It can't be the North Coast's all-time hoop squad or it would be filled with the number of great players who've been recruited to and starred at Humboldt State. People who don't remember the 1960s and most of the 1970s at HSU have no idea how bad things were, nor will they ever appreciate what Tom Wood's built in his long tenure leading the Lumberjacks.
Without paying a great deal of attention to HSU hoops now that the 'Jacks are on top of the world, I could name 7 guys who'd demolish any All-Time Humboldt-Del Norte League team:
F -- Hooks...Fred? Right? He was as exciting and effective as any player I every saw up there.
G -- Daryl Westmoreland...He was a big, athletic guard on HSU's NCAA Division III powerhouse coached by Jim Cosentino -- who eventually got dinged by a recruiting scandal, thus starting the Tom Wood era.
C -- Ray Beer...he was half-man, half-monster -- D-III style -- in the early 1980s. Just a beast. This Jacks team filled the old East Gym for a regional game against a New Jersey Tech team and, it was unforgettable.
F -- Austin Nichols...based on what I saw and read, Nichols and Hooks were leaders of the greatest team in HSU history...dominating D-II like Westmoreland and Beer overwhelmed D-III 25 years ago.
So, the all-time H-DNL team I arrived at is...all about the H-DNL...local kids who played middle school ball, high school ball and, then, starred in college...
G...Isaac Gildea...he was a basketball player and a winner at McKinleyville and CR -- then starred at Humboldt.
F...Al Erickson...a 6-foot-4 swingman who was, literally, Larry Bird-like on a smaller stage at Eureka High, CR and Humboldt. He could do everything -- by far the best of the Erickson basketball brothers.
G...Gary Mendenhall...starred at St. Bernard in the very early 1980s -- maybe the late 1970s. He could shoot...pass...defend and...win. He still holds University of Santa Clara records.
G/F...Mo Charlo...he starred at Eureka and wound up starring in Division I for Nevada. There hasn't been a better all-around player to come of the H-DNL and, I think, Charlo's success signals the start of a string of H-DNL players who'll eventually overshadow the local kids who starred at HSU. (Although, I tend to think Erickson and Gildea could've played wherever they really wanted to and got a chance to compete.)
C...Jeff Nielsen...there's not a high-scoring, shot-blocking center to call on, but the former Ferndale star from the early '70s anchored the middle for the best CR team in school history that rolled in the Northern California tournament. Nielsen was tough and big enough to handle the middle.
C....Mike Jaentsch...He and Jeff Moon were big (6-7'ish) studs for a 1970-71 Del Norte team that played two of the most memorable games in H-DNL history against Eureka.
Also on the list: Ryan Riewerts is a guy lots of people found reason to knock, but he won wherever he played and his dominating performance for Bill Treglown's CR team that rolled in the Nor Cal tourney was so memorable -- a burly 6-foot-3 power forward domanating the glass...Brandon Bieber and Justin Mora proved that if you played the game correctly and play it really hard all the time, good things will happen and you'll maximize your talent...6-foot-10 John Murray was a star at Eureka in the very early 1960s and merits an all-time spot...It's my team and I'm lacking backcourt help and -- I gotta have the heart n' soul of Hoopa's first champions -- Augie Valdez. ... Finally, I need forward John Poovey who starred on two great Eureka High teams coached by Al Erickson's father Julian Erickson. John passed away too soon not long ago. He could play.
Head coach: Doug Oliveira...he turned Hoopa's program around with a 3-pointing shoot team that played swarming defense, but he was good at adapting to the talent he had, too.
4 comments:
As far as locals, Mo Purify may be even better than Mo Charlo but picked Football. Charlo was a standout for San Fran CC in B-Ball too. Zach Barnes at Center.
Ted: Without a doubt, Steve Alexander was the greatest player in HSU history. Not taking anything from Westmoreland.
Charlo played at Diablo Valley. Purify played at CCSF. With all due respect Charlo was a much better basketball player than Purify. Austin Nichols was the greatest player in HSU history with Hooks close behind. Don't get too nostalgic on me here...
Hello? Steve Alexander, anyone? And I believe a certain young sports writer first identified Al Erickson as a star! Where is Steve Berti? Simon Abbitan? Terry Mattyshock? Didn't South Fork have some stars in the mid-1980s? What about Myke Jones? Is the all-time HSU coach Dick Nicolai?
I helped recruit Darryl Westmorland my senior year while playing for Jim Cosentino in 1977-78 and also played with Steve Alexander at Two
Guard spot. Steve was an exceptional talent for his size at 5’7”
A High School All American out of Spokane.
Darryl was from my home town of Fresno and was considered one of the top players in California, I approach him and brought him out for a recurring visit and the rest is history. As for the Humboldt State team of 1977-78 we were D-2 but we’re able to compete at the D-3 level during playoffs, we won the Western Regionals and Moved on to play North Park University at home to advance to the elite 4 we came up short in O.T . North Park Advanced to finals and finished as National Champs.
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