First SoCal Basketball Hall of Fame Class announced

January 22, 2020 By Frank Burlison Leave a Comment

ANAHEIM – A 21-member, first-ever induction class for the newly created Southern California Basketball Hall of Fame was unveiled by the organization Wednesday morning.

Among the inductees are eight members of the Naismith Hall of Fame: the late Pete Newell (1979); Bill Walton and Ann Meyers-Drysdale (both 1993); Cheryl Miller (1995); Cynthia Cooper-Duke (2010); Jamaal Wilkes (2012); Lisa Leslie (2015) and Paul Westphal (2019).

Others in the group include John R. Wooden Award winners Marques Johnson (1977) and Ed O’Bannon (1995).

The group is made up of 17 those selected for their playing careers, three for their coaching achievements (including current Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight) and one honored for his work as a basketball journalist.

The inductions will be made during an Aug. 23 ceremony in Anaheim.

For the complete list of honorees and their biographies, go to www.socalbasketballhof.com

Frank Burlison is a well-regarded basketball writer who was inducted into the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2005. His opinions on the potential of high school and college players are widely respected and sought by college coaches and NBA scouts, personnel directors and general managers from coast to coast. Oh, yes – he can offer plenty of thoughts on movies, television and pop music. Yes, he can rank those, too. Hint: He’s a big The Godfather, Larry Sanders, The Wire and The Beatles loyalist.

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Marques Johnson

I have been a fan of Frank Burlison’s skills as a talent evaluator for over twenty years. He stands out as one of the absolute best in the business.

Marques Johnson

1977 National Player of the Year, 5x NBA All-Star

George Raveling

I’ve known Frank for at least 35 years and have the utmost respect for his writing as well as his understanding of, and insight into, basketball. His ability to evaluate basketball prospects is almost impeccable. Most coaches and scouts watch a player and can tell you how good he is NOW. What separates Frank from the others is that he can watch the same player and tell you how good he can be two or three years down the line.

George Raveling

3x Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer

Director of International Basketball, Nike

Gary McKnight

Frank Burlison is one of the most knowledgeable basketball people in the business! His passion for the game puts him at the top of the list. There are very few people whose evaluation skills I trust like I do Frank’s!

Gary McKnight

Winningest coach (892-81) in California boys’ basketball history during his 29 seasons at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei

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