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Nov. 7, 2000
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Former University of Virginia basketball standout Wally Walker is one of six individuals selected by the NCAA Honors Committee to be NCAA Silver Anniversary Award recipients. The Silver Anniversary Award recognizes former student-athletes who have distinguished themselves since completing their college athletics careers 25 years ago.
In addition to Walker, the recipients include Alpha V. Alexander (College of Wooster – Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis and Lacrosse), Archie Griffin (Ohio State – Football), Steve Largent (Tulsa – Football), Steve Raible (Georgia Tech – Football, Track & Field), and Lee Roy Selmon (Oklahoma – Football).
All six individuals will be recognized January 7 at the Honors Dinner during the NCAA Convention in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Walker led the 1976 Virginia basketball team to its first NCAA Tournament berth and only Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship. He is the only Virginia player to win the Everett Case Award as the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring 73 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in three 1976 tournament games. He averaged 22.1 points a game for the Cavaliers that season.
A four-year starter at UVa, Walker ranks fifth on the Cavaliers’ career list for field goals made (779), is sixth in points scored (1,849), and eighth in career scoring average (17.8 ppg.). He was an Academic All-America selection in 1976 and his number (41) is one of six men’s basketball numbers retired by Virginia.
After graduating from UVa, Walker was picked by the Portland Trail Blazers as the fifth selection in the first round of the 1976 National Basketball Association Draft. He played on NBA championship teams with Portland in 1977 and with the Seattle Supersonics in 1979. He finished his NBA career with the Houston Rockets in 1984.
Walker graduated from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 1987 and was vice president, private client services for Goldman, Sachs & Company in San Francisco, Calif., from 1987-94. He founded and was president of Walker Capital, Incorporated, Money Management, in 1994 before being named president and general manager of the Seattle Supersonics that same year. He finished second for The Sporting News’ 1997-98 Executive of the Year Award.
Walker is a member of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors and has served as the vice-chair of the school’s National Leadership Gift Council since 1993. He is also a national trustee (Pacific Region) of Boys and Girls Clubs of America. His past affiliations include Washington State Special Olympics Board of Directors, 1997-99, Virginia Student Aid Foundation Board of Trustees (University of Virginia), 1992-95, and Muscular Dystrophy Association (Washington State) Board of Directors, 1978-81.