Prep Rally: The greatest All-star team in high school basketball history

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. It was 50 years ago when perhaps the greatest All-CIF basketball team was put together. Let’s reminisce.

History made

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)

When sportswriters got together to select the 1974-75 All-CIF basketball team in Los Angeles, it was one of the easiest teams to put together because the talent was so obvious. It became clear in the years ahead, because seven of the 10 first-team picks made it to the NBA.

The MVP on that team was David Greenwood from Verbum Dei. His teammate, point guard Roy Hamilton, also was on the team. Both would lead UCLA in the coming years. The other future NBA players were Brad Holland from Crescenta Valley, Bill Laimbeer from Palos Verdes, Reggie Theus from Inglewood, James Hardy from Long Beach Jordan and Paul Mokeski from Crespi.

Here’s a look back at what made that season so special.

Boys basketball

Mesrobian’s Nick Khatchikian and coach Mike Gabriel

(Mesrobian)

Nick Khatchikian of Mesrobian set a state record by scoring 102 points in a 119-25 win over Waverly. Incredibly, the state record was held by another player from Mesrobian, Tigran Grigoryan, who scored 100 points in 2003.

Here’s the report.

Mater Dei unveiled its new Gary McKnight Court, named after the winningest coach in California history.

Isaiah Carroll of Harvard-Westlake scored 18 points in a key victory over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Craig Weston)

Harvard-Westlake, the new No. 1 team in Southern California, came away with a decisive Mission League victory over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame behind Isaiah Carroll. Here’s the report.

Brayden Burries had 36 points in Roosevelt’s league win over Corona.

Cleveland pulled off the biggest upset in the City Section, knocking off Chatsworth in overtime. That puts the Cavaliers in the City Section Open Division playoffs. Westchester has moved into the favorite role to be the No. 1 seed after winning three games behind Tajh Ariza.

There are big events this week. Intuit Dome is the site for Trinity and Mission league games Saturday. Pilibos is hosting AGBU on Friday in a game the Armenian community can’t wait to attend. Brentwood and Windward are playing Monday at Windward for first place in the Gold Coast League. Harvard-Westlake is hosting Sierra Canyon on Tuesday for first place in Mission League.

Marcos Ramirez of Oxnard, the son of former Ventura College coach Joey Ramirez, is having a big season on and off the court. Here’s the report.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Girls basketball

It was only fitting that freshman Hamiley Arenas of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame reached 500 points in her career by doing it at Grant High, where her father, Gilbert, was a standout guard during his high school days.

Kaleena Smith scored 37 points to help Ontario Christian improve to 24-1 with a win over La Jolla Country Day.

Etiwanda is going to win its 25th consecutive Baseline League title.

Tressa Beatty of Bonita had 40 points in a win over Shalhevet.

Brentwood players wanted to make sure they played every game that was postponed during the Palisades fire, so coach Charles Solomon is doing just that. Three times the Eagles have played two games in one day. Their record is up to 18-5 and they still have an outside chance of making the Open Division. They have a big Gold Coast League game Monday night against Windward.

Mater Dei (23-2) suffered an injury to star player Kaeli Wynn on Saturday. The right leg injury happened against Rancho Christian. She was carried off the court. Her mother, Jody, is the coach.

JSerra third-year coach Chyanne Butler is no longer coaching the team. Phil Talleur is the interim coach.

Here’s last week’s Southern Section rankings.

Soccer

Three top players in Southern Section girls soccer have been ruled ineligible for the rest of the season for taking part in a training camp organized by a pro team. Losing their eligibility were Zamorah Malinoski of Los Alamitos, Peyton Trayer of Santa Margarita and Kai Tsakiris of Corona del Mar, according to the Orange County Register.

Redondo Union, Oaks Christian and Santa Margarita entered last week unbeaten and ranked as the top three teams in the Southern Section girls rankings.

JSerra’s boys soccer team is 10-0 and 7-0 in the Trinity League.

Bishop Amat is having one of its best seasons in recent years with a 20-2-1 record.

JSerra and Mira Costa are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in Southern. Section rankings.

Zachary White super power

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s Zachary White grabs a rebound against Bishop Gorman at the Nike Extravaganza on Jan. 27, 2024.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Zachary White of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High has a super power that every coach should appreciate. He blends in with the flashiest players on a court, sometimes almost invisible, but if you watch closely and know the game, he’s the glue that helps the team seal a victory.

He’s like the unsung team manager doing all the little things that a coach takes for granted but can’t do without.

“People have a misunderstanding what kind of player leads to winning, and Zach only does things that lead to winning, and it’s not flashy and it’s not something for a mixtape,” coach Matt Sargeant said. “If you know basketball and you’re really watching the game, all he’s doing is affecting winning. It’s his defense, it’s his communication, it’s his rebounding. He’s constantly doing stuff that helps us win basketball games.”

Here’s a profile on White, the son of football great Russell White.

Devin Moody stars

Devin Moody of Manual Arts.

(Manual Arts)

Devin Moody of Manual Arts has become one of the top players in the City Section while going on a scoring barrage.

He’s had games of 64 and 58 points recently.

Here’s a profile on Moody.

Max Fried gives back

New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried takes photo with Altadena Little League players during event sponsored by his foundation.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Before Max Fried played high school baseball at Harvard-Westlake, he was a star at Encino Little League. So he knows how important it is to help the community. The New York Yankees pitcher was out signing autographs and sponsoring an event at O’Malley Family Field through the Fried Foundation on Saturday helping Altadena Little League that was directly affected by the Eton fires.

His good friend, Christian Yelich from the Milwaukee Brewers, also stopped by. Harvard-Westlake baseball and its parents organize the event.

Here’s a look at the impact that was made.

Notes . . .

After a change in offensive coordinators at Florida State, junior quarterback Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park has withdrawn his commitment and opened his recruiting. . . .

Erick Jackson is the new football coach at Paraclete. . . .

Mark Paredes is the new football coach at Mountain View. He won Southern Section titles at Bishop Amat and JW North and also coached at Damien. . . .

Marcus Galan has resigned as football coach at San Gabriel. . . .

Jude Lee from Orange Lutheran and Ronin Banerjee of Santa Margarita have made the girls and boys teams, respectively, for the U.S. National Junior team in golf. . . .

Standout tight end Mark Bowman from Mater Dei has reclassified from the class of 2027 to the class of 2026. . . .

Junior tight end Jaden Hernandez of Long Beach Poly has committed to Sacramento State. . . .

Mater Dei’s girls’ water polo team won the Newport Invitational with a 13-11 overtime win over Orange Lutheran. That’s three tournament championships this season for the Monarchs . . .

The latest from the high school football transfer tracker.

From the archives: Spencer Freedman

Former Mater Dei point guard Spencer Freedman in this 2017 photo. He graduated from Harvard and is now playing for NYU.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Spencer Freedman, a former Mater Dei basketball standout and elite student, went on to play at Harvard and NYU. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in computer science and went to NYU grad school in management and systems.

He played professionally in Costa Rica for a few months, then came home to study for the LSAT and to apply for law school and use his education to begin a tech company.

The family home was destroyed in the Palisades fire.

Here’s a story from 2017 on Freedman at Mater Dei.

Recommendation

From the Los Angerles Times, a story on Angel City’s new training facility in Thousand Oaks.

From NFHS.org, a story on how high school sports should be a place for positivity.

From the Los Angeles Times, a look at school re-starting on line for students at damaged Palisades High.

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