Walton sends NEIT grads off with words of wisdom

By Matt Metcalf
Posted 5/3/16

Bill Walton is a lot of things – a two-time college basketball champion at UCLA, the No. 1 pick in the 1974 NBA Draft, a two-time NBA champion, an NBA Hall of Famer and an award-winning …

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Walton sends NEIT grads off with words of wisdom

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Bill Walton is a lot of things – a two-time college basketball champion at UCLA, the No. 1 pick in the 1974 NBA Draft, a two-time NBA champion, an NBA Hall of Famer and an award-winning broadcaster.

But on Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Walton became part of the New England Institute of Technology family.

Walton was the commencement speaker at the NEIT graduation at the Convention Center on Sunday, and he delivered a number of powerful messages to the 1,163 total students receiving degrees, along with their families and friends.

The overall message from the Hall of Famer was for students to set their goals, reach to achieve those goals, impact others and when it seems like they’ve hit rock bottom, pick themselves back up and keep going.

He certainly had to.

For all of the successes that Walton has encountered in his lifetime, he’s also experienced the lowest of lows.

Walton was a rare big man in the NBA during his playing days, averaging a double-double for his career, while earning two NBA Finals MVP awards, in addition to earning a league MVP award in 1978.

However, his playing career officially came to an end back in 1990, finally calling it quits thanks to a plethora of injuries that plagued Walton in his prime.

And the injuries didn’t stop there.

In the late 2000s, the NBA legend officially reached bottom.

A spine injury left him crippled, laying on the floor wondering if he would ever get back up. He was on the ground for two straight years, looking up at the ceiling in debilitating pain.

“I’m going to kill myself,” Walton recalled thinking to himself during that tough time. “Life was no longer worth living. I was in too much pain.”

But Walton’s second lease on life came shortly after.

A spine surgeon, Dr. Steve Garfin, performed a procedure on Walton that was luckily a success.

Despite having hesitations about spine surgery, Walton is sure glad that he decided to take that leap of faith.

Today, Walton is a new man.

“I finally got all the way better,” Walton said while pacing back and forth across the stage. “Today I stand in front of you with no pain, taking no medication.”

There will always be roadblocks in the journey of life, but Walton wanted to let the NEIT students know that there are always better things ahead – a light at the end of the tunnel.

“When you fail, keep looking for the light,” Walton said. “Make failures the greatest successes in your life. You’re going to fall, everyone does.”

Walton also spoke of his meteoric rise to basketball greatness, telling tales about late greats such as John Wooden and Celtics legend Red Auerbach.

Walton specifically recalled one thing that Wooden told him during his playing days at UCLA, something that he thought should resonate with all the graduates.

“Billy, being part of something special is a privilege,” Wooden told an immature Walton back at UCLA.

“He was a special guy,” Walton said of Wooden. “The same kind of special people that you all have here at NEIT.”

Walton also had a couple of other key messages for the graduates.

He had one piece of advice for how to get where they want to go.

“The easiest way to find where you want to go is to ask someone on their way back,” Walton said.

He also urged the crowd to have a positive outlook on life, no matter what hand it’s dealt.

“Things work out best for those who make the best out of how things work out,” Walton said.

After all that Walton went through with injuries, it was clear that he was honored to have the opportunity to speak to the NEIT community on Sunday.

He concluded his speech with one simple message: “I’m Bill, and I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

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