For Sports Illustrated, this is the 9th greatest performance in the history of American college sports. And for many, it’s the most incredible performance by a college basketball player.
On March 26, 1974, John Wooden’s Bruins faced the Memphis State Tigers in the March Madness final. Led by Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes, the Californians are undefeated in this 1972/73 season and their pivot, who celebrates his 71st birthday this November 5, will allow them to remain so with an almost perfect match.
Too big, too technical, too mobile, Luke Walton’s father outrageously dominates the debates while Memphis tries every defensive strategy to stop him. But double holds, “switches” and attempts to pass in front of Bill Walton to prevent Greg Lee and Larry Hollyfield from serving him are systematically punished.
At a time when dunk was forbidden!
While his team is tied at halftime (39-39) and he will play with four fouls during the last ten minutes of the match, the future Blazer will disgust his opponents with shots with the board, offensive and alley-oop rebounds (without dunking, since it is then prohibited in the NCAA…). His final stat line? 44 points at 21/22 shooting (25/26 with dunks refused), 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block (but 6 turnovers).
Did he have any doubts in this match, especially when he had to play with his four fouls throughout the end of the match?
” No “, he explained recently. “When you had a coach like John Wooden who gave you so much confidence, he made you believe you were going to win everything every time. There was never, ‘We hope to win this game’ or ‘Maybe we’ll be in better shape than the other team’ or ‘Maybe someone will catch fire and we’ll win ‘. There was none of that. It was: ‘Look, we are the best team, we have the best players, we are in the best shape. We’re going to crush the other team.’ That was the state of mind, all the time. He created this. We were expected to win every match. We were expected to be undefeated. We were expected to be the champions. »
“Walton, I thought you were a good player…until that failure”
Among NCAA fans, this incredible performance by Bill Walton in the 1973 final has a name: the “21 out of 22 game.” Does the pivot remember this failure which “ruined” his perfect performance?
“I grabbed the rebound and put it back in the circle. It was a totally open shot, right in front of the basket.”he explains. “I knew right away that I had missed it. I hit the ground, went straight back up and finally put the ball in the basket. »
Enough to generate a little joke from his coach, ten times NCAA champion, after the meeting.
“Coach Wooden looked at me and said, ‘Walton, I thought you were a good player…until that miss.’ »
| Bill Walton | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 1974-75 | POR | 35 | 33 | 51.3 | 68.6 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 12.6 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 12.8 | |
| 1975-76 | POR | 51 | 33 | 47.1 | 58.3 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 13.4 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 16.1 | |
| 1976-77 | POR | 65 | 35 | 52.8 | 69.7 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 14.4 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 18.6 | |
| 1977-78 ★ | POR | 58 | 33 | 52.2 | 72.0 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 13.2 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 18.9 | |
| 1979-80 | SDC | 14 | 24 | 50.3 | 0.0 | 59.3 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 13.9 |
| 1982-83 | SDC | 33 | 33 | 52.8 | 0.0 | 55.6 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 14.1 |
| 1983-84 | SDC | 55 | 27 | 55.6 | 0.0 | 59.7 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 8.7 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 12.2 |
| 1984-85 | LAKE | 67 | 25 | 52.1 | 0.0 | 68.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 10.1 |
| 1985-86 | BOS | 80 | 19 | 56.2 | 0.0 | 71.3 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.8 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.6 |
| 1986-87 | BOS | 10 | 11 | 38.5 | 0.0 | 53.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.8 |
| Total | 468 | 28 | 52.1 | 0.0 | 66.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 10.5 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 13.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
