An Upset of UCLA Sold a Bruin’s Son on School

The day Princeton upset defending champion UCLA in the first round of the 1996 NCAA tournament, former Bruin great Bill Walton’s son was in the stands in Indianapolis.

Rooting like crazy for Princeton.

Nate Walton, a 6-foot-7 center from San Diego University High, had already committed to play for the Tigers the next season.

“It was great,” said Walton, now a sophomore and Princeton’s backup center. “Even now, I think it’s unbelievable. [UCLA] played it about as bad as I think you can. They just let us run our stuff. I still can’t believe they weren’t trapping. They have so much talent, speed and athleticism, but they didn’t try to do stuff to disrupt us.”

And if you don’t disrupt Princeton’s precision and its persistent pursuit of either a layup or an open three-pointer, you might be doomed.

After all, the Princeton freshmen are every year.

“The first month or so of practice, you can score on the freshmen at will,” Walton said. “Coach just says, ‘Welcome to Princeton basketball.’ ”

Walton’s role as Steve Goodrich’s backup just got bigger after Mason Rocca, the previous backup, broke his hand. Over the last four games, Walton has 16 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.

With a limited basketball future, Walton considered Oregon, Santa Clara or Boston College. But in the end, Princeton’s style entranced him, and he says his father “loves to watch Princeton play.”

Why don’t more teams play that way? It’s clear enough, isn’t it?

“It takes great sacrifices to play this way,” Walton said. “We don’t really score off the dribble. You don’t get a guy standing on the wing, where you’re going to let him try to drive on a guy while the others watch.

“You have to put aside your individual game, and what you’ve always relied on. Brian Earl was a great penetrator in high school, but he doesn’t drive now. I used to be a post-up player. I don’t get to do that anymore.

“You have to have five guys willing to sacrifice personally for the good of the team. It’s tough to recruit guys for that. If you have three who want to do it and two who don’t, you’re not going to win.”

Princeton is winning its own way.

“There are very smart guys on the team,” Walton said. “You can sit on the bus and talk about basketball or anything. But nobody’s talking about going to the NBA.”