Jerry Colangelo recalls special Suns ties to Neal Walk

When the Suns lost the 1969 coin flip for the right to draft Lew Alcindor, Jerry Colangelo leaned back in his chair with eyes closed and anguish on his face.

That moment was not representative of how Colangelo felt about Neal Walk after that. Colangelo drafted Walk after Alcindor at No. 2, coached him at times and brought him back into the organization years later when Walk’s life hit difficult times.

Walk’s Sunday passing at age 67 largely brought up mentions of how he was the Suns’ consolation prize to the Hall of Famer who became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a five-time Most Valuable Player and six-time NBA champion. But Walk fared better than most of that draft’s first-round picks other than Jo Jo White, whom Colangelo passed on because of White’s Army commitment and the Suns' need for a big man.

“Neal was a guy who was fighting against the odds since Day 1,” said Colangelo, a Suns general manager and coach during Walk’s five Suns seasons. “He didn’t have a lot of athletic ability, but he had a big heart, a great work ethic and he had some skills. He could shoot, rebound and pass. He was made for the triple-post offense. When he, Hawk (Connie Hawkins) and (Paul) Silas were on the front line for Cotton (Fitzsimmons), he was a perfect fit.”

Former Phoenix Suns center Neal Walk dies at 67

Walk is the only Suns player beside Charles Barkley to average 20 points and 12 rebounds in a season (1972-73). The Suns’ best two seasons in the franchise’s first nine years came with Walk, who helped the team to 48 wins in 1970-71 and 49 in 1971-72.

Walk regularly played through injuries to miss only two games in five seasons. He has the second-best rebounding season and rebounding game in franchise history and even led the team in assists one season. All of it was not good enough for many fans, who compared him to Abdul-Jabbar.

“I don’t think anyone can put themselves in that position and say they would handle it any differently or better,” Colangelo said. “He did an admirable job of dealing with that. It was a noose around his neck.

“He was underrated in so many ways as a player. He went against big-time centers every night and more than held his own.”

Walk’s career was affected by his personal life, including admitted marijuana use and a vegan diet that lightened his body. But even in being traded in 1974, Walk had value to the Suns. The deal helped form the Suns unit that went to the 1976 NBA Finals, which featured three players (Curtis Perry, Dennis Awtrey and Nate Hawthorne) from that Walk trade. They also acquired a first-round pick that became Ricky Sobers.

Walk was out of the NBA in a little more than two years after being traded from Phoenix. A decade later, Walk underwent surgery on his spine and could not walk again.

When he returned to Phoenix, Colangelo ran into Walk languishing in the summer heat as he tried to move from his wheelchair to a vehicle parked outside the Jewish Community Center.

“He was struggling so hard and it broke my heart to see what happened to him,” Colangelo said. “We started a community-relations job for him and he stayed in the organization because we gave him a life again. He needed a place to go, things to do and a place to feel self-worth.”

Walk remained in the organization until 2012, when he was let go after Colangelo's departure. Walk was a pioneer in wheelchair basketball, leading to a 1990 White House invitation, and he frequently reached out publicly and privately to camps, youth groups, wheelchair users and people who had or were going to face surgeries similar to his spinal surgery.

“He was very articulate and a smart guy,” Colangelo said. “He had to go through hell to get his head straight, but he did, so he had great messaging. He was as loyal as you could imagine to the organization. Whatever he was asked to do, he was there. He was always so thankful. We were his family.”

Much like what he did for Connie Hawkins in his down-and-out times, Colangelo entered Walk’s life at an opportune point. He arranged for Walk to have a job and a wheelchair-accessible van, helping a proud man who never complained about his circumstances.

“It was more than just an employee-employer relationship,” Colangelo said. “I had a real soft spot in my heart for him. He deserves to get credit for being one of our early icons on the Suns. He was never appreciated as much as he should have been appreciated."

Reach Paul Coro at paul.coro@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-2470. Follow him at twitter.com/paulcoro.

PROFILE: Neal Walk