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Need some of the olds here to explain why Bill Walton is considered an all-time NBA great

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shadow_operative

shadow_operative 15932

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31 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

Walton was one of the greatest college players ever and then had an outstanding NBA career, despite all the injuries.

But he didn't become a national treasure until he started doing color.  That's when his greatness really kicked in.

i never knew that "color" was a pseudonym for LSD.

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aggie08

aggie08 21505

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4 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

Plus, he's seen the Grateful Dead over 850 times in concert.  God knows what kind of semi-permanent contact high he gained from that.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/sdut-bill-walton-chats-about-life-and-the-grateful-dead-2015jun27-htmlstory.html

 

 

 

 

Good lord. I wouldn't even watch Alexandra Daddario scissor Gal Gadot 850 times.

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ChiTownDoc

ChiTownDoc 21154

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16 hours ago, Hate said:

I would give it to "Lew" Abdul-Jabbar as well, but Walton was a great player.  Of course I have a little bit of a soft spot for Walton because he's a great big Deadhead and he was also a stutterer as a youth (my wife is an SLP).

Working for a long time in stroke/brain injury, I’ve gotta say SLP’s are some of my favorite people.  I knew you weren’t all that bad.  Props to her

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Hate

Hate 20112

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Good lord. I wouldn't even watch Alexandra Daddario scissor Gal Gadot 850 times.

If you had gotten to see them with Jerry when he was healthy you might feel differently. Hell, I only saw them a couple of years before he died and the shows were a fucking blast!
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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19095

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Christian Laettner was far and away the best college player of my lifetime (born in 78) and it's really not close.  I fully expect he will be the last great player in college basketball history and if I live to be 100 I won't see him supplanted as the greatest college player of my lifetime.

All that said- I would assume Walton was a better college player than him since everyone stayed 4 years, he basically didn't lose, level of competition was much higher (relative to the time with no early defections- post glory road Texas Western etc) and that seems to be the general consensus of every single person who watched them both play.  

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 54253

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13 hours ago, Bevo said:

Who did y’all enjoy watching in college?

Hank Gathers and Bo Kimbal

Olajuwon

Elvin Hayes

Darryl Griffith

that guy from IU (I think) who became paralyzed?

My favorite team ever -- 1989 Flyin' Illini.  6'4" Kendal Gill, 6'5" Stephen Bardo, 6'6" Kenny Battle, 6'5" Nick Anderson, 6'7" Lowell Hamilton, and 6'8" freshman Marcus Liberty, who came off the bench to only shoot threes.  Nobody really had positions because everyone was basically the same size, and they outrebounded everyone.  Every day in practice, they'd give "The Kenny Battle Award" to the person who worked the second-hardest that day.  Lost 4 games when Gill was out with a broken foot, and only other loss was by 2 in Final Four to Michigan, who they'd already beaten twice by double digits.

 

Second favorite team: 1985 Georgia Tech: Mark Price, Bruce Dalrymple, Duane Ferrell, John Salley, and Yvon Joseph.  Dalrymple is one of my all-time favorites -- was 6'4", played guard, couldn't shoot a lick, would frequently lead team in rebounding, and would always seem to put up a 15-8-6 line and shut down the other team's best player.  They won the ACC Tournament, but lost to #1 Georgetown in the regional finals.

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Hate

Hate 20112

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My favorite team ever -- 1989 Flyin' Illini.  6'4" Kendal Gill, 6'5" Stephen Bardo, 6'6" Kenny Battle, 6'5" Nick Anderson, 6'7" Lowell Hamilton, and 6'8" freshman Marcus Liberty, who came off the bench to only shoot threes.  Nobody really had positions because everyone was basically the same size, and they outrebounded everyone.  Every day in practice, they'd give "The Kenny Battle Award" to the person who worked the second-hardest that day.  Lost 4 games when Gill was out with a broken foot, and only other loss was by 2 in Final Four to Michigan, who they'd already beaten twice by double digits.
 
Second favorite team: 1985 Georgia Tech: Mark Price, Bruce Dalrymple, Duane Ferrell, John Salley, and Yvon Joseph.  Dalrymple is one of my all-time favorites -- was 6'4", played guard, couldn't shoot a lick, would frequently lead team in rebounding, and would always seem to put up a 15-8-6 line and shut down the other team's best player.  They won the ACC Tournament, but lost to #1 Georgetown in the regional finals.

That 89 Final Four was one of my favorites. The semifinal game between Illinois and Michigan was outstanding. I still remember that spin love at half court and the following epic dunk from Sean Higgins.
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shakahorn

shakahorn 1645

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18 hours ago, jeevsie said:

Roger Murdock said it best:


"Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!"

Seriously...well as serious as one can be at this point in this thread...imagine the reaction to a player regularly not running down on offense in the league today.

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Ignatius

Ignatius 4017

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13 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

My favorite team ever -- 1989 Flyin' Illini.  6'4" Kendal Gill, 6'5" Stephen Bardo, 6'6" Kenny Battle, 6'5" Nick Anderson, 6'7" Lowell Hamilton, and 6'8" freshman Marcus Liberty, who came off the bench to only shoot threes.  Nobody really had positions because everyone was basically the same size, and they outrebounded everyone.  Every day in practice, they'd give "The Kenny Battle Award" to the person who worked the second-hardest that day.  Lost 4 games when Gill was out with a broken foot, and only other loss was by 2 in Final Four to Michigan, who they'd already beaten twice by double digits.

 

Second favorite team: 1985 Georgia Tech: Mark Price, Bruce Dalrymple, Duane Ferrell, John Salley, and Yvon Joseph.  Dalrymple is one of my all-time favorites -- was 6'4", played guard, couldn't shoot a lick, would frequently lead team in rebounding, and would always seem to put up a 15-8-6 line and shut down the other team's best player.  They won the ACC Tournament, but lost to #1 Georgetown in the regional finals.

Marcus Liberty reminds me a lot of Ron Powlus - massive recruiting buildup in the pre-internet days, solid-but-not-great college career, nothing in the pros. You were hearin about both of those guys when they were sophomores in high school....

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Catdaddyhorn

Catdaddyhorn 3446

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On 9/17/2020 at 1:41 PM, conVINCEd said:

He’s Christian Laettner if Laettner had led a team to an NBA title shortly after entering the NBA then had his career permanently crushed by injuries only to rise from the ashes to be a strong role player on of the greatest championship teams ever. 

Perfect description. I saw the thread and before even opening it I thought it had to be due his exceptional college career combined with leading a team to an NBA championship early in his pro career. By the time I saw him during the mid 80s with the Celtics he'd have 8 to 10 minute spurts here and there where he'd play phenomenonally. 

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realgreggym

realgreggym 835

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23 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Christian Laettner was far and away the best college player of my lifetime (born in 78) and it's really not close.  I fully expect he will be the last great player in college basketball history and if I live to be 100 I won't see him supplanted as the greatest college player of my lifetime.

All that said- I would assume Walton was a better college player than him since everyone stayed 4 years, he basically didn't lose, level of competition was much higher (relative to the time with no early defections- post glory road Texas Western etc) and that seems to be the general consensus of every single person who watched them both play.  

A slight correction. Until 72, freshmen had to play freshman ball. They were not allowed to play varsity. They did stay 4 years but only played varsity for 3.

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realgreggym

realgreggym 835

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23 hours ago, jeevsie said:

Roger Murdock said it best:


"Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!"

Tell your old man to challenge Walton, Lamer, Wilt, Russell, Moses, Thurmond,  Zelmo and the rest of those prehistoric beasts driving to the hoop more than once. .

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Post Oak

Post Oak 20244

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23 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Christian Laettner was far and away the best college player of my lifetime (born in 78) and it's really not close.  I fully expect he will be the last great player in college basketball history and if I live to be 100 I won't see him supplanted as the greatest college player of my lifetime.

All that said- I would assume Walton was a better college player than him since everyone stayed 4 years, he basically didn't lose, level of competition was much higher (relative to the time with no early defections- post glory road Texas Western etc) and that seems to be the general consensus of every single person who watched them both play.  

Born in 79.  This is correct.

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Ignatius

Ignatius 4017

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Funny, but the NCAA tournament was probably tougher immediately after Walton graduated than before. Up until then only one team per conference made the tournament, so the road to the final was missing a lot of really good teams. In 1974 Maryland was #4 in the country and had to settle for the NIT...

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19095

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3 hours ago, realgreggym said:

A slight correction. Until 72, freshmen had to play freshman ball. They were not allowed to play varsity. They did stay 4 years but only played varsity for 3.

I knew that. I meant through their senior year when I said stay four years. 

Edited by Wulaw Horn
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Francisco 2.0

Francisco 2.0 32395

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Since I was a junior, the 83-84 Hoyas were something to behold (along with the entire Big East, but that's another discussion.  The 30 for 30 on the history of the Big East is a treat).

You wanted a big backcourt?  Reggie Williams at 6'7" and David Wingate at 6'5".  Small? Michael Jackson and Horace Broadnax.  Need two 7 footers?  Dalton and Ewing.  An enforcer? Orlando Graham at 6'9".  Press? Zone? Man? Whatever you want to run, they had prime Ewing sitting back. They went 10 deep.

Runner up would be the 90-91 UNLV squad, or Pitino's 95-96 Kentucky team. 9 Wildcats spent time in the NBA.

 

 

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Harrison Stafford

Harrison Stafford 3335

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On 9/17/2020 at 11:02 PM, Sbbruin said:

He is in the discussion as the best CBB player ever, but most (including me) would give that to Alcindor.

Dunking was banned in the NCAA from 1967 to 1976. Many people have attributed this to the dominance of the then-college phenomenon Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar); the no-dunking rule is sometimes referred to as the "Lew Alcindor rule."  @Beau Vine Your description of Bill Walton is as good as it gets.  Had Walton stayed healthy, Portland could have been a dynasty.  They won the NBA Championship in 1977 and the Trail Blazers were 50-10 in 1978 before Bill Walton's foot injury sidelined him. Portland managed to only go 8–14 the rest of the way and lost in the playoffs to Seattle. 

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Ignatius

Ignatius 4017

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On 9/19/2020 at 7:40 PM, Francisco 2.0 said:

Since I was a junior, the 83-84 Hoyas were something to behold (along with the entire Big East, but that's another discussion.  The 30 for 30 on the history of the Big East is a treat).

You wanted a big backcourt?  Reggie Williams at 6'7" and David Wingate at 6'5".  Small? Michael Jackson and Horace Broadnax.  Need two 7 footers?  Dalton and Ewing.  An enforcer? Orlando Graham at 6'9".  Press? Zone? Man? Whatever you want to run, they had prime Ewing sitting back. They went 10 deep.

Runner up would be the 90-91 UNLV squad, or Pitino's 95-96 Kentucky team. 9 Wildcats spent time in the NBA.

 

 

Dude that UNLV team was 7-deep at best....

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orangecat92

orangecat92 306

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More local, really enjoyed watching rob Williams play on Saturday game of the week, probably on raycom.  Super smooth.  Nationally, the last Al McGuire coached team was incredibly disciplined.  

 

And of course, the magic of the Texas team, 14 wins in a row to open season, #4 in the country.  The true star of the Texas team was Abe.  Kept everyone loose.  How many games do they win without the injury?  I would imagine they might have lost in the final 4, but seriously not before then.  The teamwork was that good.  

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orangecat92

orangecat92 306

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 I just missed by a few years seeing Alcindor and Walton in college.  In late 70s in pros, Walton was the guy who made everyone around him better, but there were few opportunities to see him play, other than playoffs.  His passing gift was kind of like an appetizer, and the main course of great passing would come just a few years later, in the form of the best passer ever, magic johnson.  

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Frieda’s Boss

Frieda’s Boss 181

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Never saw him in his prime other than old highlights, but I always go back to an interview I saw with Chick Hearn. The interviewer asks Chick who was the greatest center, Kareem or Wilt. Chick thinks for a second and asks back “just those two?  Because I might say Walton.”  When Chick drops Walton’s name I’m like “that goofy dude who can’t even run the floor?  No way he touches Kareem.”  So for me that was a pretty strong statement of how good Walton was.  

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