The Spirit of Bill Walton Lives On in Oregon Basketball
The quirky, rambling, and obscure commentary of Bill Walton during basketball telecasts could be extremely frustrating, evoking reactions ranging from cute to cursing, endearing to eye-rolling, joy to “you’ve gotta be joking,” and from a sense of comradery to cursing. But, for many of us, doesn’t that sound a hell of a lot like the state we love?
The spirit of Bill Walton
I pulled Mr. FishDuck from his fun where he learned how a Fanatics Sportsbook NC Promo Code will help you maximize your potential earnings if you are adding stakes to any game. He had a number of memories about Walton, being a lifelong Oregon resident.
During telecasts, Walton had an odd habit of obscurely referencing his 1977 championship Portland Trailblazers teammates. Maurice Lucas, Lionel Hollins, Johnny Davis, and Larry Steele, to name a few. I would assume the vast majority of the viewing audience had no idea who those players were. He was talking to a minority of us Oregon sports junkies almost as an inside joke, to which I would find myself in exasperation, responding, “Bill! Nobody knows who Dave Twardzik is!!”
And that encapsulated my general feelings toward Walton. I loved him and liked his color commentary, but sometimes he could drive me crazy.
Walton was an old hippie. He loved the Grateful Dead, riding his bike, nature, and Oregon: the state that adopted him after he brought its only professional sports championship in 1977. Walton came from Southern California, but Oregon was in his DNA. He had the good sense of putting others ahead of himself over the “me first” glamour of his native Los Angeles. This way of life served him well on the basketball court as he was one of the best passers and most unselfish players the game had ever known.
 The 1977 NBA Championship team
The 1977 final pitted the Trailblazers against the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers. As an egoless entity, the Blazers epitomized “team.” They played like graceful figure skaters on the hardwood where passing, off-the-ball cuts, and basketball IQ were emphasized over scoring and individual accolades. Coach Jack Ramsey would famously run practices where the ball would not touch the floor as the elegant sound of squeaking sneakers rang like Mozart in the ears of basketball purists.
In contrast, the Sixers were a motley crew of outlaws (think Jailblazers) with immense flash and talent led by the Michael Jordan of the 70s, Julius “Dr. J” Irving. The Sixers were favored and had more individual talent than the Blazers, but wherein the sum of the whole was greater than that of the individual parts for the Blazers, the opposite was true of the Sixers.
In today’s era of NIL and transfers, it is difficult to put together a true team as the “me first” mentality rules the day. Because of this, Dana Altman has had a difficult time putting together a true “team” the past few seasons, as the Ducks have always been at their best when they fielded a team as opposed to a group of self-directed individuals. The Luke’s (Jackson and Ridnour) under coach Ernie Kent, the 2017 Final Four team, and the Payton Pritchard era were all about team-first.
Altman is known for getting his teams to play their best toward the end of the season. Only a true team can grow together throughout the season and continually improve. At 65, and with an outstanding sophomore floor general leading the way in Jackson Shelstad, it feels as if Altman has at least one more great run of “team basketball” left in him at Oregon.
As long as he can get them to play Bill Walton basketball.
 The spirit of Oregon basketball
Oregon, the humble, quirky little state tucked away in the Pacific Northwest not known for its flashiness (minus uniforms) but rather for a collection of underdogs and misfits like Ken Kesey, Steve Prefontaine, and Phil Knight who rise to do great things. And that is what Oregonians relish the most.
Whether you loved or disliked Walton’s public persona, it was easy to recognize his joy, kindness, self-deprecation, and giving nature. At the very least, and above all else, you could see that Walton was a good person.
R.I.P. big man, and the piece of Oregon that passed away with you.
In other news, Whoopi Goldberg defended a flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark, saying “This is basketball!” The View co-hosts defended the flagrant foul against Clark on Monday and argued it was all part of the game.
 Caitlin Clark
Clark, the first overall draft pick by the Indiana Fever, received an off-the-ball hip check foul on Saturday from the Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter. The moment went viral and led to discussions about whether Clark was being targeted as the star guard brings unprecedented attention to the WNBA.
Goldberg said people were reading too much into the moment, saying, “They’re there to win. And just because they’re women, get over yourselves, they’re athletes.”
 Chennedy Carter
Co-host Sunny Hostin said it was roughly the fifth time The View – which centers women’s issues and perspectives – has discussed the WNBA in recent memory, before telling viewers that basketball is a “contact sport.”
 Alyssa Thomas
Hostin also brought up Connecticut Sun player Alyssa Thomas’ flagrant foul against Reese in late May. Hostin praised Reese’s response to the foul at her postgame press conference, during which she said, “thank you, AT, for sending a message to me because I got back up, and I kept going and kept pushing.”
 Liza Fruendt
Fruendt joins the Illinois program after three seasons on Tennessee’s staff.
