Sports
Appreciation: Bill Walton embraced a different mindset on personal success and heroes
By every measure, Bill Walton was enormously successful, among the most decorated players in the history of college basketball and the NBA.
But Walton had a different definition for personal success, one derived from the teachings of John Wooden, his legendary coach at UCLA.
“The last lesson of life that John Wooden taught us was the measurement of success,” Walton said three years ago, “which he described — and now I comprehend and buy into — is success is the peace of mind that comes with the self-satisfaction of knowing that you’ve done your best.
“It’s really easy to say that, but incredibly hard to accept it, embrace it and believe it.”
Walton, the three-time national college player of the year who went on to win two NBA championships, died of complications from cancer Monday at his home in San Diego. He was 71.
I was interviewing Walton as part of a 2021 story about the San Diego Padres and their hopes in emerging from the long shadow of the Dodgers. I spoke to a lot of San Diegans, among them Walton and filmmaker Cameron Crowe, about their love of the city and its sports teams.
Walton spoke at length about the Padres, the Chargers and his memories of growing up in La Mesa. He had deep affection for Los Angeles too, having won two national championships — and three national college player-of-the-year awards — with the Bruins. What’s more, his son, Luke, played for and coached the Lakers.
“I don’t live in a qualitative, binary-decision-making world where you’re one or the other,” Walton said when asked which Southern California city he preferred. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I know all the Dodgers too.”
Then again, Walton didn’t mind sounding like a spokesman for the San Diego Chamber of Commerce.
“Don’t try to drive from Los Angeles to San Diego at any time because everybody from up there is trying to get down here,” he said with a laugh.
UCLA legends Bill Walton, left, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sit courtside during a basketball game in 2013.
(Scott Chandler / UCLA Athletics)
“We’re very proud of San Diego. Best beaches, best air, best bicycling, best water, fantastic airport. And everything you could possibly imagine. Incredible facilities, incredible nature, and bordered by the ocean, by Mexico, by Camp Pendleton, by the mountains, which lead to the desert. And it’s all so easily accessible to San Diego.”
Among his fondest childhood memories was watching the Padres, then of the Pacific Coast League, play their home games at Westgate Park, which is now Fashion Valley Mall. He was a pro at chasing down baseballs that left the park.
“When certain guys would come up, I’d say, well, this guy, he’s a left-handed, pull hitter, so I’m going to get in the right-field bleachers along the first baseline. But then when Tony Perez would come up, man, I’m going out into the outfield and I’m going to get that home run ball.”
Foreshadowing a career of sacrificing his body for loose basketballs, he said: “I was quick to that baseball and I was nine and 10 years old. I was not reluctant to jump over the chairs to get to the ball that was bouncing around in the bleachers.”
Walton was 9 when the Chargers relocated to San Diego after their inaugural season in Los Angeles.
“I used to go to the old Balboa Stadium, which is just a half-mile from our house where we live now, where the Chargers used to play on the weekends,” he said. “And I’d go to those games, and when you’re a little tiny boy with red hair and a buzz cut, man, the ushers and the ticket takers were always more than kind to little Billy.”
He said his parents weren’t sports fans, “but they were the greatest parents ever.” And although he didn’t grow up with a television in the home, he remembers tuning in to games on his transistor radio and listening under the covers.
“I listened to Padre games,” he said. “I listened to Dodger games with Vin Scully. I listened to Laker games with Chick Hearn. And then I was most fortunate to come to UCLA and get to know all these people personally.
“I found all these incredible sports heroes as a child. It’s one thing to have a hero. It’s another level to meet that hero, to get to know that hero, and to become friends with that hero and to discover that they’re even better people than you imagined and hope for. And that has been the story of my life.”
Many people might say the same about Walton.
“That’s their choice,” he said. “I try my best to be my best, and I understand the responsibility of the chosen hero to be kind, to be generous, to be open, to be willing. Because I was that guy who was looking. I was looking through that fence.”
Sports
Ole Miss staffer references Aaron Hernandez while discussing ‘chaotic’ coaching complications with LSU
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The chaos between LSU coaches who left Ole Miss alongside Lane Kiffin but are still coaching the Rebels in the College Football Playoff is certainly a whirlwind.
Joe Judge, Ole Miss’ quarterbacks coach, has found himself in the thick of the drama — while he is not headed for Baton Rouge, he’s had to wonder who he will be working with on a weekly basis.
When asked this week about what it’s like to go through all the trials and tribulations, Judge turned heads with his answer that evoked his New England Patriots days.
Aaron Hernandez sits in the courtroom of the Attleboro District Court during his hearing. Former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, on Aug. 22, 2013. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
“My next-door neighbor was Aaron Hernandez,” Judge said, according to CBS Sports. “I know this is still more chaotic.”
Hernandez was found guilty of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, which occurred just three years into his NFL career.
“If you watch those documentaries, my house is on the TV next door,” Judge added. “The detectives knocked on my door to find out where he was. I didn’t know. We just kind of talked to the organization. But it was obviously chaotic.”
Aaron Hernandez was convicted of the 2013 murder of semipro football player Odin Lloyd. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
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Judge, though, was able to compare the two situations to see how players can combat wild distractions.
“Those players that year handled that extremely well. Came out of that chaos, and we had some really good direction inside with some veterans and some different guys. You have something like that happen — how do you handle something like that? How do you deal with something like that? So you keep the focus on what you can handle, what you can control, which at that time was football for us, and we went through the stretch, and we were able to have success that year,” Judge said.
Judge also compared this scenario to the 2020 NFL season when he was head coach of the New York Giants, saying he would have “no idea” who would be available due to surprise positive COVID-19 tests.
Head coach Joe Judge of the New York Giants looks on during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. The game took place in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 19, 2021. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The Rebels face Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, the College Football Playoff Semifinal, on Thursday night.
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Calabasas pulled off a huge win in high school basketball on Tuesday night, handing Thousand Oaks its first defeat after 16 victories in a Marmonte League opener.
The Coyotes (13-5) have quietly turned around their season after a 2-4 start, winning 11 of their last 12 games.
One of the major contributors has been 6-foot-3 junior guard Johnny Thyfault, who’s averaging 16 points and has become a fan favorite because of his dunking skills. He also leads the team in taking charging fouls.
He transferred to Calabasas after his freshman year at Viewpoint.
As for beating Thousand Oaks, coach Jon Palarz said, “We got to play them at home and had great effort.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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The Atlanta Hawks have parted ways with four-time NBA All-Star point guard Trae Young, trading him to the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster move, according to ESPN.
The Hawks will reportedly be receiving veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert in the deal.
Washington was Young’s preferred destination, and the two sides were working on a deal to get the 27-year-old point guard to the nation’s capital.
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Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the game against the Boston Celtics during Round 1 Game 6 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2023 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. ( Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Young’s agents were having conversations with the Hawks, who sit at 17-21 so far this season, about trading their client out of Atlanta.
There is a mutual connection in Washington, too, as executive Travis Schlenk drafted Young fifth overall in 2018 out of Oklahoma.
It marks the end of an era for the Hawks. Young has been the focal point of their offense since he was taken in that draft. He is the team’s career leader in three-pointers and assists, having led the team to the postseason in three of his eight seasons. The Hawks went the furthest in 2021, where they made the Eastern Conference Finals.
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However, the new era was brewing already in Atlanta, with forward Jalen Johnson taking the next step in his career, averaging 23.7 points per game this season. The pickup of Nickeil Alexander-Walker also helps, as he’s averaged 20.5 points per game in 36 appearances.
Meanwhile, Young has played just 10 games this season, as he’s been dealing with leg injuries, most notably a right MCL sprain.
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks looks on after the game against the Boston Celtics during Round One Game Five of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2023 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Hawks also get some flexibility on their books, as they could make some more moves. Anthony Davis is reportedly available from the Dallas Mavericks, making him a good target for Atlanta.
Young has $95 million remaining on his deal that runs through the 2026-27 season, which includes a player option this offseason.
Atlanta will be taking on McCollum’s contract, though the veteran guard has a $30.6 million expiring deal.
Through his 10 games this season, Young is averaging 19.2 points, 8.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.5% from the field.
Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks drives down the court during the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at State Farm Arena on April 7, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Over his career, Young has dropped 25.2 points and 9.8 assists per game, while leading the league in the latter category last season with 11.6 per contest.
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