RIP Bill Walton

[MuggsyB]

Damn.   Only 71. 

[brewcity77]

I wondered how he'd live without the Pac-12. Turns out, he won't.

[Jay Bee]

I wondered how he'd live without the Pac-12. Turns out, he won't.

Interesting input. Sheesh

[Uncle Rico]

Crushing news

[Jockey]

Interesting input. Sheesh

Jokes are painful for old, pretentious white guys.

[Jockey]

Had he been healthy, he would be consensus top 10 all-time.

Greatest performance ever by a college player back in the early 70s against Memphis State.

[MuggsyB]

Had he been healthy, he would be consensus top 10 all-time.

Greatest performance ever by a college player back in the early 70s against Memphis State.

His stat-line that game was ridiculous.  He had a sweet little bank shot.  Lucas loved the guy.  Sad news.  I like his zip outlet passes. 

[MurphysTillClose]

Jokes are painful for old, pretentious white guys.

Fascinating how triggering Walton is to some here. Joyless humans

[tower912]

I enjoyed his shtick, admired him as a player.   RIP.

[Herman Cain]

One of the true all time greats. Basketball Career cut short by injuries. Was a fun announcer and always was very Pro MU over the years from his relationship with Maurice Lucas, who he named his son Luke after.

Sounds like he fought the cancer hard till the end .

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nba-hall-famer-bill-walton-dead-71

[WhiteTrash]

Nobody is perfect, but Bill was overwhelming net positive for the game. Didn't take it too seriously and had other important interest outside of the game that lent to having sports in proper perspective. At lest, that how I saw it.

[marqfan22]

Did he ever play vs. Marquette?

Also, did he announce a Maui game for us?

[The Sultan]

Did he ever play vs. Marquette?

Nope. Al only played John Wooden once - in Al's first season.

[WhiteTrash]

Nope. Al only played John Wooden once - in Al's first season.

Wooden was ducking from MU.

[MuggsyB]

How good was that Portland '77 squad?  Had Walton stayed healthy would that have won another chip?

[The Sultan]

How good was that Portland '77 squad?  Had Walton stayed healthy would that have won another chip?

Yes, they likely would have won the '78 title too. They had the league's best record by far before Walton got hurt.

The Sonics team that beat them was no slouch - they made the Finals back to back playing the Bullets both times. Won the second.

After that the Lakers pretty much took over the West.

[MU82]

A true American original, and an eclectic guy who wasn't afraid to be true to his beliefs.

[MuggsyB]

Could he guard Kareem?  I know he stated repeatedly he's the best player that he faced. There were a ton of cool bigs from the 70's until the Shaq era.  i would have liked to have seen Moses Malone.  The man appears all business  in the videos I've seen.  Relentless on the glass.  Highly underrated historically imo. 

[Herman Cain]

How good was that Portland '77 squad?  Had Walton stayed healthy would that have won another chip?

Muggsy:
77 Trail Blazers led by Walton were an incredible combination of Athleticism, Team Work, Basketball IQ and Coaching. Walton was incredible Rim Protector and Glass Sweeper. Many times when Walton would get a hard earned board ( he always got the hard ones), he would turn in mid air , and before his feet landed , he would have the ball moving down the court to a Lionel Hollins or Johnny Davis. Similarly, he would block shots to one of his own team mates. On offense , he was the Fulcrum for everything the team did, with the last option being his own Jump Hook or a Pump Fake and Jam, both of which were unstoppable.  A lot of what he did offensively didn't show up on the stat sheets, setting screens etc.

So Yes, no question Blazers would have won more championships. They were well on their way in 78 to another one when the injury re occurred.

The 77 Blazer Squad beat an  Excellent 76er team that had Dr. J, George McGinnis and Doug Collins at the peak of their careers. 77 Blazer swept The Kareem and Jerry West coached  Laker squad  to get to the finals. Kareem was in his Prime, and widely regard as the Best Player in Basketball, Walton got the best him in those 4 games with a legendary individual performance.

[MuggsyB]

Muggsy:
77 Trail Blazers led by Walton were an incredible combination of Athleticism, Team Work, Basketball IQ and Coaching. Walton was incredible Rim Protector and Glass Sweeper. Many times when Walton would get a hard earned board ( he always got the hard ones), he would turn in mid air , and before his feet landed , he would have the ball moving down the court to a Lionel Hollins or Johnny Davis. Similarly, he would block shots to one of his own team mates. On offense , he was the Fulcrum for everything the team did, with the last option being his own Jump Hook or a Pump Fake and Jam, both of which were unstoppable.  A lot of what he did offensively didn't show up on the stat sheets, setting screens etc.

So Yes, no question Blazers would have won more championships. They were well on their way in 78 to another one when the injury re occurred.

The 77 Blazer Squad beat an  Excellent 76er team that had Dr. J, George McGinnis and Doug Collins at the peak of their careers. 77 Blazer swept The Kareem and Jerry West coached  Laker squad  to get to the finals. Kareem was in his Prime, and widely regard as the Best Player in Basketball, Walton got the best him in those 4 games with a legendary individual performance.

It's a shame he couldn't stay healthy Herman. 

[Uncle Rico]

Didn't shut up and dribble.  Knew the world was bigger than just basketball. 

[The Sultan]

Could he guard Kareem?  I know he stated repeatedly he's the best player that he faced. There were a ton of cool bigs from the 70's until the Shaq era.  i would have liked to have seen Moses Malone.  The man appears all business  in the videos I've seen.  Relentless on the glass.  Highly underrated historically imo. 

Walton could definitely guard Kareem.

[MuggsyB]

Was he the greatest college hooper of all-time or is it Jabbar?

[The Sultan]

Was he the greatest college hooper of all-time or is it Jabbar?

I have no idea.

[Uncle Rico]

I have no idea.

Jim Chones