Freeman Williams, one of the great long-range shooters, to be honored by City Section
In the history of basketball in Los Angeles, one of the greatest “playground legends” was Freeman Williams from Manual Arts High School.
He was doing things in the 1970s long before the Ball brothers of Chino Hills came onto the scene.
“In those days, there was no three-point line, but Freeman took shots from such a distance that if they had a three-point line, he might have records that were still standing,” former Manual Arts Coach Reggie Morris Sr. said. “He’d shoot the ball right inside the half-court line and let it go.”
Williams graduated from Manual Arts in 1974 and went on to Portland State. In 1977, he led the NCAA in scoring with an average of 38.8 points. In 1978, he beat out Larry Bird for the NCAA scoring title with an average of 35.9 points. He scored 81 points in a game against Rocky Mountain.
“Man, if there was a three-point line, I would have averaged 50 points a game,” he said this past weekend.
On April 23 at a hotel in Culver City, Williams, 60, will be inducted into the City Section Hall of Fame. It’s the fourth Hall of Fame class to be honored, and the talent level continues to be remarkable.
Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr, a Palisades grad, and Gilbert Arenas from Van Nuys Grant, are also going in representing basketball.
In football, Keyshawn Johnson (Dorsey), Nnamdi Asomugha (Narbonne) and Ken Norton Jr. (Westchester), all former NFL players, will be honored.
In baseball, there’s Bob Watson (Fremont), Chili Davis (Dorsey), Dwight Evans (Chatsworth) and Earl Battey (Jordan).
In boys’ volleyball, there’s Ricci Luyties (Palisades) and Chris Marlowe (Palisades).
In girls’ basketball, there’s two-time City player of the year Ebony Hoffman (Narbonne) and Cardie Hicks (San Pedro), a standout at Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge.
Among coaches being honored is Ed Azzam from Westchester, the winningest basketball coach in City history; Dorsey track coach Ralph Tilley; tennis coach Bud Kling of Palisades, who has won 41 City titles; and former Venice golf coach Myra Einberg. El Camino Real girls’ basketball Coach Cara Blumfield is going in for her softball performance.
Former Rams Coach Jeff Fisher, a 1977 Taft grad, will be honored. So will contributors Al Michaels (Hamilton), the great broadcaster, and City Section historian Rick Obrand. And the late Pancho Gonzales, the first Latino to win a Grand Slam tennis title who attended three City Section schools, will be honored.
Williams remembers one game during a summer in the 1970s when he was playing against perhaps the greatest L.A. “playground legend” of all, Raymond Lewis from Verbum Dei. It was at Compton College.
“He was playing on one side and I was playing on the other,” he said. “He had 60 something and I had 70 something. Oh, man. I still remember that night. It was unbelievable.”
Impact transfer: Santa Ana Mater Dei is suddenly a lot better after the school declared 7-foot junior center Bol Bol eligible. He moved from Shawnee, Kan. He’s the son of former NBA player Manute Bol, who was 7-7.
Bol had 21 points and 10 rebounds in his debut on Friday night against Orange Lutheran. Mater Dei is 21-1.
Twitter: latsondheimer
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