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WORDS.
JUSTIN WILLIAMS PHOTOS.
OHIO UNIVERSITY
WALTER LUCKETT was destined for greatness on the court by the time he was a teenager, becoming one of the best amateur ballers in the country before landing a top-30 selection in
the 1975 NBA Draft. But when a lingering injury derailed his hoop dreams, Luckett was forced to discover a new path beyond the hardwood. Some 30 years later, he's yet to find any regrets.
He was one of the most prolific scorers in the history of high school basketball. He became the most decorated freshman that collegiate hoops had ever seen. He even adorned the cover of Sports Illustrated as a teenager before logging a single minute of action in a college game.
And yet, Walter Luckett never made it.
Fans who remember Luckett recall his legendary magazine cover, posing as a baby-faced man-child fitted in old-school basketball shorts and retro tube socks – his lanky arms and legs seeming to extend into eternity. Most don't remember him at all.
At first glance, it's a sad story – one of missed opportunity and lost potential. Another young kid with a promising athletic future who fell short of the lofty expectations that were set for him. But regardless of how it appears from the outside looking in, some are perfectly content with how the story ended.
68 You can count Luckett himself among that crowd.
WALTER LUCKETT ROSE TO prominence in the early 1970s as a high school basketball player in Bridgeport, Conn. His tall, wiry frame and smooth play led Kolbe High School to a state championship his junior year, before a jaw-dropping triple-double average of 39.5 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists during his senior season. Most impres- sively, Luckett capped off his career with the country's High School Player of the Year Award, and a four-year total of 2,691 points, which still remains a high school record in the entire New England region.
"Things just took off in terms of just being recognized as a promis- ing ball player," says Luckett of his success at Kolbe. "I was making my mark at that point and time."
The top recruited player in the country, many expected the Connecticut