Chadwick Has Chance to Erase Playoff Nightmare

He was only a sophomore, and a mellow, laid-back one at that. But Larry Williams still sees red whenever he remembers the night two years ago when The Bubble burst.

On that night, Chadwick School had a seven-point lead over Brethren of Paramount in a Southern Section 1-A wild-card basketball game with 1:52 remaining. And almost everyone inside The Bubble--Chadwick’s unique soft-structure gym--thought the Dolphins had the game put away.

But Chadwick left the door open for Brethren by missing three free throws down the stretch. And after a coast-to-coast layup with two seconds left, Brethren left The Bubble with a dramatic 58-57 victory.

Chadwick Coach Tom Maier, in his 18th year at the school, says that loss is one he’ll never forget. But he’s not so sure about Williams, his carefree senior forward.

“Larry is a good-time Charlie,” Maier said. “One thing is for sure--he’ll never die young. Things like that don’t bother him that much.”

Don’t be so sure, Tom.

“That loss totally sticks in my craw,” Williams said. “Pay-back. All I want right now is some sort of pay-back.”

Fortunately for Maier, Williams and Chadwick, the Dolphins (19-8) have a chance at getting just that. Chadwick plays Brethren (18-8) tonight in the 1-A Division semifinals at 7:30 tonight at Miraleste High.

“I don’t have centers,” Maier is fond of saying. But Williams is the closest thing to a center he has. At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, Williams will go against Chris Fry, Brethren’s 6-10 center.

Williams is the centerpiece of Chadwick’s three-guard offense. He’s the Dolphins’ leading scorer (19.1 points per game) and rebounder (12 a game).

He’s a smooth-shooting, low-post player who can knock down soft jumpers from anywhere from the hoop out to 15 feet. He also sweeps the offensive boards, which accounts for much of his scoring, and can hit turn-around jumpers from either side with his back to the basket.

And as opponents have seen Williams’ scoring totals mount--such as the career-high 35 he poured in against Pater Noster earlier this season--Williams has learned to adjust to frequent double- and triple-teams.

“He’s carried us on his back most of the year,” Maier said. “It seems like whenever we need a big basket, Larry gets it for us.”

Williams scored 19 points Tuesday night in Chadwick’s 84-81 double-overtime victory over top-seeded Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo in the 1-A quarterfinals. Williams fouled out in the first overtime while blocking a shot, but Chadwick pulled off the upset behind the clutch shooting of point guard Evan Calbi.

Chadwick also got 20 points from shooting guard Chris Gordon, 17 from forward Razzu Allmond, and 11 from guard Dennis Brown.

“I’d like to see this team go farther than they thought they could go,” Maier said.

Williams enrolled at the exclusive Palos Verdes Peninsula school three years ago.

As an eighth-grader, he saw a Chadwick alumnus give a guest speech at a business seminar at UCLA. Afterward, the alum persuaded Williams to give the private school a shot.

Williams lives in the Windsor Hills section of Los Angeles, north of Inglewood--which is, he says, “10 minutes from everything but smack in the middle of nowhere.”

He talked to Maier as a freshman, decided he wanted the academic challenge and enrolled after his mother followed up on the admission paper work. He has faced a daily 25-minute commute since.

“I love this school,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t go anywhere else in the world. It can get you into some great colleges.”

He has already been accepted by Penn State. He is waiting for answers to applications to the University of San Francisco, Rutgers, USC and Arizona State. He’ll try out as a walk-on for basketball wherever he ends up.

And he already has his career mapped out. A baseball trivia nut since since early teens, Williams wants to be a sportswriter after college.

“Just give me a press pass and $35,000 a year,” he said. “With that, I’ll be happy.”

But for now, Williams is concerned with helping Maier win his third Southern Section championship.

The Dolphins won 1-A titles in 1980 and 1985, but a chance for a third slipped away in 1987 when they lost in the semifinals to Whittier Christian.