2025-26 Basketball Week 2: Santa Fe Christian Dominates
First-place votes in parenthesis. Previous ranking (if changed) in italics. Cal-Hi Sports rankings are by Mark Tennis, the newsletter’s publisher, with contribution from his statewide correspondents. Max Preps essentially relies on individual school representatives.
VOTING PANEL (18) John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-Time Hoops),
Steve Brand, Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance contributors).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section honchos).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference). Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson (San Diego Section Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, John (Coach) Kentera, Adam Paul, Tom Ronco, Eric Williams (freelance contributors).
Hoover’s playoff advance was halted at the foul line.
Merrill Douglas ended a great run at San Diego High.
Lincoln showed that patience had virtue.
—John Kovac was a football coach who happened to come along at the right basketball time at Coronado.
The dour Kovac without prompting often recalled that he coached future NFL stars Lenny Moore and Roosevelt Grier when Kovac guided the Penn State freshmen team.
Relocating to San Diego’s trans-bay community in the early ‘fifties, Kovac still saw football in his future but found himself directing the Islanders’ basketball program, with stunning success.
Kovac’s teams posted a three-season, 63-13 record with players who weren’t very tall but had roadrunner speed and swarmed on defense.
Despite starters Charlie Love, Willie Dickey, and Roger Nix returning from the 21-4 squad in ’54-55, Kovac’s preseason appraisal was loaded with typical coach speak:
“We will be very short and not nearly as fast or sharp as last year. We hope we’re not in for a long year.”
Coronado raced through the Avocado League schedule, finishing 12-0 and winning by an average score of 65-40. They were 27-1 overall, losing only to Hoover, 49-45, in an early December game.
Love, Dickey, Nix, Jon Crawford, Steve Solier, and Dennis (Swede) Grimaud, none taller than Nix’s 6-feet, 1 inch, were the principals as the Islanders won their last 25 and the CIF Southern Section Southern Group (small schools) championship.
As one of the top seeds, the Islanders had a first-round bye in the playoffs and then blew out Tustin, 75-55, with a 28-13 fourth quarter on the neutral Sweetwater floor as Herman Wright led all scorers with 25 points. Charlie Love added 16, and Roger Nix 15.
They sweated out a 55-50, semifinals victory over San Jacinto, after having built a 34-19 halftime lead at neutral Hemet High and then seeing top scorer Roger Nix foul out midway through the second half.
(“Neutral” courts, as mandated by the CIF, meant that host teams usually played at venues close to home. Hemet was less than three-and-a-half miles from the Tigers’ facility.)
Nix and his teammates then surprised and silenced most of the 2,300 persons in attendance at Azusa College with a 60-54, championship game victory over Azusa Citrus and high scoring Billy Kilmer.
Winning on the road was the sweetener. Citrus had beaten Coronado, 63-58, in the finals the year before as the visiting team at Point Loma High.
Kovac left Coronado and moved to Hoover as an assistant football coach in 1956.
Two years later the transplanted Pennsylvanian joined the staff at San Diego Junior College and became the Knights’ head coach in 1961. Kovac started the new Mesa College program and posted a 30-14-2 record from 1964-68.
Coronado coach John Kovac probably could have fielded a track team with this fast-breaking five of (from left) Charlie Love, Roger Nix, Herman Wright, Jon Crawford, and Steve Solier.
CARDINALS HAVE HUGE RESUME
Hoover won the postseason Beverly Hills Tournament title in 1944-45 when there were no CIF playoffs because of World War II. The East San Diego squad had not gotten that far before or since.
Three days prior to their win over Coronado, the Cardinals came from behind in the fourth quarter for a 41-39 win at Long Beach Poly, giving them victories over two of the three eventual Southern Section champions in less than a week.
Poly won the Central Group (large) playoff championship, defeating Montebello, 74-63, after the Oilers had beaten Hoover, 69-57, in the semifinals.
Hoover was 11-1 in the City Prep League and opened the postseason with a 63-52 win at Point Loma over Newport Beach Newport Harbor, which had knocked out Helix, 66-60, in the first round.
Charlie Hampton, in fourth season as coach, had 25-game winners with this group.
Next was a quarterfinals test at Manhattan Beach Mira Costa against nearby Redondo Beach Redondo Union.
Hoover led, 54-47, with 2:45 remaining. Redondo went into a press. Rex Hughes, who had 28 points and 15 rebounds, scored with 46 seconds left to forge a tie at 54.
The Seahawks stole a pass as Hoover attempted to get the ball down court after Hughes’ basket. Traveling was called on Redondo. Hoover inbounded again, Walt Baranski to Larry Elliot, who passed crosscourt, where Bill Landry drained a 15-foot jump shot with 15 seconds remaining for a 56-54 win.
The Cardinals were eliminated in the semifinals before an overflow crowd at Long Beach City College by Montebello and jump-shooting Jerry Pimm, whose lovely floaters and 28 points kept the Cardinals at a distance and in foul trouble.
Pimm found the range firing behind screens as Hoover’s man-to-man defenders, trying to keep up with Pimm, constantly bumped into one of Pimm’s teammates, usually center Bill Doner.
HOOVER’S EDGE IN FIELD GOALS
The Cardinals outscored the Oilers, 46-40, from the field, but the winner had an 18-point advantage at the free throw line, converting 29 of 39 attempts, 10 by Pimm, and 13 by Doner. Hoover was 11×23.
Larry Elliot, Hoover’s all-City forward and second-team all-Southern California selection, scored 22 points, 14 in the second half, but Elliot fouled out, as did guards Bill Landry and Walt Baranski.
Landry actually held Pimm scoreless for the game’s first seven minutes, but acquired three personals during that time.
Hoover defeated Glendale Hoover, 57-53, the following evening for third place and a final, 25-5 record.
David Washington, rebounding against Chula Vista, and Bob Mendoza (37) were veterans enjoying success at Lincoln.
HORNETS STEP UP
Lincoln, 2-18 and 6-16 with virtually the same squad in its first two seasons, reaped the fruits of their sometimes painful development, which originated with games on the Hornets’ outdoor, asphalt court and in Municipal Gym.
Coach Don Smith’s club, with City League player of the year and three-year starter Bob Mendoza leading the way, were 10-2 in the league and 20-4 overall.
A 62-46 loss to Hoover in the first round of play was erased with a 56-43 victory before a packed house in Lincoln’s new gymnasium in the second round of CPL play.
The Hornets’ foray into the playoffs started with a 62-54 win over Grossmont.
The postseason ended quickly and with finality in a 71-52 loss to Long Beach Poly, led by the Southern California player of the year, 6-foot, 7-inch Jim Hannah.
Two busloads of Lincoln students arrived at Long Beach Jordan at halftime of the second-round contest. Poly led, 36-23.
The seemingly awestruck Hornets were outnumbered everywhere. Poly had more cheerleaders than Lincoln had players and the Jackrabbits’ bench was a long, green and gold line.
“We were like a bunch of elementary school kids (in that environment),” said Hornets guard Brad Griffith.
DOUGLAS MOVES ON
—Merrill Douglas, who succeeded Bill Schutte as head coach in 1940-41, stepped down at San Diego High and moved across Russ Boulevard to San Diego Junior College.
Douglas, who missed three seasons serving in the military in World War II, guided teams that averaged 19 wins and posted a 236-76 (.756) record in 12 seasons.
The San Diego Junior College Knights won the Metropolitan Conference championship in Douglas’ first season. He also served as the school’s athletics director and took the same position when Mesa College opened in 1964.
Olympians teams and high schools eventually would play football and compete in track and field and soccer in the Merrill Douglas Stadium on campus.
DAVEY, DAVEY…?
No, not Davey Crockett, but La Jolla had a couple sharpshooters by the same name. Clyde Crockett led City Prep League scores with 209 points in 12 games, a 17.4 average. Crockett’s younger brother, Doug, had 94 points and a 7.8 average.
Mission Bay’s Leroy Brandt (15.2) was runner-up to Clyde in league scoring, followed by Jim Gilchrist (14.0) of San Diego, Lincoln’s Bob Mendoza (13.6), Willie West (13.2) of San Diego, Bill Landry (11.7) and Larry Elliot (11.3) of Hoover, and Brad Griffith (10.8) of Lincoln.
Helix’ Gael Barsotti led Metropolitan League scorers with an 18.4 average in eight games. Chula Vista’s Bill Collins (15.8), Helix’ Ronnie Mulder (15.4), and Grossmont’s Lowell Raper (12.5) followed.
Doug (left) and Clyde Crockett carried La Jolla banner.
Prep writers of the day did not list scoring beyond league play and Avocado and Southern League scorers, such as Coronado’s Roger Nix and others, were not listed at all.
NORMANS DEFEND
Beverly Hills defeated Hoover, 45-42, for its second consecutive Kiwanis Tournament Unlimited Division title.
San Diego, waiting on several players still playing football, surprised Inglewood Morningside, 51-46, in the first round. Months later Morningside scored a 64-62 win over Beverly Hills for the CIF Northern Group (small schools) playoff title.
Mar Vista’s Larry Boyd, who earned all-Southern California second-team honors in 1954-55, scored 99 points in four games to break the Kiwanis scoring record of 96, set the year before by Morningside’s John Arrillaga.
Boyd scored 25, but the Mariners couldn’t overcome the 19 each by Jon Crawford and Willie Dickey, who led Coronado to a 53-49 triumph in the Limited final.
ABOVE THE TREE LINE
Helix reportedly had 14 players on varsity and JV, standing at least 6-3. The varsity measured 6-6 Bill Turpin, 6-5 Ronnie Mulder, and 6-5 Mel Robinson.
Tallest Metro Leaguer was Grossmont’s Lee Carick, a 6-9 reserve center.
Andy Dunn, a reserve forward at Point Loma, and Lincoln backup center Bill Beatty stood highest in the City League, each at 6-5.
JUMP SHOTS
Julian was ousted from the playoffs for the smallest schools, 78-43, by Brea-Olinda…Grossmont won a coin flip with Helix to determine playoff pairings after the teams tied for the Metropolitan League title…Lincoln topped the Foothillers at Hoover behind 20 points by Bob Mendoza and 14 by Brad Griffith…Helix led Newport Harbor, 17-12, after one quarter at Garden Grove High, but Ronnie Mulder was sidelined for long periods with 4 fouls…Lincoln’s first victory over San Diego in football or basketball was a 55-53 thriller in which the Hornets overcame a six-point San Diego lead in the fourth quarter…Mendoza’s two free throws, after a layup by Griffith, put Lincoln in front, 54-51, in the final minute…San Diego coach Merrill Douglas surprised Lincoln in the league opener with a zone defense that stymied the Hornets, 35-30…late-arriving football stars Willie West (guard) and Deron Johnson (center) were starters for the Cavemen…Escondido made 29 of 44 free throw attempts in a 65-59 win over Vista…the Cougars and Panthers committed 46 fouls in the 32-minute game …Coronado set an Avocado League points record in an 81-55 victory over Escondido…Helix posted the highest total in the Metropolitan League in a 79-50 conquest of Sweetwater…Coronado’s starters played all but two minutes in a 71-32 rout of Escondido…La Jolla’s George Graham set a City League Class B record with 33 points in a 68-46 win over Kearny…San Diego’s sophomore team, paced by Edward Lee Johnson’s 17.2 average, was 20-0…Vista played in the post-Christmas Banning tournament and Helix was in the Fillmore event…Chula Vista topped Bell Gardens, 50-46, for the consolation title at Chino….
2025-26 Basketball Week 1: John Maffei Madness
We bided our time for several weeks before tuning in to the Union-Tribune writer’s 2025-26 season weekly poll, which he began weeks earlier. That explains our Week 1 designation for winter Maffei Madness.
So far, other than a few intersectional victories along the way, it’s been a relatively quiet season in the San Diego Section.
Two small private schools, Santa Fe Christian in Solana Beach and Victory Christian in Chula Vista, are holding sway; traditional big shots Mission Bay and Cathedral have represented, but Torrey Pines and St. Augustine are treading water.
Things should change in the next several weeks. The season is at about the halfway juncture. League play now is paramount, along with the occasional weekend “classics”.
Cal-Hi Sports, which publishes a top 50 in football, so far has scaled basketball down to 30, without a single San Diego Section team in the mix. Santa Fe, Mission Bay, and Francis Parker are on Cal-Hi’s bubble.
First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Cal-Hi Sports rankings are by Mark Tennis, the newsletter’s publisher, with contribution from his statewide correspondents. Max Preps essentially relies on various school representatives.
VOTING PANEL (18) John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-Time Hoops),
Steve Brand, Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance contributors).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section honchos).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference). Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson (San Diego Section Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, John (Coach) Kentera, Adam Paul, Tom Ronco, Eric Williams (freelance contributors).
1935-36 Basketball, Looking Back: Great Season for Cavers; Strange End for Cardinals B’s.
Originally posted Dec. 18, 2017.
Unlikely season, unlikely conclusion.
—A rare playoff run by San Diego teams in the Southern California playoffs.
—San Diego High marched through four rounds to win its only CIF Southern Section championship, along the way setting a school single-game scoring record…maybe.
—Hoover’s Class B team blitzed opponents in an attempted sequel to championships in 1931-32, 1933-34, and 1934-35, but there was no championship hardware and no satisfaction.
FAST START
San Diego entered the season with four lettermen starters, Ernie Mallory, Melvin Hendry, Vance Randolph, and Lowell Lee, and picked up a fifth, Bill Patterson, who transferred in from Frankford, Indiana.
Alhambra and Long Beach Poly were favored to fight it out for Coast League laurels. The Hilltoppers were 6-8 overall the previous year, 3-7 in league play, and 0-4 against the Moors and Jackrabbits.
San Diego showed early that it was vastly improved, sweeping Class A (a more preferred nomenclature than “varsity”) competition on the Hilltoppers’ home floor in the 13th annual San Diego County Interscholastic Tournament that opened the season in December.
With Mallory leading, Coach Mike Morrow’s squad whipped through Grossmont, 48-13, Point Loma, 36-14, and Ramona, 54-15.
Alhambra was the visitor in the league opener and went home a stunned, 31-28 loser after trailing, 15-9, at halftime. Mallory led the winners with 13 points.
The San Diego-Alhambra contest was played on a Friday afternoon at 3:30 instead of at the usual 7:30 p.m. because the Moors didn’t want to be headed home at night with the threat of fog on the Coast Highway .
Travel and its various inconveniences always were a nemesis for the far-flung Coast League squads.
The 1935-36 Southern California champions pose in front of the City Stadium peristyle, front row (from left): Ernie Mallory, Paul Shea, Roy Cleator, Vance Randolph, Billy Cesena. Middle row, from left: Coach Dewey (Mike) Morrow, Roy Rollins, Judson Starr, Melvin Hendry, Lowell Lee. Top row, from left: Bill Patterson, Bob Barth, Homer Peabody, manager Erickson. Missing, Eddie Preisler, Herman Gatewood.
COAST IS CLEAR
The visiting Hilltoppers led Long Beach Poly, 18-17, at the end of three quarters in their next game but couldn’t hold on and dropped a 21-19 decision. It was the Jackrabbits’ 17th victory in the 19 games between the teams since they first met in the 1920-21 season but also San Diego’s last loss in the 15-1 season.
A 40-18 victory at Santa Ana was followed by a 29-23 win at Alhambra, setting up another big game with Poly at San Diego. The Hillers prevailed, 29-25, as Vance Randolph, who would be lost to the team at midterm graduation, scored 11 points.
Randolph and acting captain Eddie Preisler were scheduled to participate in cap-and-gown ceremonies but opted to stay with the team and make their final appearances at Santa Ana. A 37-29 victory over the Saints clinched the Hilltoppers’ first outright league championship. They had tied for first with Poly in 1932-33.
With time before the beginning of the playoffs, the Hillers took on the touring Knapps Grocery Stores squad from Oakland. The 51-25 rout was part of a doubleheader in which Coach Ed Ruffa’s B team, playing an independent schedule, defeated the Markel-Johnson Poultry House, 31-28.
BEERKLE LOOKING FOR EDGE IN PLAYOFF?
Point Loma, 7-0 and Metropolitan League champion after a 24-16 victory over 6-1 Escondido, was the Hillers’ first playoff opponent.
The Pointers did not have a gymnasium (one newspaper reported the Pointers defeated their alumni, 38-28, “on an outdoor court made soggy by the rains”) and even used the Hillers’ gym in preparation for the game.
San Diego’s Roy Cleator unsuccessfully attempted to block shot of Point Loma’s Joaquin Qualin, while Hillers’ Lowell Lee (13) and Vance Randolph (16) looked on, with Pointers’ Moxon Mixon (40).
Pointers coach Joe Beerkle also bemoaned the fact that he had players who were “on call” to the tuna industry.
Beerkle said that if a fishing boat came in, starters Gil Gonsalves and Joaquin Qualin would have to forego the playoff encounter and help off-load a vessel.
There apparently were no arrivals at the Embarcadero, but the Pointers still were outmanned and lost, 32-18. San Diego the next night took on barnstorming Phoenix Union and beat the Coyotes, 45-35.
WHAT’S THE SCORE?
Morrow’s club met visiting Huntington Beach in the quarterfinals and scored a 73-45 victory. Or was it 82-45?
The San Diego Union noted the upcoming game early in the week but then ignored the usual day-of-game advance and did not report on the Saturday night contest.
The rival Evening Tribune printed a very short Monday afternoon story that San Diego had won, 73-45. That score also was corroborated by Don King’s Caver Conquest, with attribution to The Russ, San Diego High’s newspaper.
Ernie Mallory’s 18 points represented the only individual total in the Tribune.
The account seemed all well and good until the Los Angeles Times’ result showed a Huntington Beach dateline and a different score.
The unbeaten Hoover Cardinals Class B squad. Kneeling, from left: Don DeLauer, Gene McNeal, Milky Phelps. Tommy Johnson, Moore. Standing, from left: Coach Bruce Maxwell, Bob White, Yapp, Dick Mitchell, Monseca, Shepard, manager Kahan.
The Times’ story presented an editorial slant toward the losing team and essentially was a wrap on the Oilers’ Orange League championship season, but the text was accompanied by a comprehensive box score, which showed that San Diego exploded for 53 points in the second half and won, 82-45.
Mallory was credited with 18 points, followed by 15 each from Bill Patterson and Melvin Hendry, 2 by Lowell Lee, and 9 by the fifth starter Roy Cleator. Substitutes included Billy Cesena (2), Herman Gatewood (6), Mike Shea (4), and Bob Barth (2).
A player named “Peder” also was credited with 9 points. There was no record of such human, but there was a Homer “Peabody” on the squad.
CIF Southern Section playoff results for the season also honored the 82-45 score.
The Times’ box score still begged the question. Why no definitive story and complete box score in the San Diego publications?
We’ll have to go with the locals’ 73-45 count until hearing otherwise and with their subsequent 34-32 win over Santa Barbara and 47-35 championship game victory over Bonita. Semifinals and finals were played at La Verne College.
RARE OUTBURST
What makes the San Diego-Huntington Beach score enticing is that San Diego’s point total, 73 or 82, was 40 to 50 points above normal for the era. Basketball was a slow-moving, low-scoring, and slowly evolving game offensively, although San Diego somehow scored 76 points in the 1916-17 season against Escondido, which scored 23.
If 82 was correct in San Diego’s progression of high-point totals, the 80 against Grossmont in 1952-53 would be invalid. The issue became moot in 1957-58, when San Diego outscored La Jolla, 86-40.
RIVALRY ON HIATUS
The lede (first paragraph) on an article in The San Diego Union on Jan. 15, 1936:
“Though coaches and principals of both schools are anxious for the series to continue, it now appears that students of San Diego and Hoover Highs will be without their annual Hilltop-Cardinal cage titanic, yearly the high spot of the basketball programs of the rival city schools.”
Hoover had become a member of the Bay League and played league games on Friday. San Diego played Coast League games on Tuesdays and Fridays. Coaches Mike Morrow of San Diego and Bruce Maxwell of Hoover looked for loopholes in their schedules.
The series could be played on Wednesday or Thursday, but this would have put Morrow’s players at the disadvantage of two league and one bragging rights game in one week.
The Cardinals and Hillers, who first played in 1933-34, would resume their rivalry in 1936-37 and played at least once a season until 1976-77.
SWARM OF BEES
Hoover’s powerful Class B team, won the County tournament by defeating Grossmont, 37-4, San Diego, 30-26, and Sweetwater, 37-7, and, led by future San Diego State legend Milton (Milky) Phelps, left their new Bay League rivals reeling.
The Cardinals won league games by scores of 61-24, 49-7, 43-25, 59-27, and 51-14. Santa Monica came closest but still was a well-beaten 35-19. The Cardinals rolled in the playoffs, running Carpinteria off the court, 60-12, and swarming San Luis Obispo, 66-30.
The B playoff semifinals and final rounds were at El Monte High.
Hoover’s opponent in the finals was well regarded South Pasadena, a 32-31 winner over El Monte and the team the Cardinals defeated at San Diego State, 36-22, in the 1934-35 championship.
The venue essentially represented a home game for the Tigers. The distance of about 14 ½ miles from South Pas to El Monte was in contrast to the 120 miles that Hoover had traveled to get to the final four site.
Ernie Mallory (top) and Bill Patterson propelled Hilltoppers’ attack.
OH, OH!
The dispatch from El Monte following the semifinals was curious: “Some doubt remains as to where the final game will be played, although Coach Bruce Maxwell has been advised to report to the El Monte gym here tomorrow afternoon with his Hoover team for the finale.”
Maxwell and his team arrived on time and the team was on the court and waited more than an hour, but South Pasadena didn’t show, announcing that it would play only on its home court, apparently because the Tigers were the visiting team at Hoover in the 1934-35 title game.
No forfeit.
The CIF bulletin of April, 1936, announced that the executive committee unanimously voted that no champion be declared since “a disagreement had developed over the place of playing the final game in Class B basketball.”
The committee also passed a resolution ending existing playoff arrangements in Classes B, C, and D and allowing league champions to host at least one interleague championship game.
HILLTOP BEES ALSO STUNG
Competing as an independent team and holding wins over Long Beach Poly and Santa Ana, Coach Ed Ruffa’s San Diego High B team was rebuffed in its attempt to gain a playoff berth.
CIF boss Seth Van Patten suggested that the Hillers’ B squad take on Hoover’s super team in a best, two-of-three series, with the winners being admitted to the postseason. Since Hoover already had won its league and was in the playoffs, the idea died a quiet death.
FAVORED FLOOR
The San Diego High gymnasium, when not used for practice by the Hilltoppers’ teams, was in play virtually every day of the week.
Point Loma and Sweetwater moved their Metropolitan League opener up one day in order to play on the San Diego court. The teams didn’t want to use Sweetwater’s outdoor court.
San Diego’s playoff with Point Loma was rescheduled for the afternoon. Hoover earlier had requested and was granted use of the San Diego gym for that night.
Metropolitan League teams came from long distances to play games at San Diego High. Army-Navy, Coronado, and Escondido were the only other schools to have gyms. Oceanside’s building was almost complete.
SET SHOTS
Ernie Mallory, one of the top players of the first half-century in the County, and Vance Randolph of San Diego were on the all-Southern California first team…a second-team guard was Pasadena Muir Technical’s Jackie Robinson…Point Loma coach Joe Beerkle, short of players, moved varsity standout Joaquin Qualin to Class B and Qualin scored 12 points in a 40-12 win over Army-Navy…Ramona won the Southern Prep League championship by defeating runner-up Julian, 43-8…Hoover fielded five teams, Varsity, Class B and C, junior varsity and junior varsity B…Hoover’s Class C squad nosed out Memorial Junior High,15-13…after players had dressed and departed for home it was discovered that Memorial had scored an additional two points…the teams agreed to play another game the next week…Dickie Tazlear scored 16 as Hoover prevailed, 30-24….
1969-70: Game by Game With Highlanders’ and Walton’s 33-0.
Looking Back: The narrative originally was posted on Nov. 25, 2018.
Walton’s and Helix’ historic season, game by game, with quotes and attributions by and to Bill Center of The San Diego Union:
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1969.
HELIX 74, MADISON 60.
Mike Dupree scored 28 and 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 s
Walton (No. 33) and teammates may have been able to beat any high school team, but their season ended with the San Diego Section championship.
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 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 later but still fall short.
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, would become a legendary Helix basketball coach.
Walton stretched and snared rebound from Madison’s 6-foot-6 Rich Hastings in Kiwanis Tournament game.
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 late, 9:15 p.m. after late-running consolation bracket 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 eras 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.
Walton & Helix took to the big stage in Covina.
A 22-0 run in the third quarter was just part of the wreckage of Alta Loma. Helix led the Braves, 26-5, 50-11, and 77-14, at various junctures. Walton scored 24, Dupree 16, and Mike Honz and Race (Butch) 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, had been 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.
Helix coach Gordon Nash had few moments of apprehension.
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 Vickery 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 Valley 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, 12×22 from the floor, added 27 points as the Highlanders shot 58 per cent.
Walton towered over Castle Park standout Elias Delgadillo as teammate Mike Dupree (21) observed from afar.
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, led, 71-23, after three, and set a County record with win 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 Sultans 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 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 League 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 119 points, led by Dupree’s career high 43. Walton had 24 and Coleman sniped for 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 the 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.
Walton, cutting down net after championship, infrequently had to look up.
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 would continue ruling college basketball as had Helix this unforgettable season.
2024-25 Basketball Playoffs Week 4A: Rancho Bernardo, Mater Dei Fall Short
GIRLS
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
DIVISION II
SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2 P.M.
7 Rancho Bernardo 37 (26-8), vs. 1 Caruthers, Central, 56 (26-6), @Sacramento Golden 1 Center.
D-III
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2 P.M.
5 Mater Dei 38 (21-14), vs. 3 Kentfield Marin Catholic, North Coast, 48 (26-11), @Sacramento Golden 1 Center.
