With older brother and former Arizona All-American Luke Walton playing so well for the Lakers in the NBA Finals, San Diego State senior Chris Walton is in the midst of his own personal evolution. And since Chris is part of the Wildcats’ extended family, today we examine how the youngest of the Brothers Walton has improved his game so dramatically.

Each of the four Walton brothers – Adam, Nathan, Luke and Chris – has played college basketball. Luke has long been considered the best of the quartet but that may not always be the case, especially now that Chris has the spotlight at SDSU.

Sure, following Luke’s career at Arizona is akin to trying your hand at stand-up comedy immediately after Dave Chappelle leaves the stage but what’s pressure to a Walton? In the grand scheme of things, the four sons of Bill Walton have their father to live up to. And since it’s assured that none could possibly match his exploits at UCLA in the early 70s, Chris’s burden is relatively light.

First things first, when it comes to Chris Walton, no one that knows him actually refers to him as Chris or even Christopher. It’s “Tuffy”. The reason behind the nickname is as simple as it is strange.

“When I was younger there was a lady that called me ‘Topher, which is short for Christopher,” said Tuffy himself. “But then when I got to school there was another kid who went by ‘Topher so everyone just started calling me ‘Tuffy’.”

You get the feeling that if Big Bill had his way, he’d have simply named all four of his offspring Jerry Garcia because of his love for the Grateful Dead. Hey man, it’s all one psychedelic Cryptical Envelopment anyway, right?

Arizona fans have had the chance to watch Chris develop his game over the last few years now, as he has traveled to Tucson for pick-up games in August at McKale Center. Originally he came to play with Luke – and more than held his own, I might add – showing the same type of cerebral play and court awareness as his older brother.

He may very well be back in a few months to run with the ‘Cats one final time but that’s not as likely anymore.

“He might come out,” said Arizona administrative assistant Jack Murphy, who stayed at the Walton home for a few weeks to workout with Chris at SDSU. “Tuffy’s schedule is still in the air. He was in Detroit for (the last two) games to watch Luke and I know that he wants to workout with Luke and do some other stuff, too.”

Murphy put Walton through daily drills that included shooting, footwork and conditioning, as well as post moves and perimeter work. The progress he saw, coupled with his steady improvement over the final part of last season for the Aztecs, made him very optimistic about the kind of senior year Tuffy is capable of having.

“He’ll be the focal point at SDSU, the team leader,” Murphy said. "The amazing thing for me was watching him in pick-up games and how he has similar traits to Luke in that (leadership) department. He was getting guys going, asking when they’re going to work out again, telling them to come to the gym and shoot beforehand and what they should work on.

“Tuffy is really a lot like Luke. He hits the open man on cuts with his passes and he has the drive and desire to be the best like Luke does. Their basketball IQ obviously comes from their father.”

In a basketball landscape littered with freakish athletes and potential-laden “future stars”, the Waltons have achieved success the old fashioned way – by being smarter than the other guy and by playing good, sound team basketball.

Bill, who may very well be the best passing big man of all-time, began the legacy, and Luke, who is the only forward in Pac-10 history to lead the conference in assists, has done a great job of maintaining it. Now comes Chris, er, Tuffy. Murphy says that while there is a difference between Luke and Chris, it’s negligible at best.

“If there’s a drop off it’s minimal,” ‘Murph’ said. “For the large part, Chris is a much better shooter than Luke; at least he is in college anyway. He’s very comfortable on the perimeter but he needs to work on ballhandling more. He’s more athletic than Luke and he can get up and dunk the ball easier. Physically, Luke is bigger, he’s a legit 6-8, 237, and Chris is 6-7 ½, and between 228-230. Luke has broader shoulders and great physical presence.”

The comparisons to Luke alone should be enough to have Aztec fans excited. Arizona’s do-everything point forward is slowly turning into a solid player for the Lakers and there’s very little doubt he’ll be a full-time starter sooner rather than later. The knock on him has always been his lack of quickness and his shot, but those are two things Chris has already surpassed his brother in.

Expectations for Tuffy start at “high” and grow from there.

“Last summer Bill was having dinner with coach (Lute) Olson and he told him he thought Chris was better than Luke,” Murphy recalled. “If he were at Arizona, Chris would definitely get minutes for us at the four.”

There’s already talk about Chris being a contender for the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year in 2004-05. With go-to guy Aerick Sanders gone from the program, it’s going to be Walton that head coach Steve Fisher looks to this season.

“He averaged somewhere around 10 points and five rebounds per game last year [actually, it was 8.7 and 4.9, respectively],” Murphy said of Walton. “But they had Aerick Sanders and coach Fisher used to put up ‘Get Aerick 20 shot attempts’ as a key to each game. I really truly believe Tuffy has the capability to average 16 points and eight or nine rebounds with a couple assists in there too.

“He’ll have more opportunities next year. It’s a pretty wide open conference and by the season’s end I think that with Chris and (SDSU sophomore forward) Marcus Slaughter they could have the best forward combo in the conference.”

Walton’s yearly progress has been noticeable, and while older brother Luke’s biggest increase in effectiveness came between his third and fourth year in the Arizona program, Tuffy’s looks like it will be a year later.

“Luke’s sophomore-to-junior year improvement was huge,” Murphy said of Walton, who redshirted as a freshman because of a stress fracture in his foot. “Everything Luke did before his junior year was within the team concept, but as a junior he had to step it up like he did against USC (28 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists for a triple-double).

“Now it’s going to be that the offense goes through Chris at SDSU. Their point guard position is up in the air so even though he won’t bring the ball up the court he’ll still have everything go through him. He’s a great passer. Luke is one of the best passers in the world, honestly, when you think about it. Luke’s unbelievable. Chris is a well above average passer. It’s tough to compare that but Chris knows how to play the game, gets the job done and he will find you if you are open.”

Tuffy Walton has already had a busy offseason that has included pick-up games with his teammates at SDSU, flying to Detroit for the NBA Finals and playing in Las Vegas along with Murph and another former Wildcat, Ricky Anderson. It’s still possible that he comes back to Tucson in the fall but now that he’s the team leader for the Aztecs, Wildcat fans will understand if he has to stick around San Diego to take care of his responsibilities.

“Chris will be back out in Vegas in August for a week or so,” Murphy said. “He’s going to play in Tim Grgurich’s (Phoenix Suns assistant coach) camp for pro and college guys August 2-5.”

Grgurich will have an opportunity to watch Walton up-close and see if he has what it takes to make it in the NBA like his older brother has done so far. Tuffy’s improvement and developing skills make him an attractive prospect but it’s still not clear whether or not he’s a legitimate NBA talent or just someone who will play professionally overseas.

“I was told by an NBA scout this year that when the NBA is looking at you they look at a couple things,” Murphy said. “The main one is ‘what can the guy do to get in the game?’ Can he shoot it, pass it, dribble it, or does he have intangibles.

“(Former UA All-American guard) Gilbert (Arenas) is lighting quick and he can handle it, pass it, all those things. Luke’s IQ is off the charts and he can pass. Chris may turn into a guy like Wally Szczerbiak because he can shoot it. His shot is improving dramatically, plus he can post guys up like Luke could. His moves are very good and he’s definitely quicker than Luke.

“Chris Walton will make money playing basketball. That’s what I will say.”

First things first, though. As a Walton, he has a college legacy to live up to before thinking about the NBA. From Bill to Luke and now to Chris. As Bill said previously, Tuffy has a chance to be even better than Luke.

Arizona fans should know firsthand that a statement like that means Tuffy must be pretty damn good.

______________________

-Ben Hansen, Senior Editor