The Pac-12 family and the USC community join UCLA in grieving the loss of Bill Walton, one of the greatest basketball players of all time and a one-of-a-kind personality who left a large imprint on many lives. Walton’s impact on American sports and culture was extensive. He was a dominant college player under iconic coach John Wooden at UCLA. He won an NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977, then nine years later with the 1986 Boston Celtics. Walton’s second career as a broadcaster enabled him to tour the Pac-12 and create all sorts of friendships with people throughout the conference. Walton died on Memorial Day weekend, shortly after the last Pac-12 sporting event, the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, ended. One USC Trojan who fondly remembers Walton is Chevez Goodwin.
USC was a very successful basketball program earlier this decade. The Trojans made the NCAA Tournament in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Chevez Goodwin was part of that run of success, helping USC with his gritty defense and rugged rebounding.
Goodwin sent a note of thanks and appreciation to Walton after the UCLA legend’s death. It’s a reminder of how many lives Bill Walton touched, and how — beneath the television bluster — existed the heart of a generous, warm human being.
https://x.com/ChevezGoodwin/status/1795174720846938374
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