Bill Walton Greatest Games: 44 Points vs Memphis State (1973 NCAA FInal)

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[La Frescobaldi]

That Larry Kenon they talk about just briefly on Memphis went on to play on the Erving-led Nets squad that won the ABA title a couple years later. They called them Dr. J & Dr. K... and then later on he was Special K, and played with George Gervin on the Spurs.
Dude was perennial ABA & NBA All-Star, ran a 20-10 statline year in year out, great player of those days. He had his own set of thrills and spins that of course we are not seeing on a Walton highlight film.
I think Kenon was in the first NBA dunk contest..... yeah found it 8:55 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft56PoZSz3k
He was the other horn of the Iceman Spurs attack - if you doubled Gervin that was too bad for you, Kenon would smash it in from down low!

Walton's first few seasons in the NBA were awesome and he was probably the best talent in the league through the early part of his career when his body was good. Even in the highlights here you can see how Walton got treated a lot, like at 3:15 in the OP's clip.... guy going low under him when he goes up, pretty much deliberately trying to injure him.
Walton is known as a defensive genius but he & Chamberlain & Moses Malone are about the only players that Kareem had no answer for defensively (of course, he always returned the favor). Guys nobody could stop.
You can see a lot of Walton in Tim Duncan's game, Pekovic too in some ways, i.e., footwork. Bill's footwork doesn't get a lot of attention but he would spin before he got the ball and pin any defender with great ease by perfectly placed legs. Pekovic is the best in the league at that, and it's a pure Waltonesque tactic.

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