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UCLA Bruins Basketball: Mt. Rushmore

By Evan Lovett

Jan 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of statue of former UCLA Bruins coach John Wooden before an NCAA basketball game against the Southern California Trojans at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of statue of former UCLA Bruins coach John Wooden before an NCAA basketball game against the Southern California Trojans at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 2, 2017; Boulder, CO, USA; American broadcaster Bill Walton before the game between the Stanford Cardinals and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2017; Boulder, CO, USA; American broadcaster Bill Walton before the game between the Stanford Cardinals and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Bill Walton. Walton was one of the most dominant forces ever to step on a college basketball court. With three consecutive Player of the Year awards and two national titles, his accomplishments were not limited to the court, as he also took home Academic All-American honors three times. An outspoken, political advocate for his beliefs, Walton continued the strong UCLA tradition of Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by playing a major role in America’s shifting political paradigm during the 1970s.  Walton is in both the professional and college Basketball Hall of Fame.

The injury-prone Walton was near-death when his spine collapsed in 2008, but recovered well enough to write a book about that experience as well as the multitude of other injuries that plagued him during his professional playing career. He now maintains a high-profile as an ESPN commentator for college basketball, and still continues as a free spirit, spinning colorful yarns and breaking the staid mold that has plagued broadcasting.

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