Yahoo Sports Sondheimer: Looking back at perhaps the greatest All-CIF basketball team in history
It's the 50-year anniversary of one of the greatest teams in Southern California high school basketball history — the 1974-75 All-CIF team in Division "AAAA."
The most valuable player on that team was David Greenwood from Verbum Dei. He went on to star at UCLA and in the NBA. An astounding seven players among the 10 first-team selections made it to the NBA, including Reggie Theus of Inglewood, Bill Laimbeer of Palos Verdes, Brad Holland of Crescenta Valley, Roy Hamilton of Verbum Dei, James Hardy of Long Beach Jordan and Paul Mokeski of Crespi.
"Everyone talks about that year because it was extraordinary with the amount of talent playing," said Holland, who played for UCLA and won an NBA title with the Lakers in 1980. "We were all blue chippers, all getting recruited nationally and for seven of us to go into the league was pretty remarkable."
The other All-CIF selections were Neil Arnold of Long Beach Wilson and Bob Losner and Rich Branning of Marina. All three ended up being all-time greats at their schools.
Holland, who went on to be a college coach, said he ended up playing against five of the six players in the NBA. During that final high school season, he knew many of them. He'd play pickup games against Greenwood and Hamilton at UCLA, where all three ended up as teammates. He played Theus in a game of one-on-one at a camp that summer. He faced Laimbeer at a Glendale tournament game. He took on Mokeski in a playoff game.
Greenwood said, "It was a special class."
Palos Verdes won the "AAAA" championship over Marina and ended Verbum Dei's six-year championship run. There were only four All-CIF teams and, as Holland recalled, "I can remember All-CIF honors was huge. If you made All-CIF, you were special."
First, you have to understand how these teams were put together. They were sponsored by the Helms Athletic Foundation, which later was named Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation. Sportswriters would come together in Culver City lured by a free lunch to nominate and vote for players. Sometimes the debates got loud and personal as local writers supported players in their areas. But this team was different.
The 1975 meeting was the first for former Times sportswriter Mike Kennedy. He said nine of the 10 selections "were so obvious" that it was relatively easy to put together.
Nowadays, All-CIF teams are done by coaches and the players selected mainly are from teams that make the playoffs.
When you add who was playing in the City Section, 1974-75 becomes even more historic. Dorsey had one of its best teams, led by James Wilkes, who went to UCLA and played three years in the NBA. Also on Dorsey was Flintie Ray Williams, a fifth-round pick of the Detroit Pistons after playing at Pepperdine and Nevada Las Vegas. The City player of the year was Chris Lippert from Cleveland, another future UCLA player.
Holland said he remembers John Wooden coming to see him play at Crescenta Valley, but Holland was a year too late arriving at UCLA to be coached by him, as Wooden retired after winning his 10th NCAA title in 1975.
Greenwood said it was fun playing with and against the players for years after in the NBA. Theus became his teammate with the Chicago Bulls. And players enjoyed all the attention that Laimbeer received for being a "mean, tough guy."
"The funny part is Bill is a pussycat," Greenwood said. "We all know Bill from high school."
Holland, 68, is retired and living in La Quinta playing lots of golf. Reminded how many players that season reached the NBA, Holland said, "It brings back great memories."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
