Bill Walton’s and Helix’ historic season, game by game, with quotes and attributions by Bill Center of The San Diego Union:
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1969.
HELIX 74, MADISON 60.
Mike Dupree scored 28, Walton 24, off-setting a 30-point performance by Dave Smith, whose Warhawks were down, 57-36, in the third quarter.
Thursday, Dec 4, 1969
HELIX 78, MORSE 49
Leading only 32-25 at halftime, the Highlanders unleashed a withering, 27-6 third quarter. Walton scored 30, Dupree 22.
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 1969.
HELIX 78, LINCOLN 56
The well-regarded, Eastern League Hornets were in the game, trailing at halftime, 33-27, but fell behind, 54-37, and never got closer.
One blowout and near blowout, and a cruise against three of the city’s best squads.
Friday, Dec. 12, 1969
HELIX 90, HILLTOP 53.
Walton still was growing, now listed in local newspapers as 6 feet, 10 ½ inches. He was 10×12 from the field, retrieved 20 missed shots, and scored 24 points. Dupree was 11×15 from the field and scored 25.
Saturday, Dec. 13, 1969
HELIX 92, CASTLE PARK 60.
“That was the first time we haven’t seen a zone (defense),” Helix coach Gordon Nash said after Walton had torched Castle Park with 46 points (18×21 from the field) and pulled down 28 rebounds. “They used a man-to-man defense and we worked the ball into Bill. He got a lot of points off the offensive boards but was doing well from anywhere.”
Nash added that he didn’t think the Highlanders would “see many more man-to-mans.”
Walton broke the school scoring record of 44 points, set by Jim (Bones) Bowers in the 1959-60 season.
Wednesday, Dec. 16, 1969
HELIX 78, CHULA VISTA 43
Another good team was taken apart. The Scots led, 72-28, when Walton, Dupree and the other starters departed early in the fourth quarter.
“We were so concerned with what Walton could do that we forgot what we could do,” said Spartans coach Bob Korzep.
“I can’t say whether or not they will be undefeated this year, but I do know that as long as the big kid’s in the middle I’m not betting against them,” said Korzep.
Chula Vista would get closer but still fall considerably short later.
KIWANIS TOURNAMENT
Thursday, Dec. 18, 1969
HELIX 76, PATRICK HENRY 43
The score was 43-18 at the half and 59-26 after three quarters. Walton scored 36 points and eight others made the box score.
Friday, Dec. 19, 1969
HELIX 89, EL CAJON VALLEY 56
Ten players scored, led by Walton’s 30 and Dupree’s 17. John Singer, who came off the bench for six points, later became a legendary Helix basketball coach.
Saturday, Dec. 20, 1969
HELIX 87, MADISON 65
Walton’s 35 gave him 101 in three games, threatening the Kiwanis record of 120 in four games by Granite Hills’ Bob Lundgren in 1962 and equaled by El Capitan’s Blaine Bundy in 1966. The Scots led, 39-34, at the half and 61-42, after three quarters, and essentially traded hoops with the Warhawks in a 26-23 last quarter.
The win was Helix’ 25th in a row over two seasons, leaving them 10 behind Mount Miguel’s County record.
Monday, Dec. 22, 1969
HELIX 89, SAN DIEGO 45
“We will try a couple new things,” said San Diego High coach Pete Colonelli, who replaced Bill Standly and whose Cavemen carried a 9-2 record into the Unlimited Division final in Peterson Gym. Tipoff was at 9:15 p.m. after late-running consolation games.
Helix savaged the Cavers with a 19-0 run after a 16-16 first quarter. Walton took a seat with 3:08 remaining in the game after scoring 31 points and hauling in 31 rebounds.
Bill Center’s game story pointed out that “when Helix was running wild (in the second quarter), Walton had 6 points and 11 rebounds in four minutes.” Dupree was the usual target for Walton’s outlet passes and scored 25.
Walton finished the tournament with 132 points, which would have been the record but Madison’s Dave Smith had 149.
COVINA TOURNAMENT
Friday, Dec. 26, 1969
HELIX 90, RANCHO CUCAMONGA ALTA LOMA 35
Back in the days of Bob Divine and Bob Speidel, Helix coaches often filled the post-Christmas week by taking the team to the Fillmore Tournament in Ventura County. Gordon Nash this year opted for Covina, one of the nation’s leading events and requiring the champion to win 5 games.
A 22-0 run in the third quarter was just part of Alta Loma’s wreckage. Helix led the Braves at various junctures, 26-5, 50-11, and 77-14. Walton scored 24, Dupree 16, and Mike Honz and Race (Buster) Paddock, 10 each.
Saturday, Dec. 27, 1969
HELIX 72, MONTEBELLO 48
Walton had 31 points and Dupree 15 for 12 wins in a row this season and 28 consecutive over the last two seasons.
Monday, Dec. 29, 1969
HELIX 92, EL MONTE ARROYO 57
Shock! Helix trailed, 35-31, at the half.
Awe! The Scots’ full-court press drummed the Knights into submission. They outscored their opponents, 61-22 in the second half. Walton contributed 26 points and 22 rebounds. Dupree added 20 points and Mike Honz 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 1969
HELIX 71, LONG BEACH MILLIKAN 49
This victory may have been the most significant of the Walton era.
The Millikan Rams compiled a 28-3 record and won the Southern Section major championship over Monrovia, 68-37, after knocking out 26-0 Santa Barbara, which featured Walton’s future UCLA teammate and NBA star Keith Wilkes, in the semifinals, 64-49.
Millikan’s other losses were to Inglewood Morningside, 69-63, and Long Beach Wilson, 70-61.
Wrote Ken Pivernetz of the Long Beach Press-Telegram: “Millikan committed 20 turnovers, scored only twice off the fast break, and was without the full service of (6-5 ½) all-City player Dave Frost, who twisted a muscle in his back and played only half the game.\
Pivernetz gave Walton mild praise.
“The talented Walton, the best prep player in the Border City, intimidated the Rams at times, by blocking eight shots, grabbing 23 rebounds, and scoring a game high 22 points.
After an 11-11 first quarter, Helix led, 32-27, at the half and blew it open with a 20-6 third quarter.
Dupree had 19 points and Randy Madsen 10.
Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1969
HELIX 110, PASADENA 68
Bill Center recounted from colleague Steve Bisheff an exchange between UCLA assistant coach Denny Crum and Crum’s boss, Bruins head coach John Wooden, after Crum returned from Helix’ tournament championship.
Crum: “I just saw the greatest high school player I’ve ever seen.”
Wooden, looking over his spectacles: “Better than Lewis (Alcindor)?”
Crum: “Yeah.”
Wooden: “Keep your voice down and close the door.”
Comparisons to Alcindor, almost unthinkable, were spoken in private, in hushed tones.
Alcindor, who had changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, arguably was the greatest collegiate player of all-time and the leader of the Bruins’ three consecutive, recent national championship teams.
Walton, whose older brother Bruce was on campus and playing for the Bruins’ football team, already was on Wooden’s radar, but the coach wanted to hear more from Crum, who would carve his own, legendary coaching career at the University of Louisville.
Walton dismantled the 12-2 Pasadena Bulldogs with 50 points, 34 rebounds, and nine blocked shots. He made 18 of 24 shots from the floor and converted 14 of 16 free throw attempts. Dupree added 24 points.
It was 29-10 after one quarter, 51-28 at the half, 78-45 after three, followed by a 32-23 final eight minutes of garbage time.
The Highlanders did not press as they opened their 19-point lead in the first quarter. Coach Gordon Nash left Walton and the rest of the starting five in the game until the final 1:25.
Walton would “go national”, earning an item in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”
I also “owed” the Helix senior $50, which was what Eleanor Milosovic, the magazine’s director of correspondents, paid me for nominating Walton as a candidate for the publication’s weekly feature.
Walton had scored 451 points and was averaging 30.1. Helix had an 83.7 team average and was holding its opponents to 52.2.
Helix stood 15-0 and had won 31 in a row as the calendar turned to January.
Tuesday, Jan. 6, 1970
GROSSMONT LEAGUE
HELIX 67, MONTE VISTA 61
The visiting Monarchs, who, at 2-10, had stunned the Scots, 58-52, the previous season, came into the game with an 11-2 record and brought the game to Helix, double- and triple-teaming Walton as Helix struggled to put the game away. The Highlanders finally broke it open in the fourth quarter, stretching a 51-44 lead to 67-55.
“They forced us into a lot of mistakes and we didn’t play very well,” said Nash, who was not enamored of the officiating around the basket.
“They (officials) watch what takes place in the air, but not what happens with the body,” said Nash. “Billy was manhandled out there pretty good.”
Despite the Monarchs’ physical approach, Walton scored 31 points and took down 22 rebounds. Mike Dupree added 14 points and Mike Honz 11.
Friday, Jan. 10, 1970
HELIX 68, EL CAPITAN 44
Guards Steve and Wade Victory kept the ball outside the key much of the game, inviting a Helix press which effectively nullified the Vaqueros, who trailed only 12-7 at the end of the first quarter. Walton had 21 points, Dupree 17, and Randy Madsen 10.
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 1970
HELIX 86. EL CAJON VALLEY 49
“We won’t hold the ball or slow the game down, but we’ve got a couple things up our sleeve that we’ll try to work,” said El Cajon Valley coach Jack Lasley.
The Braves worked hard to muscle Walton away from the basket and twice knocked him to the floor (Walton slightly turned his ankle the second time, bringing gasps from Helix partisans).
Walton had 20 points in 23 minutes and 30 seconds. He also had 22 rebounds and nine blocked shots. Dupree followed with 19 points, Madsen 17, and Honz 14, plus 18 rebounds as Helix enjoyed a 61-24 advantage on the boards.
“No one I know is going to beat them,” said the El Cajon coach, who added that “defensively he intimidated us to the extent we wouldn’t run anything.”
Friday, Jan. 16, 1970
HELIX 97, GROSSMONT 74.
The Highlanders tied Mount Miguel’s County record of 35 wins in a row with their 19th straight this season, behind Walton’s 37 points and 24 rebounds. Mike Dupree, 12 of 22 from the floor, added 27 points as the Highlanders shot 58 per cent.
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 1970
HELIX 89, GRANITE HILLS 32
Dupree scored 28 points while Walton had a season low 15 as Helix began with a 20-6, first-quarter blitz, led, 71-23, after three, and set a County record with No. 36 in a row.
Friday, Jan. 23, 1970
HELIX 93, MOUNT MIGUEL 61
The winning numbers now read 21 for the season and 37 overall. Walton scored 41 points and three others were in double figures.
John Slater, son of Kearny High football coach Birt Slater, led the Matadors with 21. Mount Miguel was a shadow of its great team of 1967-68, 1-5 in league play and 2-14 overall.
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1970
HELIX 81, SANTANA 47
Walton still was feeling the effects of an apparent week-long stretch of flu but hammered the 14-6 Sultans with 32 points on 13×15 shooting, 21 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Mike Honz had 15 rebounds and Helix blocked 17 of the Sultans’ 84 field goal attempts.
“I thought if we could hit forty per cent today we’d beat ‘em,” said Santana coach Tom Curran. The Sultans were 22×82 for 27 per cent.
Friday, Jan. 30, 1970
HELIX 94, MONTE VISTA 51
Perhaps aroused by of its fairly close call in the league opener, the Scots knocked down 15 of their first 20 shots, creating a 33-11 first-quarter lead. Twenty-two points came on point-blank layups. Four field goals were ignited by Walton’s outlet passes to either Mike Dupree, who matched Walton’s 26 points, or to Dan Coleman, who had a season high 14. Mike Honz added 14.
The Monarchs, another good Grossmont loop squad, fell to 15-6.
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 1970
HELIX 93, EL CAPITAN 49.
Now listed at 6-feet-11 in most newspaper articles, Walton scored 30 and Helix eased to its 40th win in a row.
Saturday, Feb. 6, 1970
HELIX 102, EL CAJON VALLEY 72
Imagine, scoring in the seventies, more than any other Highlanders opponent, and still losing by 30 points. That was the fate of Jack Lasley’s Braves. Walton led the way with 29, followed by Dupree’s 22, Honz’ 21, and Coleman’s 15.
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1970
HELIX 104, GROSSMONT 48
Walton scored 31 points for a season total of 764, moving past Crawford’s Larry Blum (737 in 1962-63) into second place all-time, 10 points below the mark set by Kearny’s Wilburn Strong in 1968-69. Honz (19), Coleman (15), Dupree (13), and Madsen (12) also got into the action.
Thursday, Feb. 12, 1970
HELIX 107, GRANITE HILLS 44
Helix had 52 points at the half, enough to win. Walton’s 34 points gave him 798, a County record. Helix won its 43rd in a row and 27th this season. Honz added 19 and Dupree 15.
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 1970
HELIX 127, MOUNT MIGUEL 31
Nash’s starters stayed in long enough to score 117 points, led by Dupree’s career high 43. Walton had 24 and Coleman sniped a career high 22. Madsen contributed 16 and Honz 14.
The single-game scoring record for large schools had been Mount Miguel’s 121 against Santana in 1967-68. Marian held to overall record with 124 against San Marcos in 1966-67.
Perhaps most illuminating was Mount Miguel’s sudden fall from the top. It was the Matadors who doled out this kind of punishment two seasons before.
Transfers of convenience to favored teams were not common. Coaches took the hand they were dealt.
Mount Miguel’s cupboard was bare.
Friday, Feb. 20, 1970
HELIX 94, SANTANA 58
Domination indeed…a 36-point win over a team that was 11-2 in league play and 19-8 overall. The scoring order: Walton, 30, Dupree, 18, Honz, 16.
The Scots finished the regular season with a 29-0 record and with a winning streak of 45. The 29 victories was a County record. San Diego had set the standard when it posted a 28-6 record in 1946-47.
CIF PLAYOFFS
“This is a very good team and our record proves it,” Walton said. “One player couldn’t account for the season we’ve had. If we’d made a lot of mistakes we’d lose, but I don’t think we will. When one player is going bad someone else jumps in and we’re pretty deep.”
Walton described Dupree and Madsen as “two of the best guards around” and with Mike Honz and Butch Paddock “no one is stronger at forward.”
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1970
HELIX 109, EL CAJON VALLEY 47.
Thirteen players scored and the Highlanders broke the single-game playoff record that Grossmont had set in a 93-36 win over Julian the previous season. A 48-29 halftime lead was followed by a scalding, 30-5 third quarter. Mike Dupree led with 23, followed by Walton (21), Dan Coleman (16), and Mike Honz (15).
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1970
HELIX 92, HILLTOP 60
The quarterfinals victory on the Metropolitan League team’s floor was Helix’ 31st of the season and 47th in a row. Walton “settled” for 21 points, “missed several layups and once was called for goal tending.” Honz, Dupree, and Madsen had 20, 15, and 12 respectively.
Friday, Feb. 27, 1970
HELIX 75, CASTLE PARK 54
The Midway district Sports Arena was host for the semifinals and finals and the Highlanders seemingly breezed, leading, 55-35, after three quarters, but the Trojans, led by husky Elias Delgadillo, who had 21 points, played the Helix starters almost evenly in a 20-19 fourth quarter.
Walton scored on seven consecutive possessions and blocked five shots in the last eight minutes. He finished with 33 points and 23 rebounds as a crowd of 5,789 looked on.
Saturday, Feb. 28, 1970
HELIX 70, CHULA VISTA 56
Walton’s 31 points, despite converting only three of 11 free throws, and his 31 rebounds reaffirmed for the turnout of 6,451 persons that they were witnessing a player and team that might never be matched in the San Diego area.
“It’s been a long season, especially for the players,” said Coach Gordon Nash. “Thirty-three games is an awful lot. But there will never be another year like this one. I don’t think there will be another player like Billy for some time.”
“For the time being I’m going to relax,” said Walton. “I’m a little tired and I want to take it easy.”
Monday, March 2, 1970
“He proved a big man can make a team great if he sacrificed personal gains,” said Nash in Bill Center’s post mortem. “Billy could have scored a lot more. Everyone knows that. But he sacrificed and he did it without any second thought that I know of.”
“I’m going to miss playing for Helix,” said Walton. “At the end of the year I started to realize totally how great it was.”
UCLA would welcome this player who set records of 29 points a game (957) and 22.4 rebounds (739) and the Bruins continued ruling college basketball as had Helix this unforgettable season.
Nobody mentions the ‘ game never played ‘ for the 1970 basketball championship ..St Augustine was ranked 2nd right behind Helix ..both expected to reach the finals at the Sports Arena ..Saints was the only team that could possibly upset Helix ..but Saints was ‘UPSET’ by Chula Vista in the semi final game and the Spartans were no match for Walton’s crew in the final … Saints and Helix did have a friendly a few months later but lacking regular season intensity and all Helix came out on top … the 1970 Saints varsity basketball team was the ONLY team Helix was concerned about . ‘ the game never played ‘ would have been a history changer ….
We’ll never know. Thanks for writing, Sammy.
This isn’t quite right. They did play a pickup game. Walton dominated.
I was a Saints fan and went to the double header at the sports arena. Saints vrs.castle park. Helix vs. Chula Vista. Waltons sister was a friend of my girlfriend, then attended Rosery girls catholic, Saint Augustine’s sister school. It’s too bad Walton didn’t attend Saint Augustine. Saints would have been the Champs.
Walton had attended Blessed Sacrament before Helix. It was the Saints’ loss.
They were a great team. I wish you would look at the 1973-74 Kearny CIF champs that was 32-0. This followed the 1973 CIF champs in football at 12-0-1. Two undefeated CIF champs in the same year. Never happened before or since!
I’m doing these seasons chronologically. I’ll get to Kearny’s 73-74 team in a few weeks, I hope. Basketball is tedious compared to football, which played only once a week. There has not been a San Diego Section team to my knowlege that has pulled off Kearny’s 1973-74 double. Chula Vista, when all of our local teams were in the Southern Section, won the 1953 small schools’ football championship and the 1953-54 small schools basketball championship. I’ll have to look closer for years after
Kearny’s feat. The San Diego Section began to create divisions and that gave teams more opportunities. I’ll let you know if I find anything. Thanks for writing.
John: There has not been a San Diego Section team to my knowlege that has pulled off Kearny’s 1973-74 double. Chula Vista, when all of our local teams were in the Southern Section, won the 1953 small schools’ football championship and the 1953-54 small schools basketball championship. I’ll have to look closer for years after
Kearny’s feat. The San Diego Section began to create divisions and that gave teams more opportunities. I’ll let you know if I find anything. Thanks for writing.
Thanks Rick, keep up the awesome writing!!
Thank you.