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| UCLA mourns the passing of legendary basketball player and broadcaster Bill Walton. Learn about his impact on the Bruins and his contributions to the sport. |
UCLA grieves the loss of renowned Hall of Famer Bill Walton
" We are shocked and saddened about the news of Bill Walton's death," stated Martin Jarmond, UCLA's Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics. "Bill represented many of the suitables that our university loves and embodied several qualities on Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success. He enjoyed being back on school at UCLA, calling video games in Pauley Pavilion, and being around our groups. We provide our inmost compassion to his household, and we take solace in understanding that Bill made every day his work of art.".
In the years following his NBA profession, Walton turned to sports broadcasting and was included with several charitable and humanitarian companies, centers, and camps. He acted as both a studio expert and color analyst. More just recently, he worked courtside as a color analyst for ESPN and Pac-12 Network college basketball broadcasts. He consistently served on broadcast teams in Pauley Pavilion, in addition to several other Pac-12 basketball locations.
Walton played 10 seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, the San Diego Clippers (and Los Angeles Clippers) and the Boston Celtics. He assisted lead Portland to the 1977 NBA title, completing 2nd in the league's MVP ballot that year. He was honored as the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 1978, his 4th year in the league with Portland. In an NBA profession in which he fought several injuries, Walton returned as an essential gamer with the Boston Celtics in the mid-1980s. He assisted Boston win the 1986 NBA Finals in a six-game series success over the Houston Rockets.
Walton, who matured in San Diego and went to Helix High School, bet famous UCLA head coach John Wooden as the Bruins' beginning center for 3 seasons (1972-74). Dipping into UCLA before freshmen student-athletes might contend on the university team, Walton starred on UCLA's freshman group in 1970-71.
Walton used UCLA's only university groups to tape back-to-back best 30-0 seasons in 1972 and 1973, assisting the Bruins assemble an 86-4 total record in 3 years. His UCLA groups won their very first 73 video games, as the Bruins had actually extended their winning streak to 88 successive video games (the NCAA males's basketball record).
Throughout his 3 university seasons, the Bruins went 49-0 in Pauley Pavilion, as part of a 98-game home winning streak that covered the 1970-71 through 1975-76 basketball seasons.
Walton began his sports transmitting profession in 1990 as an expert for the Prime Ticket Network. In addition, he worked for CBS Sports in the early 1990s and later on for NBC, consisting of protection of the Olympic Games in 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney). He signed up with ESPN and ABC as an NBA expert in 2002.
Walton is endured by his spouse of 33 years, Lori; his 4 boys, Adam, Nathan, Luke and Chris; and his 3 grandchildren, Olivia, Avery Rose and Chase.
Walton and previous UCLA fantastic Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (understood in college as Lew Alcindor) ended up being the very first 2 UCLA males's basketball gamers to have their jersey numbers retired. Walton, who used number 32 throughout his UCLA profession, was honored in addition to Abdul-Jabbar and previous UCLA ladies's basketball standouts Ann Meyers-Drysdale and Denise Curry at halftime of the UCLA males's basketball video game versus DePaul on Feb. 3, 1990.
The halftime event was a crucial minute throughout the school's "Pauley at 25" event throughout the 1989-90 season and marked the very first time in which any UCLA basketball gamers had their jersey numbers retired. Ever since, UCLA has actually retired the jersey varieties of 10 previous guys's basketball gamers.
Previous UCLA guys's basketball two-time NCAA Champion Bill Walton has actually died at the age of 71 following an extended fight with cancer, as revealed by the NBA on Monday early morning. He was surrounded by his household.
Walton, amongst the most embellished college basketball gamers of perpetuity, led UCLA to back-to-back NCAA titles as a sophomore and junior (1972, 1973), culminating in a string of 7 successive NCAA champions won by the Bruins from 1967 through 1973. He was a club member of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993, after playing in the NBA from 1974-87.
Chosen as the No. 1 general choice in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Walton concluded his college profession in Westwood having actually broken several school records. A three-time All-Pac-8 choice (1972-74), Walton was honored as an agreement first-team All-America choice in all 3 university seasons.
To this day, he ranks amongst the leading 10 leaders in program history in numerous analytical classifications. He stands No. 1 on UCLA's profession rebounding list (1,370) and ranks No. 13 in profession points scored (1,767). Walton likewise made Academic All-America praise all 3 years on the university group (1972-74).
" On behalf of everybody with the UCLA males's basketball program, we are deeply saddened to find out of Bill Walton's death," stated Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "My inmost acknowledgements head out to his household and enjoyed ones. It's extremely tough to take into words what he has actually implied to UCLA's program, along with his significant influence on college basketball.
Beyond his exceptional achievements as a gamer, it's his ruthless energy, interest for the video game and steadfast sincerity that have actually been the trademarks of his bigger than life character. As an enthusiastic UCLA alumnus and broadcaster, he enjoyed being around our gamers, hearing their stories, and sharing his knowledge and recommendations.
For me as a coach, he was sincere, kind, and constantly had his heart in the best location. I will miss him quite. It's difficult to think of a season in Pauley Pavilion without him. Our sports department, our group and this university will miss him very much.".
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