In the last few weeks, Bill Walton is being portrayed as this goof, eccentric uncle, prone to going over the line of ridiculous. So perhaps a little reminder is in order as to what he truly represented: Basketball at its finest.

Does it get any better than his performance in the 1973 NCAA Final? Walton went 21 of 22 from the field, scoring 44 points in UCLA’s win over Memphis. As a bonus, listen to the great Curt Gowdy on the call.

Here’s a profile of Walton and UCLA