WESTWOOD, Calif. — Less than nine months after basketball legend Bill Walton died at age 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer, UCLA school went all-out to embrace one of the distinct personalities in college basketball.
UCLA players wore tie-dye shirts in pre-game warmups with the last name “Walton” on the back. Fans inside Pauley Pavilion roamed the concourse donning tie-dye apparel that paid tribute to Walton’s favorite band, the Grateful Dead. UCLA students wore blue tie-dye shirts in the student section to “celebrate Walton’s larger-than-life personality.”
Current UCLA players shared their favorite memories of Walton throughout the game during timeouts on the jumbotron. Near the north entrance of the arena was a shadow box full of memorabilia dating back to Walton’s time at UCLA and in the NBA. Fans lined by the dozen to take pictures with the display. UCLA’s coaching staff wore blue tie-dye Nike shoes. The CBS broadcast crew of Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery wore tie-dye, while back in the New York studio the Inside College Basketball gang did, too.
The highlight of Sunday’s memorable day was the halftime ceremony during UCLA’s 69-61 win over Ohio State. Walton’s wife, Lori Walton, was named an honorary captain and dozens of family and friends — including fellow program legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — attended the ceremony.
“Today was about No. 32,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said after becoming the youngest active coach in Division I college basketball to win 500 games.
Walton was not only a legend as a player for John Wooden, but also as a broadcaster. His humorous style and affinity for the Pac-12 before the “Conference of Champions” disbanded last summer made him a fan favorite and a staple of West Coast basketball.
“Today was a special day,” UCLA center Aday Mara said. “My first year (at UCLA), he was always helping. … his advice (to me) was always be patient. He told me to trust my work when the time comes. He was an amazing person.”
The three-time Naismith Award winner and two-time national champion was part of some of the best teams in college basketball history. Walton helped UCLA capture national championships in 1972 and 1973 and was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player in both tournaments. Walton and Abdul-Jabbar (formerly known as Lew Alcindor) became the first two UCLA men’s basketball players to have their jersey numbers retired in 1990.
“Bill’s love for the game … and love for people combined (made) him an ideal broadcaster,” Abdul-Jabbar said on the CBS broadcast. “Listening to his broadcasts, he was informed and had a sense of humor. I think that’s so important.”
Late Bill Walton’s ‘larger-than-life personality’ to be honored by UCLA during game Sunday vs. Ohio State
Cameron Salerno
During Walton’s playing career at UCLA, he was the anchor of program that went 86-4 mark. UCLA had back-to-back 30-0 seasons in 1972 and 1973 and capped an unprecedented seventh consecutive national title. UCLA won consecutive titles during the 1964 and 1965 seasons before going on a historic run that included cutting down the nets every season from 1967 (when the Alcindor era began) to 1973 (when the Walton era ended).
Walton’s team at UCLA won its first 73 games and finished the streak by winning 88 games in a row, which remains the NCAA men’s basketball record. The Bruins went 49-0 inside Pauley Pavilion as part of a 98-game home winning streak that started during the 1970-71 campaign.
UCLA remains the only program in men’s college basketball history to win three or more consecutive titles and the only program to accomplish the feat twice. Oklahoma State, Kentucky, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida, and most recently, UConn are the only other teams that have repeated as champions.
Walton often said he was the “luckiest man in the world.” College basketball fans showed one of the icons of the sport that they were the lucky ones to be a small part of his everlasting legacy that includes humor, love for basketball and a whole lot of tie-dye.
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