Jay Bilas grew up idolizing Bill Walton, who was larger than life on and off the court and he was about finding the joy in others.
That was the overwhelming feeling that washed over me when I received the call that Bill Walton had died at the age of 71. The man who was always bigger than life had passed from this one, and he left a legacy of basketball greatness and of a wonderful human being. Bill Walton was a one-of-a-kind person who left everyone he came in contact with feeling special and among his inner circle. He was a generous, giving soul who always put others before himself.
I quickly realized that Walton was a better person than he was a basketball player -- and he was a Naismith Hall of Fame player. Before we went on the air, if I tried to discuss what we may encounter during a broadcast, Bill would put up one of his huge hands and say,"Save it all for the air, Jake."
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