By
Keith Carmona
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Luke Walton walks the walk; father Bill just needs to talk the talk
SAN ANTONIO - Nobody has every accused Bill Walton of making an understatement.
The former NBA great and father of UA sophomore Luke Walton isn't bashful about using his signature superlative adjectives when describing his excitement about this weekend's NCAA Regionals in San Antonio. While Luke will be playing for the UA basketball team, Bill Walton will serve as a color commentator for CBS Sports.
"This is one of the great moments in my life," Bill Walton said. "I am privileged to be calling this game, I'm so thrilled to be here. You just have to wait for the call (about our job assignments) each Sunday. But when I got it, I almost got airborne."
To Luke though, it's just the same ol' dad.
"I just view it as him being a fan at this basketball game," Luke Walton said. "It is just going to be like my Dad coming to watch me play. When I am in the games, I don't think about who's announcing the games or what they're saying."
Yet both Waltons insist that they too have to put aside their jovial nature, at least for tonight.
"As I told Luke earlier this week, we are both here to work," Bill Walton said. "This is not about goofing around because this is very serious business."
Luke probably ought to heed his father's advice. After all, it was the elder Walton who won three NCAA basketball championships with UCLA in the early 1970s.
So what guidance did the legendary father have for his rising son?
Bill Walton imparted the wisdom of his lifelong mentor, Hall of Fame UCLA head coach John Wooden.
"Coach Wooden told us to never beat ourselves because when you do, you'll never get over it," Bill Walton said.
Still the free-spirited, fun-loving type he personified at UCLA nearly thirty years ago, Bill Walton remained true to form when talking to Luke about the weekend's games.
"It is always the same message to all my sons -- this is arguably going to be the greatest times of your life when you're in college," Bill Walton said. "There is so much hope, so much optimism, so much freshness and a greatness of being a college student. When you look back at the end, make sure you can say to yourself that there is no way I could have done more, there is no way I could have had more fun. Fill your life up."
How Bill Walton will refer to his son in the games is yet to be determined, but Luke won't be surprised if his father razzes him on the air.
"He just cracks me up sometimes," Luke Walton said. "With the weird sense of humor he has, most people laugh and ask, 'What is he saying? (Junior forward) Richard (Jefferson) and I sit back and watch his games laughing at some of the stuff he comes up with."
Bill Walton worked Arizona's game against Purdue in November and with the results of that night, maybe Luke doesn't want his dad here tonight after all.
"I still haven't watched that game tape and I probably won't," Luke Walton said.
But Bill realizes that his son knows better.
"My sons know that it's the players on the court who are responsible for what goes on," Bill Walton said. "They know it's not the referee's fault when a team loses, they know it's not the broadcaster's fault when a team loses, they know it's not what clothes they wore to the game. They know that losses come from being outplayed and that's what happened at the Purdue game."
Because Bill Walton spends most of his time commentating for NBA games, he spent four hours studying the this weekend's four teams (UA, Illinois, Ole Miss and Kansas) during open practices in San Antonio yesterday. Between the time preparing for today's broadcast and Arizona's practice schedule, Bill and Luke don't have much time together this weekend.
"I will be watching and listening to the other games out of one eye and one ear while reading about the games here," Bill Walton said. "I will be up at the crack of dawn, doing an hour and a half on each team while I am watching their tape from their games last week."
As a broadcaster, Bill Walton cannot show favoritism toward either team, yet Luke has the opportunity to do some Walton family vindication on the date, March 23.
"(Today) is the 27th anniversary of one of the bleakest days in the college basketball history," Bill Walton said. "UCLA lost in double overtime to North Carolina State. It is a day that still haunts me."
As far as the Wildcats are concerned, the elder Walton isn't about to compare UA to his undefeated teams at UCLA just yet. He is impressed with what he's seen so far, though.
"This Arizona team is a fantastic basketball squad that has a chance to put its mark in the history of college basketball," Bill Walton said.
Legendary sports broadcaster Dick Enberg said it best.
"With Bill, you never know what you're going to get," he said yesterday. "Throw Luke in the mix, and this could be a really fun affair."
