Bill Walton
Bill Walton, C, UCLA (86-4, .956; 20.3 ppg, 15.7 rpg, 65.1 FG%)
Averaged 28.8 points and 17.8 rebounds per game at the Final Four in 1972 and 1973. His championship game-record 44 points against Memphis State in 1973 when he hit 21 of 22 field-goal attempts will probably never be duplicated. Ranked among the nation's top four in field-goal percentage in 1972 (4th), 1973 (2nd) and 1974 (2nd). Ranked among the nation's top 10 rebounders all three seasons. He joined Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati '58) as the only players in history during the freshman team era to be named national player of the year in their first season of varsity competition. Walton was headliner of the first major-college team in history to compile back-to-back perfect-record seasons. Walton, who paced three consecutive league champions in scoring and rebounding, is the only player to be a three-time first-team NCAA unanimous All-American and first-team Academic All-American. He shot an NCAA Tournament-record 68.6 percent from the floor in 12 playoff games.
- Pete Maravich, G, Louisiana State (49-35, .583; 44.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.1 apg)
All-time leading scorer in Division I holds NCAA records for most 50-point games (10) and most 40-point games (56). Dazzling ballhandler never scored fewer than 30 points in back-to-back games and tallied under 20 just once (17 at Tennessee as a sophomore) in his three varsity seasons. The son of LSU coach Press Maravich was outscored by a teammate in just one regular-season game en route to three consecutive national scoring titles. "Pistol Pete" scored an amazing 48.2 percent of LSU's points in his three-year career en route to setting a bevy of NCAA scoring records. The three-time SEC Player of the Year likely would have averaged more than 50 ppg if there had been a three-point arc at the time. The most disconcerting things about his career were failing to participate in the NCAA playoffs, an anemic 7-13 mark during his career in contests decided by fewer than four points and SEC setbacks each year against bottom-feeder teams--ninth-place Ole Miss as a sophomore, tenth-place Alabama as a junior and ninth-place Alabama as a senior. But when doubts creep in, just watch some old video of him and you'll be forced to acknowledge that his off-the-chart creativity revolutionized the game.
Lew Alcindor, C, UCLA (88-2 team record, .978; 26.4 ppg, 15.5 rpg, 63.9 FG%)
The only individual selected the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player three times averaged 25.7 points and 18.8 rebounds and shot 64.1 percent from the floor in six Final Four games from 1967 through 1969. Alcindor, who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is the only player to couple three unanimous first-team All-American seasons with three NCAA titles. Of the 10 different individuals to average more than 23 points per game for a national champion a total of 12 times, Alcindor achieved the feat all three of his seasons with the Bruins. He is also the only player to hit better than 70 percent of his field-goal attempts in two NCAA title games. UCLA '67, the first varsity season for Alcindor, set the record for largest average margin of victory for a champion when the Bruins started a dazzling streak of 10 consecutive Final Four appearances. They won their 12 NCAA playoff games with Alcindor manning the middle by an average margin of 21.5 points. The three Alcindor-led UCLA teams rank among the seven NCAA champions with average margins of victory in a tournament of more than 19 points per game. He led the nation in field-goal percentage in 1967 and 1969 and finished fourth in 1968. Ranked among the nation's leading scorers in 1967 (2nd), 1968 (12th) and 1969 (29th). Ranked among the nation's leading rebounders in 1967 (4th), 1968 (9th) and 1969 (16th). Both of UCLA's defeats with Alcindor manning the middle were by two points. It's no wonder a perceptive scribe wrote that the acronym NCAA took on a new meaning during the Alcindor Era--"No Chance Against Alcindor." A player that graces the sport once in a lifetime also lost only one of 117 high school games for Power Memorial in New York.
The only individual selected the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player three times averaged 25.7 points and 18.8 rebounds and shot 64.1 percent from the floor in six Final Four games from 1967 through 1969. Alcindor, who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is the only player to couple three unanimous first-team All-American seasons with three NCAA titles. Of the 10 different individuals to average more than 23 points per game for a national champion a total of 12 times, Alcindor achieved the feat all three of his seasons with the Bruins. He is also the only player to hit better than 70 percent of his field-goal attempts in two NCAA title games. UCLA '67, the first varsity season for Alcindor, set the record for largest average margin of victory for a champion when the Bruins started a dazzling streak of 10 consecutive Final Four appearances. They won their 12 NCAA playoff games with Alcindor manning the middle by an average margin of 21.5 points. The three Alcindor-led UCLA teams rank among the seven NCAA champions with average margins of victory in a tournament of more than 19 points per game. He led the nation in field-goal percentage in 1967 and 1969 and finished fourth in 1968. Ranked among the nation's leading scorers in 1967 (2nd), 1968 (12th) and 1969 (29th). Ranked among the nation's leading rebounders in 1967 (4th), 1968 (9th) and 1969 (16th). Both of UCLA's defeats with Alcindor manning the middle were by two points. It's no wonder a perceptive scribe wrote that the acronym NCAA took on a new meaning during the Alcindor Era--"No Chance Against Alcindor." A player that graces the sport once in a lifetime also lost only one of 117 high school games for Power Memorial in New York.
