Sad news that Bill Walton passed away at age 71 from cancer.
Walton was always entertaining but no current basketball announcer knew more about the history of USC and he frequently dropped historical references when he did Trojan games.
Walton was also a staunch defender of the Pac-12 and vocally opposed UCLA’s move to the Big Ten. College basketball will be less interesting next season without him.
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
Said Walton reflecting on his career in a 2016 article:
“I loved basketball. And I was going to go until I couldn’t go anymore. I had no desire to ever stop playing. I’ve never met anybody who stopped playing voluntarily. I ground my body up. I’ve had 37 (38 now) orthopedic operations. I ground my feet up into dust. I’ve got a new knee. I’ve got a new spine. I’m the lucky one, in that I never thought going through all of it that I would be healthy at the end. And I almost wasn’t. But I’m all better now. I would love to play one more game. But then I would want to play another one. And another one. But I will take one.””
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Walton was also a major Deadhead, this is for you Big Red Deadhead
BOX OF RAIN
Look out of any window
Any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
Birds are winging or rain is falling from a heavy sky
What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
For this is all a dream we dreamed
One afternoon long ago
Walk out of any doorway
Feel your way, feel your way like the day before
Maybe you’ll find direction
Around some corner where it’s been waiting to meet you
What do you want me to do
To watch for you while you’re sleeping?
Then please don’t be surprised
When you find me dreaming too
Look into any eyes you find by you
You can see clear through to another day
Maybe it’s been seen before through other eyes
On other days while going home
What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
It’s all a dream we dreamed
One afternoon long ago
Walk into splintered sunlight
Inch your way through dead dreams to another land
Maybe you’re tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken
And thoughts unclear
What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
A box of rain will ease the pain
And love will see you through
Just a box of rain, wind and water
Believe it if you need it
If you don’t, just pass it on
Sun and shower, wind and rain
In and out the window
Like a moth before a flame
And it’s just a box of rain
I don’t know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare
And it’s just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there
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Poignant. Perfect timing, karma.
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hey mg I think the end of his conference of champions sent him over the edge ?
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Exactly what I said earlier today, T Bruins.
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One thing about Walton was while in college he couldn’t put a sentence together without stuttering it out and then overcoming that embarrasment to a state of ‘never stop talking again’
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Lionel Hollins: “I liked Bill better when he stuttered and didn’t talk too much.”
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In my opinion Bill Walton was the greatest college basketball player ever. Only lost two games in his college career. Was league MVP and champion with NBA Portland in 1977. Shame that his body wore out.
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With the official end of the Pac-12 now comes the end of a Pac-12’s advocate in Bill Walton who foresaw keeping the Pac-12 regional made sense but apparently not ‘cents’
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man another growing up memory dick enberg calling those late night Saturday ucla basketball games on channel 5 at 11::30 at night on tape delay
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TBruin. I used to watch some of those late night games. Virtually all of them were over by half time. Those Walton teams were the best ever.
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Ecccentric Walton once said “If you ever thought you were too small, try sleeping with a mosquito all night”
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I recall in 1974 rooting like crazy for David Thompson and North Carolina St over Walton & Yucla in a championship game, to which Walton says ‘That game is a stigma on my soul and I cannot get rid of it” underscoring how we sometimes remember the losses more than the wins
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Bill Walton great basketball player before his foot injuries. Wasn’t a fan of him as an announcer, but it seems that many were. Also, he appears to have been a really good guy on a personal level. RIP.
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Asked why he was leaving the BOS Celtics…
“I’m gojng back to LA where Monday Night Football kicks off at t p.!”
truly miss him…one in a ilifetime
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He was a buffoon announcing the USC games. Sad at
that early age, but makes up for the passing of O.J. recently. ________________________________
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Scooter,
This one hurt. I met him a couple of times at SC basketball games and he was the nicest guy of all time. He would talk to anyone who would listen. the security would have to escort Bill out of the building because he would not leave. I will miss him. I am hoping that SC does something nice for him since he was a bigger promoter than Folt the Dolt.
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