SAN DIEGO — A basketball court at St. Rita’s School has been dedicated to the memory of an NBA legend.
Bishop Michael Pham joined the school community Sept. 12 to bless the Bill Walton Basketball Court.
The basketball court was added to the St. Rita’s campus as part of the school’s “Art, Play, Pray” project, an $8-million campus renovation that broke ground in November of 2022 and was dedicated by Cardinal Robert W. McElroy in January of last year.
In addition to a basketball court, the project included a 1,200-square-foot art studio, a turf field, two play structures, and a prayer grotto, as well as new gates and walls that replaced chain-link fencing and provided greater security.
The project was funded primarily by the KHR Family Fund (formerly the Manitou Fund), which contributed $7 million. The remaining $1 million came from the Shea Foundation and smaller donors.
“As the principal at St. Rita’s School, the impact of this campus transformation is indescribable,” Gina Olsen said. “Each day, when I walk on campus, I am amazed by the beauty, safety and usefulness of this fantastic gift.”
Walton was born and raised in La Mesa and attended Blessed Sacrament School in San Diego. He went on to play professional basketball from 1974 to 1987 for the Portland Trail Blazers, the San Diego (and then Los Angeles) Clippers and the Boston Celtics. He died on May 27, 2024.
The basketball great had been a speaker at the groundbreaking ceremony for the “Art, Play, Pray” project and had served as an advisor during planning for the basketball court.
“Meeting Bill, hearing his stories from his early days as an awkward middle-schooler at Blessed Sacrament – a school so much like St. Rita’s – seeing the hard work pay off in his college and NBA career, is inspiring to me and will inspire generations of kids to come,” Olsen said.
“As a middle-schooler at (Our Lady of Grace School in El Cajon) in the 1970s who was hooked on basketball myself,” she said, “Bill Walton was always one of my idols.”
At the Sept. 12 dedication, speakers included Father Silverio Espenilla, pastor of St. Rita Parish; Steve Laaperi, a former principal and basketball coach at the school; Jim Mittermiller, a donor to the project; Kevin McNeely, whose KHR Family Fund was the major benefactor; and Bishop Pham.
Members of the school’s basketball team, wearing their uniforms, took turns at the microphone, asking “Did you know …?” and sharing a fact about Walton’s life and career.
Mittermiller recalled Walton’s invaluable help in the design of the basketball court that now bears his name.
“We had to clear … everything with Bill,” he said, noting that Walton arranged for them to purchase the school’s basketball hoops “from the same company that supplies the hoops for the National Basketball Association.”
In his own remarks, Bishop Pham told the students that he wanted them to remember three “H’s”: healthy, holy and happy.
“We need these three ‘H’s.’ We need to be healthy with our body and our mind. We need to be holy, to be connected with our God. Then, that’s when we are happy,” the bishop said.
Addressing God in prayer, Bishop Pham said, “By giving us rest and healthy recreation, you refresh our weary bodies and minds. We entreat your kindness that this place will contribute to leisure activities, artwork and prayer that will renew the spirit and strengthen mind and body. Grant that all who meet here may find the enrichment of companionship and, together, offer you the praise that is your due.”
