DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Luke Walton, son of former NBA star Bill Walton, takes the media attention in stride. "It's been a part of my life," he said.
Walton used to
the media attentionThe rookie from Arizona
isn’t fazed by the media frenzy
surrounding the L.A. Lakers
Luke Walton may be entering his first season as a professional basketball player, but the glare of the spotlight is nothing new to the Los Angeles Lakers rookie.
The son of NBA great Bill Walton, Luke Walton grew up on the edges of spotlights cast on his famous father and stepped into it himself as a standout at Arizona. So as he begins his professional career with one of the most prominent teams in sports, Walton isn't fazed by the media blitz that has accompanied the Lakers to Honolulu.
"It's been a part of my life," Walton said after the Lakers' opening session of training camp at the Stan Sheriff Center yesterday. "Growing up as his son, playing at a big school like Arizona, it's all kind of built up and I'm even going to learn more now that I'm here."
Walton, the Lakers' second-round selection in the NBA Draft this summer, and Brian Cook, the team's first-round pick, were among the players who participated in the Lakers' first day of training camp.
Players with less than four years of experience began workouts yesterday. The veterans -- including Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton -- are expected to arrive tomorrow and join the younger players in practice on Friday.
"This is our first time being together as young players, learning the offense. I thought it was a good practice," said Cook, a 6-foot-9 forward from Illinois. "I just have to come in with a good attitude every day. I know I'm not going to pick things up right away, but if every day I work at it I'll get it."
Two-a-days continue through Monday. The Lakers end their stint on Oahu with games against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 7 and 8 at the Sheriff Center.
While the players who reported yesterday will have the floor to themselves today and tomorrow, they'll soon be rubbing -- and trading -- elbows with some of the sport's most accomplished athletes.
"I really haven't thought about it," Cook said. "I have watched them and I know I have a lot to learn from them now. That's how I'm looking at it, I'm coming in and learning and they're going to teach me."
Both Cook and Walton have visited Maui in the past, but this is their first trip to Oahu. Both played in the Maui Invitational with their college teams and Walton has relatives on the Valley Isle.
Cook was the Big Ten Player of the Year for the Illini last season, averaging 20 points and 7.6 rebounds, and the Illinois native was rewarded with a call from the Lakers in the first round of this year's draft as the 24th overall selection.
"It's a great tradition and I was just happy to be called on draft night," Cook said. "I grew up watching the Bulls with Coach Jackson and now he's the one teaching me, so it's great that I can talk personally with a person like that."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Phil Jackson was in good spirits after yesterday's workout.
Walton struggled through ankle injuries during his career at Arizona, but still managed to reach the 1,000-point, 500-rebound and 500-assist marks in his career. He was the third selection of the second round of the draft, going 32nd overall.
His father, Bill, was a Laker tormentor in his pro career with the Portland TrailBlazers and Boston Celtics, winning NBA titles with both teams. He remains a prominent figure in the game as a broadcaster.
Despite Bill's history against the Lakers, the younger Walton said his father shouldn't have a problem pulling for the purple and gold now.
"He's got a son on the team, it can't be that hard to cheer for your son," Luke Walton said. "He likes the Laker franchise a lot, he thinks they do everything right, the way a franchise should be run."
As a second-generation NBA player, Luke Walton also has a resource to turn to as he gets ready for his first year as a pro.
"He just said it's a crazy life," Walton said. "You have to be dedicated; there's a lot of temptations out there, you have to know when to say no. But it's also a great life."
Recalling Rodman: After working with his relatively inexperienced players yesterday, Jackson was asked to pick out a player who picked up the triangle offense the best. He answered without hesitation.
"Dennis Rodman was an offensive genius in basketball," Jackson said. "That's because he was a passer, all he wanted to do was make plays with the basketball. He wasn't trying to score or trying to find a way to score, he fit in very well."
Memory lane: Center Eric Chenowith is listed as a rookie on the Lakers roster, but is actually three years removed from college and is trying to hook on with the club after signing as a free agent last month.
Chenowith last visited the Sheriff Center as a freshman at Kansas and played in the final of the 1997 Rainbow Classic when the Jayhawks were upset by Hawaii 76-65.
"Biggest win in UH basketball history I heard," Chenowith said yesterday. "I remember the band was playing Hawaii 5-0 the whole time, it was a great atmosphere.
"It'll be good to have these people cheering for (the Lakers) instead of against us because I remember it got pretty loud in here."
