Walter Luckett scored more points than any other high school basketball player in New England history.
He won a state championship at Bridgeport’s Kolbe Cathedral High School, and was named National High School Player of the Year in 1972.
After appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Ohio University freshman — and then a successful college career — he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons.
He scored 28 points against a team that included Julius Erving and Earl Monroe But the effects of a knee re-injury — after first damaging it in high school — derailed his hopes for NBA stardom.
Luckett returned to his hometown. He earned an MBA, became Unilever’s manager of community relations, and married his high school sweatheart, Valita. She enjoyed similar corporate success, at Southern New England Telephone.
But the couple’s real impact is far from the office. Since forming the Walter Luckett Foundation in 2013, they’ve impacted thousands of young people, ages 8 to 22, in Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury.
Through leadership and youth development training; literacy, standardized test prep and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) programs, and mentorships, job preparation and more, they are changing lives throughout the region.
Nicole Carson (left), a Kolbe Cathedral High School graduate and wellness spa owner, is a Luckett Foundation mentor. She shows Kolbe students how to make a cleansing product. (Photo/Dan Woog)
And — thanks to a partnership with the Westport Library — their work has a Westport component too.
When Shonda Rhimes spoke there at last month’s Martin Luther King Day celebration, a contingent of Walter Luckett Foundation students had front-row seats.
They asked provocative questions, and saw a role model up (very) close and personal.
“Who you are is up to you,” the Shondaland CEO; creator, head writer and executive producer of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice,” and “Scandal,” and producer of “Bridgerton” told the teens.
Walter Luckett Foundation students were front-row guests at the Library’s Martin Luther King Day celebration. They were inspired by Westport resident Shonda Rhimes — and Christian Servance (above), a gospel singer and special friend of the Foundation.
A Luckett Foundation contingent was at the Westport Library last year too, when King’s speechwriter Clarence Jones made history come alive.
Carlotta Walls LaNier — one of the Little Rock 9, who integrated Central High School in 1957 — spoke at the Westport Library in 2022. She spent an hour before her talk in a private session with Walter Luckett Foundation students from Bridgeport and New Haven, and Staples High School.
The teenagers may or may not have heard of her in their history classes. But they were prepared with excellent questions.
“Can people change?” one teenager asked.
“Yes,” LaNier said — “if they are open to accept different experiences, and learn from them. If you are true to yourself, you can learn on a daily basis.”
Another question was about “our better angels.”
“It’s hard to find them,” LaNier admitted. “But I know they’re out there. That’s why it’s so important to learn, and talk about, our country’s history.”
Before her Westport Library appearance, Carlotta LaNeir (above, and in 1957) spoke with Luckett Foundation students.
Earlier, at the Westport Library’s inaugural VersoFest, Luckett and his wife brought a group of teenagers to the keynote by actor/writer/producer/martial artist/former Westport personal trainer Michael Jai Wright.
He described his quest to bring a full-scale, state-of-the-art, employing-hundreds studio and production facility to Connecticut.
“I was not put on this earth to make a billion dollars,” he told the crowd — packed with Luckett Foundation teens. “I’m here to share a billion dollars.”
All those messages are important for the Bridgeport and New Haven students to hear.
But it’s equally important for Westport’s young people to be exposed to the Luckett Foundation youth. More programs are planned for the future.
Walter and Valita Luckett (center), with Kolbe Cathedral basketball coach and Luckett Foundation member John Pfohl, and Kolbe graduate and Foundation mentor Nicole Carson. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Staples High School is just 10 miles from Kolbe Cathedral, home base for the Luckett Foundation.
The Bridgeport private school is far smaller than its Westport counterpart — 325 students, compared to 1,900 — but its focus on academic success, and the rigor of its classes, is just as strong.
Luckett credits Kolbe for much of his success. It provided a basketball court for his athletic talents, and it instilled the values of hard work and goal-setting that have driven his life’s work.
To see Luckett, his wife, and the Kolbe staff in action is inspiring, and powerful.
The other day, I spent time with them at Kolbe.
I saw Nicole Carson — a 2005 Kolbe graduate, and owner of Carson Aesthetics Wellness Spa in Milford — work with students, teaching them the chemistry behind her cosmetic products.
I learned about the Luckett Foundation’s work with Bridgeport elementary schools, and the importance of mentors from Sacred Heart Universtiy.
I heard a graduate say, “I wouldn’t be who I am without Mr. Luckett and his foundation. Coming back to Kolbe is like coming home. It keeps me grounded.”
I listened as John Pfohl, Kolbe’s boys basketball coach, extolled Luckett for his legacy. One of the Foundation’s programs brings high school players to Madison Square Garden, for a day of learning about sports management.
For some, it is their first time ever in New York City.
Kolbe Cathedral, at Madison Square Garden.
But even on that trip, Luckett says, “we talk about a lot more than basketball. We talk about what’s next, after the ball stops bouncing.”
I heard about the Foundation’s many important partners, including Unilever, M&T Bank and State Farm.
“We’ve been blessed,” Walter Luckett says, of he and his wife’s lives. “We’re just sharing our blessings.”
“We’re looking for an equitable playing field for all,” Valita adds. “These kids are brilliant. They just need support and assistance, to continue to blossom and grow.”
“We’re in Fairfield County — one of the most affluent areas of the country,” Walter notes. “But Bridgeport is a different world.
“We’re a safe haven,” he says of Kolbe, and the Luckett Foundation. “I wish we could provide for everyone.”
Together with their partners — including the Westport Library — Walter and Valita Luckett are providing many resources, in plenty of ways, for great young men and women.
And for our future.
(To learn more about the Walter Luckett Foundation — including how to contribute — click here.)
The Lords Work! Truly! Thank you both!
I was a freshman at Ohio University with Walter and if I remember correctly Valita as well. Even as teens you knew the Lucketts were special. By the time I was a senior I was doing play-by-play on the radio for the college station (WOUB). You would never have know Walter was a big college star. Always polite, soft spoken and a very hard worker. From time to time I reminisce about calling his college games and during many a broadcast and many a game nearly screaming into the microphone “Bucket by Luckett”. A great player. So happy to hear he is well and living the dream for he Valita and so may others.
Mike: I don’t think I ever knew you were a college sports announcer. Very cool! And I imagine your dad was really proud of you.
My guess is that the vast majority of athletes and sports fans under 30 have no idea what a big thing it was to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated back then. With the advent of social media and the proliferation of sports outlets of all kinds, there is nothing remotely comparable today (and has not been for years).
In any case, with his foundation, it’s clear that Walter has gone on to achieve something far more important—so kudos to him.
I so remember that cover on Sports Illustrated as I had a subscription at that time. I never had the pleasure of seeing him play although I attended many high school games in the area.
Such a wonderful story of people giving back and creating opportunities for so many. I know some people who have taught at Kolbe High School and they always spoke so highly of the students and their motivations to learn and succeed.
The Luckett Foundation is touching so many lives. Great to see a Westport connection and I am inspired to support their efforts to make a difference.
Tom, the next time you are in the shop I’d like to know which teachers you knew at Kolbe and see if any of them were mine!
I knew Walt Luckett’s father back in the day.
Bravo to Walter Luckett and his endeavors.
I went to Fairfield Prep and so we played against Walter and these games were very exciting. (Well, our team, but not me.) I well remember his shot from what would now be the three-point line. He would draw is arms back way behind his head and then loft an accurate shot. Our coach Bob Sylvester assigned our very agile and short point guard to scramble behind the very tall Walter as he was preparing to shoot. Several times our point guard would reach up from behind Walter, surprise Walter by grabbing the ball right out of his hands way behind his head, and head for a fast break in our favor.
I’m not sure why I remember that so vividly, as I’m not really much of a basketball fan – just one of those things – and props to Mr. Luckett and his work.
Walter Luckett was the type of student athlete that everyone in Bridgeport wanted to be like. I remember going to see him play at the Shehan Center on Main Street. Walter was Kolbe and the Shhan Center was his stage where he would perform. I’ll never forget seeing him just shoot from deep in the corners against a talented Harding High School with players like Reggie Spears, Lenny Morales, and Murphy just to name a few, but it was a absolute shoot out. I would go home and work on my jumpshot and shooting deep in the corners or top of the key. Walt made a lot of Bridgeport players want to be good and one day be able to do the things that he could do on the court. I remember Walt speaking to me one day at the downtown Y. I was in the auxiliary gym shooting jumpers and he called to me and gave me some awesome feedback and how he felt about my game and it really set in. Though Walts career was cut short, his legacy lives on and what he’s done off the court will be even more of a legacy than what he did playing. I wish Walt and his foundation continued success. Former Bassick High School Star Ernest Pouncy
I am a class of ’81 graduate of Kolbe-Cathedral HS in Bridgeport. After moving here from New Hampshire in the summer of 1978 I was enrolled at Kolbe. To say that Kolbe was and is a great school is an understatement. The teachers made everyone feel at home and especially for me coming from up north in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, especially during the “Intensive Weeks” where we went on hiking and took canoe trips, etc. where they leaned on me for my passion of the outdoors and what I knew from where I came.
But, I remember standing at the trophy case and looking at all the trophies and especially the one from this basketball player named Walter Luckett not knowing who he was but always thought he must have been great to get all those trophies. When I got to know many of the basketball players and teachers at Kolbe who knew Walter, I started to look at all of those trophies in a different light. I am so glad and honored to be an alumnus of Kolbe-Cathedral where Walter also attended.