Genius Hour 1.6 The Limits of Human Endurance

     Welcome back to my blog, "The Limits of Human Endurance," your favorite blog detailing, well, the limits that the human body is restrained by when performing amazing athletic feats. Today, I will be telling the little-known story of Walter Bond, former NCAA basketball player from the University of Minnesota and NBA player for Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, and Detroit Pistons. The story that made Walter such an inspiration did not begin until the end of his college basketball career. After several stellar seasons at the high school level, Walter earned a scholarship to the University of Minnesota and played decent over the first three years of his NCAA career. In the first three years, Walter scored 239 points total and had a FG% of .52. These stats were not too shabby, however, were just low enough to be overlooked by the NBA. The first game of Walter's senior year after putting in hours more of hard work in the last off-season and being in the best shape of his life, he broke his foot. His trainer came to him and promised him that after surgery he would get him back for the Big Ten season in 6 weeks. The conversation between the two, according to Walter, went like this: Walter looked him dead in the eyes and said, "Rodger when I come out of surgery, I need you to take me to the stationary bike, put me on the bike and tape my cast to the pedal." The trainer responded as any trainer would and said, "But Walter when you come out of surgery you're going to be on morphine and you won't feel like it. Go back and rest." Walter took him by the arm and said, "Rodger, I don't have time to rest. Can you do that favor for me? Can you take me to the stationary bike, put me on the bike, and tape my cast to the pedal." As soon as surgery was over the trainer carried Walter to the bike, put him on the bike and taped his cast to the pedal. Walter recalls having a moment while he was on that bike, drenched in sweat, with tears in his eyes when he thought to himself, "I can't quit. I can't give up." Walter put in the work, went to physical therapy every day, and held out hope, and miraculously, was playing against the Ohio State Buckeyes six weeks later. Walter was having an amazing game back and at the end of the first half he had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. As the end of the first half ran out he pulled up for a jump-shot and felt his foot break again. What was amazing was that Walter had dedicated himself so much to the sport and following through, that his last college basketball shot went in all net. After the end of the season, Walter received a phone call from his father that would change everything. He had dreamed of playing in the NBA since he was a little boy, but with the crushing end to his NCAA career, he was going to settle for a job as a hospital administrator and leave basketball for life. His father responded to this, "Not bad, but let me ask you something boy, do you believe you are an NBA player? You can't out-produce yourself boy, so if you don't think so then take the job. But if you believe you are an NBA player, go for it." Walter hopped to his Coaches office with a cast on his foot and asked, "Coach, what do I need to do to play in the NBA!?" His coach told him, "If you loose 20 pounds and can shoot a 3-point shot with range, then you can play in the NBA." After becoming healthy again, Walter lost 20 pounds and shot 500 shots every day. He got invited to a training camp with the Dallas Mavericks and not only did they recruit him, he became the first-ever, un-drafted, rookie, free-agent in the history of the Dallas Mavericks to start opening night. What was it that gave Walter the power to overcome all of this adversity and succeed on such a grand scale? What helped Walter to become the elite athlete that he became? My next blog will explore what helped him to do this.