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players like Julius "Dr. J" Erving and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe.
Sadly, that proved to be the pinnacle of Luckett's post-collegiate career. As quickly as the sharpshooter from Bridgeport had risen to prominence, his dreams were snatched away.
"I was on my way, getting ready to go train in Detroit, and I re-injured my knee walk- ing up an escalator," says Luckett, still in relative disbelief some 30 years later. "Can you believe that? I couldn't even lift my leg. I went to the camp, and I couldn't even run. It was a nightmare."
Walter Luckett never played a single game in the NBA. A New England high school scoring record and All-American collegiate honors meant nothing with a crumbled knee. That Sports Illustrated cover might as well have been in an alternate universe.
"Everybody says, 'What happened?' The bottom line was, I didn't have a pro knee at a time when I really needed it," admits Luckett. "(But) that's the way life is. Some- times it happens that way."
THIS IS WHERE the story turns sour for so many in Walter Luckett's position. For- tunately, he was different.
"Once I got released by the Pistons, I went home and cried for about six months," re- members Luckett with a chuckle. "Then I registered right back with the University of Bridgeport…and in a year at UB, I got my degree in Business Management."
The feeling is mutual. The school inducted Luckett into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986, and then retired his No. 34 jersey to the Convocation Center rafters in 2007. But more importantly, it was Luck- ett's devotion to education that continues to endear him as a role model for today's student-athletes.
"If you walk in our locker room, it will say up there that the No. 1 goal is to graduate from Ohio University," says Coach Groce. "At some point, the ball deflates. You can only play for so long."
Luckett knows this all too well. And yet, he doesn't seem to mind.
A New England high school scoring record and All-American collegiate honors
THAT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED COVER MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE.
meant nothing with a crumbled knee.
Luckett is quick to credit his support sys- tem for playing an indispensable role in his ballplayer-to-businessman evolution. Aside from having a young wife to provide for, his parents had always instilled the importance of graduating college. "Education has always been stressed," says Luckett. "(My family) would have never let me hear the end of it if I didn't get my degree."
The Bridgeport native took a job with Unilever Home and Personal Care, which then paid for his Masters in Finance from the University of New Haven. He played a few years of minor league ball while working with Unilever, but eventually chose to focus solely on his future – his new future. After ultimately becoming manager of the firm's community relations and corporate contributions, Luckett retired after 25 years. He has remained active, currently doing fi- nancial consulting and advising ECHO, an undertaking of the Justice Education Center in Connecticut. It serves as an after-school program for thousands of young students throughout the state, while also instructing teachers and coaches on how to be positive role models.
Luckett remains close with Ohio University as well, and was able to watch the basketball squad during its improbable run to the second round in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, upsetting the Georgetown Hoyas.
"He reached out to us, and he and I had a couple conversations post-tournament," says John Groce, current head coach of the Ohio men's basketball team. "Obviously he was a very proud Bobcat."
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"I think getting my degree and working at Unilever really did more for me than any basketball could ever do, because it paid for my continuing education and my future," says Luckett, without a hint of regret in his voice. "Everything worked out really well, and I'm living healthy, and it's a blessing."
"OH GOSH. EVEN to this day, people still talk about it," says Luckett with a deep, soulful laugh.
He's talking, of course, about that Sports Illustrated cover, seemingly distant in time only to him.
Luckett is 57 now, living comfortably and peacefully back home in Connecticut. He and Valita have been together for 36 years and counting, another decision where he holds no lamentation.
"To be honest with you, out of everything in life, God created her for me, and that's the best thing I can say," says Luckett. "We're still together, and God's been very
good with our relationship."
Some things have changed, though. Luckett no longer sports his giant afro, and estimates he's put on 40 or 50 pounds since his playing days. He even received a knee replacement about three years ago on his left leg, abandoning the body part that had be- trayed him for so long. But regardless of where he goes or what he's been through, that cover shot always follows him, four decades of separation be damned.
"There isn't a month that goes by that I don't get something about it in the mail, with people wanting me to sign it and send it back and stuff like that," says Luckett. "No matter where I go, everybody mentions Sports Illustrated."
Walter Luckett has zero regrets about the injury that crushed his dreams of playing professional basketball. The SI cover holds no demons. That's why he continues to head back and forth to the mailbox, limping ever so slightly on that new knee, to retrieve those old copies of the magazine. An autograph is the least he could do for a faithful fan, admirer or old friend.
And there's no need to fret over him returning it, either. He'll send it back. He always does. He's never had a problem letting go.
PHOTO. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES