The death of Bill Walton yesterday cut me pretty hard. I'm not particularly a UCLA fan, but I grew up in LA (3 miles from UCLA's campus) when he was on the team. A good high school friend lived in UCLA grad school housing a few blocks from where I grew up. And I thought (I guess) he was older-- I think I though of him as an older contemporary-- but Walton was only 10 years older than me.

The Ramblers were 0-2 against UCLA when Walton was playing (the Bruins only lost four games total in his three years playing varsity). January 28, 1972 at Chicago Stadium, Loyola lost 92-64. On January 25, 1973-- again at Chicago Stadium-- UCLA beat Loyola 87-73. The teams didn't play in 1973-74. Both of those games were part of UCLA's 88-game winning streak that lasted from 1971 to 1974. Walton was the College Basketball player of the year for every year of his three-year college career--- extratordinary.

I'm pretty sure Walton was doing Pac-12 games last fall, and I'm pretty sure I saw one or two. Maybe my memory is inaccurate, but it seems like it was very recently that I watched him do some games. Given what happened to the Pac-12 in the past 4 months, I wonder if it had any effect on his health. Wow...

RIP, Bill Walton. RIP, Pac-12, "The Conference of Champions."

saw both of those games.....what always impressed me was how mobile he was for a big guy...but in the end it was the kind of human being he was,,,joyous comes to mind. He broadcast his last PAC 12 game in February.

Rare to find someone who enjoyed life as much as Bill did. He seemed like a genuine human, with the curiosity of a child. He got along with everyone and had such a unique outlook on everything. The White Sox game(s) he called with Jason Benetti a few years back gave me countless laughs. And his late night PAC 12 games were must-watch television.

Not to mention, he was tremendous basketball talent. If it wasn't for his back giving out, he'd legitimately go down as a top 20 or so NBA player.

He will be missed by many. And quite poetic that the last competitive PAC 12 competition (a baseball game in the PAC 12 tourney) took place a day or two before he passed. "The Conference of Champions!"

Was in Vegas seeing Dead & Co. at the Sphere this weekend, then heard the news about Bill on Monday before flying out -- he was beloved in that fanbase, everyone was talking about it almost as if a band member had passed.

I'm sure Bill had a soft spot for Loyola from when the Dead randomly played an acoustic set in the Rambler Room in 1978! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZXdMvZKZ4c

Tremendous guy. Was lucky to have met him not once...... but twice!

2015 at a music festival in Chicago
2017 at the San Diego airport

A man of the people. Tough loss for the basketball sports world.

His ESPN 30 for 30 is a must watch, and it aired in June 2023.