“I’m Going To Miss That Big Hippie”

Bill Walton defending in the 1974 NCAA semifinal game in Greensboro, N.C. (photo by Ed Caram.)

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By TIM PEELER, © 2024

Of the many things the global COVID pandemic robbed from us all was a single opportunity to see two of the greatest basketball players of the 1970s on the football field together, David Thompson and Bill Walton.

Walton lived in San Diego, the city where the schools that played for the 1974 NCAA Championship, Thompson’s alma NC State and Walton’s alma mater UCLA, were supposed to meet in the 2022 Holiday Bowl.

They were invited to conduct the pregame coin toss for the game that, ultimately, was never played, cancelled just a few hours before kickoff when the Bruins football team claimed an outbreak of the coronavirus swept through the team lockerroom and left them without enough players to compete in the contest.

It’s one of those things that came to mind as soon as the news broke Monday morning that Walton had died a the age of 71, following a long battle with cancer.

Walton was one of the greatest basketball players of his era, though maybe not the best. The ordained that title to NC State’s David Thompson. “There were none better in his day,” Walton wrote in the foreword Thompson’s autobiography, Skywalker.

He was one of the most accomplished college players of all time, though the double-overtime loss he and his teammates suffered on the court of the Greensboro Coliseum in March 1974 is some that weighed heavily on him until Monday’s final breath. (I once e-mailed Walton prior to a reunion of the Wolfpack’s 1974 championship team if he wanted to send them a congratulatory message. I still have his eight-word reply, “Yeah, tell them thanks for ruining my life.”)

He was a dominant NBA big man in Portland, with the Clippers and in Boston—when healthy. But carrying the weight of the world, which Walton often did, was hard on his knees.

Walton did many great things in a fun- and controversy-fill life, as a player, an announcer and a social commentator.

It was only natural, then, to ask the instigators of that great upset 50 years ago, the game that ended the Bruins’ seven-year reign as NCAA champions, for their memories of Walton both from that game and the many years of connection with the 6-11 center who won two NCAA titles, two NBA titles and a trophy-room full of hardware.

David Thompson blocking Walton in St. Louis.

David Thompson, NC State swing player (1972-75)

I texted Bill in December to thank him for the kind words on the film they used for the unveiling of my statue at Reynolds Coliseum. He congratulated me again and said he watched and enjoyed the whole program on YouTube. He mentioned how awesome he thought the program was.

He was always respectful of our team and said nice things about us. He never got over the loss though.

We had a Retired NBA Players Association meeting in Las Vegas some years ago. We had four of the members of the 1974 Final Four team there: Maurice Lucas, Bill, Tommy and myself. We spent a lot of time talking about that Final four and the talented teams and players that were there.

It was fun playing with Bill. We played together in an All-Star game in Atlanta. We were on the West All-Star team with Maurice Lucas. He was a great teammate. I think he only played in two All-Star games. Injuries always held him back from being the greatest player he could be.

The year he won the NBA Most Valuable Player was the year I came in third behind him and The Iceman (George Gervin). That was the year we had the great scoring racing and I scored 73 points in one game.

I was so proud that he wrote the forward of my book, Skywalker.

He was a great player and a great guy. RIP, Big Bill.

 

Tommy Burleson over Walton in Greensboro.

Tom Burleson, 7-2 center (1971-74), 1972 Olympian

I was in Burnsville earlier today when my son texted me the news. Bill and my careers had several parallels in high school. The top three players of 1970 were Tom McMillan, Tom Burleson and Bill Walton, in that order.

We had several head-to-head battles. I was the top scorer in junior varsity (freshman) basketball my first year. It bugged him. At the Olympic Trials in 1972, Bill was the favorite to be the starting center, and there was a coaching dispute over Dean Smith and John Wooden. They resolved it by bringing back Hank Iba to be the coach. Bill did not try out for the team.

John Wooden was a great coach, but I think in 1974, they somewhat underestimated NC State (possibly because of an early season victory by UCLA in St. Louis over NC State in a made-for-television game).

Of course, after college, Bill went to Portland and I went to Seattle, so we played in the same division eight games a year. The team with the best record would receive the Sea-Port Trophy. We won it the first two years. Everything I did bugged the snot out of him.

Bill referred to David in the foreword of Skywalker as the best player of our era, and that is the correct answer.

Emotionally, right now, I am a wreck, crying about every 10 minutes. He was a great guy and a stinker. I’m going to miss that big hippie.