Maryland Men's Basketball Legend Len Elmore Remembers Friend Bill Walton - PressBox (2024)

After Bill Walton put forth one of college basketball’s most dominant individual performances in the 1973 NCAA championship game — 44 points on 21-for-22 shooting — Len Elmore spent much of that summer studying Walton’s tape.

The Maryland basketball star knew he would be matching up with Walton’s UCLA squad the following season. He wanted to memorize the big man’s every move so he could shut him down.

“During that period, he was the standard,” Elmore said on Glenn Clark Radio May 28. “I’m one that didn’t want to get embarrassed. If I did, I would have no excuses. [The 21-for-22 game] was just otherworldly, and I just knew that I had to do something to match up with him.”

Elmore was one of many who offered tributes on social media for Walton, who recently died of cancer at the age of 71. Elmore’s friendship with Walton dates back to their December 1973 matchup.

Former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell said when he was hired in 1969 that he wanted to turn his program into the “UCLA of the East.” Despite facing long odds on the road, the Terps lost by just a point, 65-64, proving that it was a worthy opponent for the national powerhouse.

The Bruins left the contest winners of 77 straight games.

“I think we demonstrated that we belonged. Losing by one at Pauley [Pavilion] certainly said a lot despite the fact that it was a loss,” Elmore said. “I think had we won, it might have completely changed our season, it might have completely changed our attitudes toward the game itself and our attitudes toward ourselves, and maybe in a successful way going forward.”

Elmore’s film study certainly worked, at least to an extent. He held the three-time Naismith Player of the Year to 18 points, one point below his season average, and Walton missed his first eight shots of the game. But the 6-foot-11 force still corralled 28 rebounds — including 20 in the first half, which was a record at the time.

Even with Elmore’s individual success, he had nothing but a loss to show for it. So were his offseason tape-grinding sessions worth it?

“It paid off to a point,” Elmore said. “Obviously we lost by one. He admits he played horribly, he shot horribly. He didn’t give me enough credit. I had something to do with it.”

The two were never the closest of friends off the court, but they always shared a mutual respect for each other, bonded by similar values and career paths. They both graduated from high school in 1970 before playing college ball from 1971-1974 and later heading to the NBA.

Elmore recalled visiting Walton’s place in Los Angeles before Maryland played UCLA in that 1973 game. He said the two knew each other only off of “reputation,” but called their conversation interesting — they often spoke about social justice issues and various musical genres.

The two also had the occasional run-in more than a decade later, while Elmore attended Harvard Law School and Walton played for the Boston Celtics.

“It wasn’t like we got together with the wives and went out and everything. We rarely crossed paths, but when we did, it was like we hadn’t left,” Elmore said. “It was always good to visit with him. I can’t pretend that I was as close to him as some of the other guys and people who have articulated tributes, but whenever we got together, there was always something that connected.”

Anyone who ever spoke with Walton or followed him from afar easily connected with his charismatic nature, Elmore included. Although he was a dominant basketball player and larger-than-life figure, most will remember Walton for his huge personality.

“So many tributes have come in for Bill that there’s not a whole lot I can add,” Elmore said. “There’s many of them that kind of describe him as the apex of social consciousness, from somebody who has that type of platform and is willing to speak out and willing to be as articulate and demonstrative as he was.”

For more from Elmore, listen to the full interview here:

Photo by Eric Lars Bakke / ESPN Images