University of Arizona Athletics

#4 Position: Forward      Class/Experience: Sophomore/1L Height: 6-8       Weight: 228 Hometown: San Diego, Calif. High School: University HS

General: Had a great first season of college basketball last year after sitting out 1998-99 as a medical redshirt... He replaced the injured Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup at the three position... Jeffersons injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Walton, as he would not have received as much playing time if Jefferson had been healthy... Great all-around game and a very smart player... The prototypical box score filler... Makes everyone around him better due to his understanding of the game... A swing-forward for the Cats, meaning he can play both the three or four positions... Honorable mention All-Pac-10 Freshman Team selection last season... Has a great ability to pass, shoot and handle the ball for a player his size... Versatile player who size at the wing gives the UA an advantage at that position... Coaches will ask for a more developed offensive game and an improved shooting percentage this season... Comes from a family that has produced its share of basketball talent.

1999-2000 (Redshirt Freshman): Started 19 games and finished the year averaging 5.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 3.9 apg... Led the team in assists during Pac-10 play (101 assists/5.6 apg)... Played in all 34 games and averaged 25.5 minutes per game... Top assist man on the team in nine of the Cats final 12 games... Recorded the first double-double of his career in the win over second-ranked Stanford at McKale Center... Scored 15 points to go with 12 assists... Also had five rebounds and two blocks... The 12 assists were the most ever for a UA front line player...  Nine assists in the loss at Oregon... 11 games with five or more assists... Scored a career-high 23 points in the win over Arizona State in Tucson... Had a good game earlier in the season at ASU with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists... Was 7-of-9 from the field (2-3 3PT) and led all players with seven assists in a career-high 38 minutes... Netted 13 points against USC in Tucson to go with five steals and two blocks... Against Oregon State in McKale Center, had 12 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals... Relieved Jefferson in the first half at Stanford when the latter went down with the fractured foot... Played 32 minutes, including all 20 in the second half... Had seven assists and just two turnovers in the win over the No. 1-ranked Cardinal.

1998-99 (Freshman): Sat out the season with a medical redshirt as a result of a stress fracture in the navicular bone of his right foot... Underwent an MRI in November of 1998, after experiencing pain and the stress fracture was revealed... Was in a hard cast for about four weeks and then a walking cast for another four... With the injury healed, began practicing towards the end of February.

High School: As a senior went for 20 ppg, 11 rpg and 6 apg and was named the Division III Player of the Year for University High School... Was also the CIF and Western League Player of the Year... A good student, he was a member of the All-Academic first team for San Diego county... Led his team to a 26-4 record as a senior, 25-5 as a junior and 28-3 as a soph... Team went undefeated in conference play during his three years (42-0)... Was University High School's Athlete of the Year as senior... Averaged 16 ppg, 10 rpg and six apg as a junior and was named to the San Diego Union Tribune's All-Region team... Was rated as the No. 7 player in the Long Beach Press Telegram's Best of the West poll.

Personal: Luke Theodore Walton... Born 3-28-80... Son of Bill and Susie Walton... Mother attended UCLA and Sonoma State and is an educator... Father is current NBC basketball announcer and former UCLA basketball great who went on to play in the NBA with the Portland Trailblazers, Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics... Brother Adam, played hoops at Cal Poly Pomona and is now an assistant coach at University High School in San Diego... Another brother, Nate, plays basketball at Princeton... One other brother, Chris, will be a freshman hoopster at San Diego State this season... Big fan of the Grateful Dead and Santana... Family studies major.
 

Walton's Career Statistics

Walton's Post Season Statistics