fouls, Walton fell hard to the floor on a play and injured his left knee and ankle. With Walton playing alongside Henry Bibby, Larry Farmer, Wilkes, Lee, and Swen Nater, UCLA finished 140 in the Pac 8 Conference. DI indoor T&F championship selections revealed, How La. He is a real estate executive. Bill Walton was a great college player, maybe the best ever. He averaged 17.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 4.3 blocks in the first round series against the Bulls. [46][11], "When you fail in your hometown, that's as bad as it gets, and I love my hometown", said Walton of his tenure in San Diego. inLa Mesa,California But I will take one. Wooden would become a lifetime mentor to Walton. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. By far the youngest player on the roster, Walton played minimally in five games, averaging 2.6 points. I regret the circumstances in which I left the Portland Trail Blazers family. [56] Walton nonetheless won the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player award and the Sporting News NBA MVP, as well. [14], "I had no problem with him during the season", Wooden said of Walton's college days. After the game, famous basketball journalist Dick Weiss of the Courier-Post (Camden, N.J.) wrote, "How could any team lose with Bill Walton on its roster? "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. Here is the Week 1 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, released Feb. 14. And I was going to go until I couldn't go anymore. Born: March 28, 1980 in San Diego, California us Relatives: Father Bill Walton. Elvin and I are still close friends. In 1994, Walton was voted into the Verizon Academic All-American Hall of Fame. But, he played in only six games and did not start any of them. Data Provided By In Walton's only NCAA tournament loss of his career, a double-overtime thriller against N.C. State, he still had 29 points and 18 rebounds while playing all 50 minutes, so he sure did his part to keep the Bruins in the game. All rights reserved. We had a bitter argument over that, and I lost that argument, too", said Walton, who took only three shots as UCLA had a 7861 win. UCLA was 86-4 during Bill Walton's three years of college with the center starting his college career 73-0. ", Bartow, after the 1973 national championship game: "Walton Walton Walton We couldn't contain Walton. [11][46], Walton overcame a stuttering problem at age 28 with the help of Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Glickman, after a lengthy conversation between the two at an event. "[12], On Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Walton commented, "The checks bounced higher than the basketballs when Donald Sterling took over. Nonetheless, he was one of the greatest college basketball players in history. Walton called the game the most disappointing outcome of his entire basketball career, as UCLA had a 5-point lead late in regulation and a 7-point lead in the 2nd overtime, before NC State with David Thompson rallied to win, 8077. Then I joined the NBA. Do you have a blog? His career was rehabilitated during two seasons with the Boston Celtics at the end of his career. [4][5][6], Walton's father Ted was a music teacher and social worker and his mother Gloria, a librarian. After having received a painkilling injection to play, X-rays taken after Game 2 revealed the navicular bone below Walton's left ankle was broken. Bill Walton won the following awards and honors: NAISMITH AWARDS: Player of the Year | Coach of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year, Louisville coach Denny Crum: "Bill Walton is just amazing. [40], Walton left UCLA to begin a new life in professional basketball and kept a lifetime friendship with Coach Wooden. [61], In the Celtics' 41 series win over the Atlanta Hawks with Dominique Wilkins in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, Walton averaged 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 13 minutes. To not be able to play was a crushing blow to him. All these guys treated melittle Billylike I was part of the team. It's true that Bill's game, even when he was healthy, was never about flash. College: Arizona High School: University in San Diego, California Recruiting Rank: 1998 (71) Draft: Los Angeles Lakers, 2nd round (3rd pick, 32nd overall), 2003 NBA Draft [38], In the 1974 Final Four, UCLA's record seven consecutive national titles was broken. [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. "[98], Chris Walton played for San Diego State. College: UCLA High School: Helix in La Mesa, California 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. [12][43][44][45], Walton was the number one overall pick by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA draft. So I'm here to apologize, to try and make amends, and to try and start over and make it better. He earned Academic All-American honors in 1972, 1973 and 1974. "[11], In Walton's senior year, UCLA's 88-game winning streak ended with a 7170 loss at Notre Dame on January 19, 1974. "They had some great teams with Elvin Hayes and Calvin Murphy and future head coaches and broadcasters such as Pat Riley, Rick Adelman, Rudy Tomjanovich, Jim Barnett, and Stu Lantz. And I looked up at him, and I said, 'Red, I think I can. "[36], UCLA had to come back and play in the NCAA 3rd place game, in which they eventually defeated Kansas. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. 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. Walton would takes passes that weren't necessarily intended to be alley-oops and he score an alley-oop layup off of them. Center The USA team, under coach Hal Fisher, failed to win a medal in the tournament, coming in a disappointing fifth place. After steadily improving his game, he led the Trail Blazers in 1977 to their first NBA championship. In a pre-season meeting with his new coach, Walton had advised Ramsay, "Coach, don't assume we know anything. Two titanium rods and four four-inch bolts were inserted in his back. Walton was the inaugural inductee into the Grateful Dead Hall of Honor in 2001. "[20], "I would love to play one more game", Walton said he wished. Bill Walton can talk a good game when it comes to doing color commentary on college basketball telecasts, but he played a nearly perfect one as UCLA's star center in the 1973 NCAA Tournament final. Bill Walton College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Bill Walton Position: Guard 6-1 (185cm) School: Eastern Kentucky SUMMARY Career G 66 PTS 10.9 TRB 3.0 AST - FG% 45.4 FT% 71.2 Walton Overview Game Logs NCAA Tournament Game Logs 1964-65 All Game Logs On this page: Per Game Per Game Share & Export [28][27], In the 1973 Final Four, the Bruins won the national semifinal 7059 over Indiana and Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Walton is a noted fan of the Grateful Dead, as a self-described "Deadhead", and often mentions them in his broadcasts. Updates? Helix in La Mesa, California, Draft: And to me it was frustrating because I finally had a great team and a great player and it was all coming apart. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. He loved to win on the opponent's court. Walton then rode his bike to a nearby barber. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Before the injuries hampered his professional career, Bill Walton dominated college basketball. Get the latest news, stats, videos, highlights and more about not available Bill Walton on ESPN. He averaged 21.1, 20.4, and 19.3 points per game in his three seasons and was . School: UCLAPosition: CenterHeight: 6-11Weight: 210 poundsYears active: 1971-74NCAA tournament record: 11-1College averages: 20.3 points per game, 15.7 rebounds per game, 65.1% field goal shooting. Big Red, Grateful Red, Red Baron, Redwood, Chief are nicknames for Bill Walton. 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