Los Angeles Lakers influenced by Pac-12 Conference of Champions royalty
It’s undeniable, the Pac-12 influence on the Los Angeles Lakers is real this season and will continue as long as Luke Walton is the head coach.
Somewhere in a desert, Bill Walton is chanting, ‘Team of Champions!’ instead of ‘Conference of Champions!’ After all, Bill’s son, Luke Walton, is the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and will have some influence on the team’s success.
The elder Walton was coached by the legendary NCAA Hall of Fame coach John Wooden, and he lives by Wooden’s teachings. Luke grew up in an environment where he learned the Wooden Way.
That said, Luke has been coached by a legendary Hall of Fame coach as well in Lute Olson. Olson is a huge influence in Luke’s life. The two still talk and hang out at Pac-12 games. Lute comes to Lakers games, and now five of Lute’s prodigies are working for the Lakers Organization.
Los Angeles Lakers
Luke hired fellow former Arizona Wildcats Jesse Mermuys, Jud Buechler, and now Miles Simon as assistant coaches for the Lakers. Add to that Isaiah Fox, who is an assistant coach under South Bay Lakers Head Coach Coby Karl.
Also, Lakers assistant coach Mark Madsen is a former Pac-12 player. Madsen played for the Stanford Cardinal.
Luke also learned a lot from Steve Kerr, a two-time NBA Champion with the Golden State Warriors, three-time with Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs and two-time with Phil Jackson’s Chicago Bulls. Kerr is a fellow Arizona Wildcats Alumni and an Olson prodigy.
Let’s move on shall we? There are more pieces to the Pac-12/Lakers puzzle.
Newest veteran Brook Lopez hails from Stanford. Lopez was a star Cardinal and entered the draft after his sophomore year. He helped his team make the NCAA tournament as a freshman and sophomore (Sweet 16).
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 8/15/2017.
Next in line is rookie Lonzo Ball. Ball spent one year playing under Steve Alford and helped the UCLA Bruins make it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. We cannot dismiss that he also brings along his dad’s philosophies as well, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to win and some hard work. A little humility does go a long way.
Last but not least, rookie Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma was coached by Larry Krystkowiak at Utah. Krystkowiak is no slouch of a coach. He has mentored a few NBA Draft picks/players in his years at Utah, namely Jakob Poeltl and Dorel Wright.
Kuzma has also already competed against Chicago Bulls draft pick Lauri Markkenan from Arizona, new teammate Lonzo Ball, Kadeem Allen out of Arizona, Jordan Bell, Tyler Dorsey and Dillon Brooks out of Oregon, and eight others. In all, 14 Pac-12 players were drafted in the 2017 NBA Draft. Add to that Kobi Simmons and others signed after the draft, and you have a Conference of Champions.
Here is Luke Walton describing how much he was influenced by Lute Olson, why he chose Arizona and the stars he played with in Tucson. He also talks about how Coach Wooden influenced his life based on his upbringing with Bill as a dad. Think he wasn’t influenced by Olson and Wooden? Guess again!
Next: Three reasons why Kyle Kuzma was a smart Pick
As far as the other main talent on the Lakers, they come from a plethora of NCAA dynasties. Brandon Ingram and Luol Deng went to Duke, Josh Hart Villanova, Julius Randle Kentucky, and Corey Brewer was groomed at Florida. Still, if you look at the team as a whole, there are three Pac-12 players and six Pac-12 coaches who bring with them legendary mentoring, and I believe the trend will continue.