OAKLAND - Years before instant success and ready-made acumen won him his dream job with the Lakers, Luke Walton had a long flight over the Pacific Ocean and much of the mainland to agonize over a loss the fifth place game of the 2011 Maui Invitational.
“Luke took it hard after we lost in Maui,” former University of Memphis coach Josh Pastner said.
Jack Murphy, then a Memphis assistant, said Walton was “so upset you would have thought it was Game 7 of a playoff series.”
Walton clarified that he wasn’t throwing any tantrums or breaking locker room fixtures.