Those Southern Californians, They're So Laid Back

While we are on the subject of Bill Walton, I found this little tidbit that is slightly disturbing. John Wooden coached UCLA for 27 years, beginning in 1947, and won 620 games, 10 national titles (including seven consecutive titles from 1966-1973) and 88 straight games at one point. Gene Bartow replaced "The Wizard of Westwood" in 1975, and led the Bruins to a 52-9 record during two seasons as head coach. But Bartow could not replicate Wooden's penchant for winning titles and left the program amid threats to take his life if he continued coaching at the school. I guess UCLA students don't apply their "Life is a Beach" approach to winning basketball programs that fail to net national titles.

Sidney Wicks Proud of His Career

Sidney Wicks Proud of His Career

March 3, 2009

Sidney Wicks cannot imagine a more rewarding college experience than the one that ushered him into adulthood in the late 1960s and early '70s.

It was an era of tumultuous social change in the United States, and much of it took root on college campuses.

Relatively Clean-Cut for an Early 70s Protest

Bill Walton Once Won 142 Straight Games

Born November 5, 1952, in La Mesa, California, Walton had varied childhood interests, including music and football. His older brother Bruce played in the NFL; Bill chose basketball after spurting from 6'1" to 6'7" between his sophomore and junior years at Helix High School. As a senior, he led Helix to a 33-0 record, averaging 29 points and 24 rebounds. The next season, he drove UCLA's freshman team to a 20-0 mark. Next came back-to-back 30-0 seasons with the varsity, culminating in NCAA championship-game victories over Florida State in 1972 and Memphis State in 1973. In all, Walton went five years and 142 games between losses, until a 71-70 setback at Notre Dame his senior season. The college Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons, he graduated as UCLA's all-time leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.

After the jump, Bill reminisces about this little-known accomplishment.

A Decade After the Dynasty

In any great dynasty there are familiar points of reference -- certain names or incidents or images that mark the reign of each ruler long after the dynasty has passed into history. So it is with the long line of UCLA basketball kings. There was Lew-CLA and the Walton Gang and the Wizard of Westwood. Alcindor's sky hook and Shackleford's corner jumper and the full-court zone press. Hazzard and Goodrich. Wicks and Rowe.

Grampa Celtic Talks Wooden and Walton (the Fifth Beatle)

LOS ANGELES - The Portland Trail Blazers were making their first trip to Boston in the Bill Walton era, and I was witness to a fascinating ritual

Walton came out of the scrimmage, removed his shoes, and loosened his laces. When it was time to go back in, he meticulously retied the laces with the precision of an artisan

Remembering the 88-Game Streak (game by game)

 



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Jan. 30, 1971: 74-61 vs. UC Santa Barbara:

After their loss to Notre Dame, the Bruins fell to No. 2 in the AP poll, behind 14-0 Marquette and ahead of 14-0 USC. Curtis Rowe had 28 points with 11 rebounds and Sidney Wicks scored 19 as the Bruins were ahead by only eight with 8:39 left. "Let me initiate this by saying I'm not at all pleased," Wooden said. "We didn't play well today and we didn't play well last weekend."

Walton and Wooden Health Update

Bill Walton Pinched Nerve in Back

Luke Walton said his father, Bill, still is recovering from a pinched nerve in his back. "His back is all jacked up," Luke Walton said of his father, an All-American at UCLA and a member of the Hall of Fame who now works as a television commentator.

Bill Walton has remained at his San Diego, Calif., home during his recovery."He's going through a tough time right now," Luke Walton said. "He can't go into the arenas and sit in those chairs. He definitely can't get on a plane. He said that's the most painful thing. He can barely get into a car right now."

Walton, playing in an era when freshmen were not eligible for varsity competition, was UCLA's starting center for three years. He helped the Bruins to an 86-4 record, back-to-back 30-0 seasons and two national championships.

John Wooden Broken Wrist & Collar Bone

John Wooden's daughter, Nan Muehlhausen, said that her father is doing much better and an irregular heart beat discovered last month is now under control. He recently had to have a blood transfusion.

The 97-year-old Wooden fell at his Encino home on Feb. 28, hitting his head and breaking his left wrist and collarbone.

His wrist is in a cast and his arm is in a sling.

Former UCLA players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Warren and Andy Hill have also stopped by to cheer up Wooden. Bill Walton has called him or emailed him just about everyday.

The Game Bill Walton Played for the Yugoslavian National Team

After Bill Walton played his last game for Helix High School in San Diego, the coach for the AAU Armed Forces team asked Walton if he wanted to play in the 1970 World Championship Games held in Yugoslavia. Walton agreed.

The tryout took place in a military installation at Fort Hamilton, New York. Walton was the only invitee who wasn't in the Army. The coach, whom Walton refused to name, threw more F-bombs per sentence than Walton had ever heard. During a three minute span, Walton counted 102 F-Bombs, or slightly more than one every two seconds. He was using them as nouns, verbs, adjectives, articles, and prepositions.

At 6'10" and 190 pounds, Walton still had a ways to go before growing into the taller, heavier build the nation became familiar with during his sophomore year at UCLA. Nonetheless, Walton was the best player on the practice floor, and made the team easily. He dominated every practice he participated in.

But once the games started, the coach never played him, and never told him why (Walton wondered whether it was because he lacked a military pedigree).

Once the team arrived in Europe and it became clear that Walton wasn't playing, the coach began receiving calls from the various colleges who were recruiting Walton. They all wanted to see how Big Red would do against some international competition. But the AAU coach refused.

The pressure to play Walton continued, until finally the AAU coach had an idea. He called Walton to a meeting and told him that the Yugoslavian national team was short on players, and had asked the Americans to help fill out their roster.

Would Walton suit up for them?

"Without a doubt," Walton told his coach. "I didn't come to Yugoslavia to be a tourist or a spectator."

The AAU coach gave him a ragged, moth-eaten uniform that was too small for the red head. Walton didn't care. Nor did it matter to Walton that he didn't speak a word of Yugoslavian or his new teammates a word of English.

The Walton-lead Yugoslavia national team went out and established a huge lead over the American team, with Mountain Man scoring just about every point and grabbing just about every rebound. Soon, however, the Americans mounted a comeback. But as the game drew even, the local referees started making every call in favor of the Yugoslavian team.

Once Walton realized the refs were on his side, he began employing every dirty trick he knew. As the lead went back and forth, the stadium started chanting his name: "Wal-ton. Wal-ton." The Americans eventually won by three, but Yugoslavian fans stormed the court, and carried off their new hero on their shoulders, continuing to chant his name for the next 20 minutes.

When the celebration ended, Walton returned to the Americans locker room, and the coach never spoke to him again and never played him again.

The experience was so bad for the future Celtic that it tainted his view of international competition when the 1972 Olympic Committee came knocking at his door.

1986 Walton 10-Game Report Card

Given a chance to play in meaningful games for the first time since 1978, Bill Walton has responded with the enthusiasm of his youth. One of the best products of a lost generation, he has been given new life in Celtic green.The consumer can only be delighted. It's like reading a new book by J.D. Salinger or hearing a new hit song by Bob Dylan.

Many of Walton's teammates and rivals are discovering him for the first time. "I had never seen him play until this year," kids Kevin McHale. "Except maybe once on black-and-white TV."The grainy footage of Walton's 21-for-22 masterpiece vs. Memphis State in the 1973 NCAA final is ancient history for today's NBA youth.


Karl Malone and Xavier McDaniel probably know almost as much about George Mikan as Bill Walton.After all the years of broken bones and broken promises, there are still moments of perfect karma when Bill Walton is At One with the basket. It is then that his teammates and fans see all the hope and joy that he brings to the game.The Celtic fandom experienced one such magic moment Friday night when Walton fired a still-unseen bullet pass to a streaking Danny Ainge for a layup.

Celtics have two of the most creative yet clinically perfect hoops artists of all time. Time and geography put their best games in different arenas in different decades, but this overlapping glimpse we're seeing makes one wonder what they would have done had they been in the same place at the same age at the same time. Accidents such as that produced the Beatles.Mention Bird's name to Cambridge Bill and it's as if you've just dropped a fireball into a jack-o'-lantern.

"I love playing with Larry," says Walton. "He's an unbelievable basketball player. I've only seen him on TV most of my career because we'd only see Boston twice a season. But he does so many things so well. He has great anticipation of the next play. I love that style."Between the 1978-79 and 1981-82 seasons, Walton played only 14 games, all in the '79-80 campaign. He was cloistered in Clipper blue - playing and practicing only when his brittle feet allowed.It has all changed.


He has missed only one Celtic practice (excused for personal reasons). He's been superb on the defensive boards, and has gotten back on defense as well as any Celtic big man. He also has played in all 10 games, averaging 20 minutes, 9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1 block. Four games have come on the second night of back-to-back games. Walton didn't do back-to- back games during most of his Clipper tenure."The key so far has been my amount of minutes," says Walton.

I'm only playing 20 minutes. I know what I can do to still perform, and the key is minutes in games. My problems in the past have been stress in my lower legs from game after game playing over 30 minutes."Oddly enough, Walton routinely missed practice even though he averaged only 24.5 minutes when he played in a career-high 67 games with the Clippers last year.

Apparently, his head and heart have made his feet more committed to the Celtics.Walton's presence is making Robert Parish a happier, more effective and more rested player. The Chief is averaging only 31 minutes (lowest since 1980-81), but is still giving the Celtics 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds. He's also running the floor like a 28 year-old pup.Walton was turnover-prone in his first week with Boston, but played his best games last Friday and Saturday. He scored 19 points with 9 rebounds in 28 minutes against the Bullets, then hit for 16 with 6 rebounds in 22 minutes the next night against the Pacers.

He made 7 of 10 shots in each game.Foul trouble has nagged Walton more than injuries. No one is sure why, at this juncture of his career, Walton is suddenly getting the Greg Kite treatment from the zebras. Boston's newest redhead is averaging over nine personal fouls for every 48 minutes of court time."It's a whole new thing to me," says Walton.Any theories?"Not for publication.""I can't understand it," says coach K.C. Jones. "It sticks out like a sore thumb and it's got to be frustrating him.

He plays aggressive basketball, and so do the guys he plays against, but he's not making anywhere near the number of fouls they're hitting him with."Everything else is fine. Walton doesn't even mind an occasional loss anymore. He knows it's an aberration. He knows there will be big games again.