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.”
(Getty Images)
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.”
It’s the 50th anniversary of the 1975 All-CIF boys basketball team in which seven of the 10 first-team selections made it to the NBA.
(Southern Section)
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.”
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After a slow first round at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, pace of play was a point of emphasis at the PGA Championship on Friday.
However, when an official approached Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley, they became animated.
Thomas, a longtime Team USA Ryder Cup member, and Bradley, last year’s United States captain, were on the fourth hole when they were approached by an official in a cart, and the conversation quickly turned into finger-pointing.
Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley watch from the tenth green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Thomas said after the round that he, Bradley and fellow USA Ryder Cupper Cameron Young, who won the Cadillac Championship earlier this month, were put on the clock, with the official telling them to pick up the pace. However, both Bradley and Thomas appeared to point at the group in front of them.
“We just didn’t really agree with it,” Thomas said, citing course conditions, high winds and tough pins. “We were behind. That wasn’t our issue… It’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up the group behind us.”
Thomas said they were caught up with the pace on the very next hole.
Justin Thomas plays his shot on the 15th tee during the second round of the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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Thomas had a lengthy conversation with the official, while Bradley appeared to make his point short and sweet — though he was definitely not happy with the call.
It is a large PGA Championship field, with 156 golfers at the course and groups even starting their rounds on the back nine. The scores have also been rather high, with just 25 players below par at the time of publishing.
Aronimink also features a shared tee box on 1 and 10, holes 9 and 17 crossing paths, and a lengthy par-3 eighth hole that’s causing problems. Three par-3s are over 200 yards on the course, and there is also a 457-yard par 4 on the fourth.
Keegan Bradley prepares to putt on the 14th green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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As Chris Gotterup put it on Friday, “You’re not going to get any four-and-a-half hour rounds out here.”
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The Sparks are finally in the win column, but the outcome was in doubt late Friday night.
Behind double-digit scoring from all five starters, the Sparks had by far their best offensive showing of the season, shooting 63.8% during a 99-95 win over the expansion Toronto Tempo.
The Tempo didn’t make things easy, cutting the deficit to two points late and later trailing by just three with 31 seconds remaining and possession of the ball. Marina Mabrey missed a three-point attempt before late Tempo fouls gave the Sparks enough of a cushion to win.
Kelsey Plum nearly claimed a double-double with 27 points and nine assists, while Dearica Hamby had 19 points with seven rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike scored 20 points.
Erica Wheeler, who started in place of Ariel Atkins (concussion), scored 10 points with seven assists and was a plus-16 as the primary ball handler after starting the season two for 16 from the field. That freed up Plum to be in position to score, setting up a much more efficient Sparks offense.
Toronto was shorthanded in the frontcourt without starting center Temi Fagbenle (right shoulder), and the Sparks trio of bigs had a field day with 54 points in the paint.
The Sparks came out firing on Friday, opening with a 17-2 run.
The Tempo went on a 10-0 burst heading into the second quarter but the Sparks countered to maintain momentum and led 46-38 at halftime.
A Wheeler three-pointer early in the third quarter gave the Sparks a 20-point lead. The Tempo cut it to three midway through the fourth while Brittany Sykes (27 points, seven assists) sparked Toronto’s rally. The Tempo put up more shots than the Sparks, 70-58, largely because of a 10-2 offensive-rebounding gap.
Cameron Brink’s 10 points were the only ones provided by the Sparks’ bench, while the Tempo got 42 points from reserves.
Toronto was coming off its first win in franchise history on Wednesday when it defeated Seattle but struggled against a more complete offensive team in the Sparks.
In her return to Los Angeles after winning a national championship with UCLA this spring, Tempo rookie Kiki Rice netted 11 points.
Kate Martin made her Sparks debut as a developmental player with Atkins and Sania Feagin (lower left leg) unavailable and picked up one rebound in six minutes.
The Sparks will face Toronto again on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
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The WNBA season has been in session for about a week, so it is far too early to make assumptions about teams. That doesn’t mean we won’t make them; it’s just too early to really believe it. I lost my first WNBA bet this season, so I’m hoping to avenge that loss here as the Sky take on the Mercury.
The Chicago Sky are one of the most poorly run franchises in basketball. They have had some great names on their team and only one championship to show for it.
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner shoots over Indiana Fever guard Aerial Powers in the first half at PHX Arena. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)
There really isn’t a clear indication of what is wrong with the franchise, but they’ve never been able to retain their talent. Aside from Kamilla Cardoso, I can’t name a player on this team that they’ve actually drafted. They just seem to get good players and then show them the door.
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Even though they’ve had questionable front office decisions, they seem to have put together a solid team for this season – something I didn’t expect before the season started.
They are 2-0, which is too early to really say they are a good team. I also want to reserve judgment until they face a team with a longer history than last year. The Portland Tempo played their first-ever game against the Sky, and Golden State was good last year, but still is in just their second season of existence.
The Phoenix Mercury are actually considered one of the best franchises in the league. I’m sure there are issues that people have reported, but for the most part, they have good facilities, and people want to play for their team. They made it all the way to the WNBA Finals last season before falling to the Las Vegas Aces. This year, they are looking to restart that journey and see if they can win the last game of the year.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper dribbles the ball in the second half at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2025. (Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images)
It will need to come with some better play than they’ve shown through three games this year. They are just 1-2 for the year with a 0-1 home record. The lone win was a blowout victory over the Aces (a clear revenge game if we’ve ever seen one). Then they lost the next two games against Golden State and Minnesota. Losing to the Lynx wouldn’t be a problem, but they didn’t have Napheesa Collier, who still has an ankle injury.
I expect the Mercury to make some adjustments for this game. They haven’t looked very crisp to begin the year, but they’ve been strong on offense, averaging 87 points per game.
The Sky are going to keep relying on their offense to do just enough and their defense to lock in. The Sky do have an edge on the interior, so they can get buckets fairly easily down low. I like the over 166.5 in this game.
Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins chases the ball during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 13, 2026. (Bob Kupbens/Imagn Images)
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I also think it is worth betting on Kahleah Copper to go over her point total. Copper had two rough games before she broke out in the last game. Now she has the same sight lines and can attack the bigs from the Sky with her athleticism. Since going to Phoenix, she has scored 29, 7, 16, 25 and 28 points in five games against them.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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