Prep Rally: Recapping some great jersey retirement ceremonies over the weekend

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. It would be hard to find two more successful high school basketball players during their time at Compton Dominguez than Tyler Chandler and Tayshaun Prince. They finally had their jerseys retired. What a weekend it honoring basketball greats.

Greatness honored

Tyson Chandler and Tayshaun Prince each won a gold medal at the Olympic Games representing the United States. Each won an NBA championship. Each won a state championship in high school. And each has been a role model the way they’ve handled success and sometimes disappointment.

“I’m so humbly grateful,” Chandler said before a ceremony at the Dominguez gym retiring his and Prince’s jerseys.

They were so dominant in high school, Prince winning two state titles and Chandler winning three. Prince, 42, went on to Kentucky and became a first-round draft pick. Chandler was the second player taken overall in the NBA draft by the Clippers straight out of high school.

Here’s a report on their special night.

There were other ceremonies. Cherokee Parks and Rich Manning, graduates of Marina High in Huntington Beach, had their jerseys retired. Parks went on to Duke, Manning to Notre Dame. Here’s a report.

St. Anthony in Long Beach honored former guard Darrick Martin with his own jersey ceremony. He became a standout at UCLA and spent 13 years in the NBA.

A star in the making

Jordan Houegban of Brentwood is a junior guard withh size 13 shoes developing into a top outside shooter.

(Craig Weston)

Jordan Houegban is a 16-year-old L.A. kid with African roots raised by a single mother. He fell in love with basketball from the first day he showed up as a 5-year-old at the Palisades Recreation Center.

“I was always telling my mom when I was young I wanted to play basketball,” said Houegban, whose mother was born in Sierra Leone and father in Benin. “She finally listened. I signed up for a team and it was one of the best experiences I ever had and made me love basketball.”

He’s a junior at Brentwood with size 13 shoes and a high-arching three-point shot that is as pretty as you’ll find. He set a school record with 12 threes last week against Viewpoint. His improvement is happening almost on a daily basis, just like his growth.

Here’s a profile on a rising basketball prospect.

Basketballl rewind

Trent Perry gives a hug to Brady Dunlan after Harvard-Westlake double overtime win over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

It was a big week for No. 1 Harvard-Westlake. The Wolverines routed Sierra Canyon in a Mission League showdown on Friday. Here’s the report. The Wolverines also won a double-overtime thriller against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Here’s the report.

Skye Belker of Windward continues to show that she’s one of the best scorers in girls’ basketball. She scored a career-high 39 points against Brentwood. Here’s the report.

Freshman Alijah Arenas of Chatsworth scored 56 points against Canoga Park. His father, Gilbert, once scored 60 points in an NBA game.

This week’s basketball notebook features a look at St. Francis point guard Jackson Mosley. Here’s the report.

The latest girls’ basketball top 20 rankings.

This week’s top 25 boys’ basketball rankings by The Times.

Mater Dei response

Fourteen months after hiring a law firm to provide a safety assessment of its sports programs following a lawsuit that alleged a culture of hazing in the renowned football program, Santa Ana Mater Dei confirmed last week the assessment was completed. However, the school gave no indication results will be shared publicly despite a commitment by former school president Father Walter E. Jenkins to release the findings.

In a statement provided to The Times on Wednesday, new Mater Dei president Michael Brennan said, “I can’t speak for Father Jenkins, but my commitment was to receive input about the assessment, review it with the diocese and have it serve as a tool for promoting a safe environment for all students and staff. That is what we have done and will continue to do.”

Here’s the story.

Appreciating humor

Tim Cunningham, a character actor from the 1980s hit TV series “Cheers,” still makes them laugh coaching baseball at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

For months, if not years, after constant lobbying and pleading for Tim Cunningham to sit down and tell some of his stories and experiences, he finally relented on a cold, windy morning after a promise of coffee and a commitment to make sure anything printed would be appropriate for a newspaper.

So there he was at a crowded Porto’s in Northridge offering his first Yogi Berra quotation: “The place is so popular nobody goes there.”

With a gravel voice reduced because of throat surgery three years ago, Cunningham perfectly fits the role of a character actor who makes teenagers and adults alike smile and laugh after he blurts out one of his classic quips. It’s no wonder he spent 11 years on the legendary TV comedy “Cheers” playing the role of a bar patron because that’s the personality he exhibits — lovable, jovial and full of baseball stories. He turned 77 on Saturday.

When COVID-19 struck, one of his first appearances from “Cheers” nearly 40 years ago became a favorite clip on YouTube. He was a customer named Chuck explaining how he had a janitor’s job at a biology lab where they did DNA experiments making mutant viruses. The bar owner, Sam Malone (played by Ted Danson), tells him, “Don’t sweat it.” Chuck leaves and Sam starts spraying disinfectant around the bar.

Cunningham was an assistant coach for the Northridge Little League team in 1994 that made it to the Little League World Series. He and a 12-year-old Matt Cassel were the greatest comedy team since Laurel and Hardy. “We were cohorts,” he said.

Here’s the profile of a man passionate about baseball, humor and life.

Baseball

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitchers Levi Sterling (left), Sam Petrocelli, Justin Lee and Oliver Boone committed to Texas, Stanford, UCLA and Cal.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

With the baseball season beginning on Feb. 11, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will unleash an impressive group of pitchers committed to Texas, Stanford, UCLA and Cal. Levi Sterling, Sam Petrocelli, Justin Lee and Oliver Boone were asked which college was best and that started off quite a debate.

“I think we all know,” said Sterling, who started showing off the hook ‘em horn sign with his hand, provoking his teammates.

For now, they are supporting each other, but when they get to college, the bragging rights debate will resume.

Harvard-Westlake coach Jared Halpert said pitcher Bryce Rainer, returning to the mound after not pitching as a sophomore, will be a starting pitcher and not come out of the bullpen. Rainer was 9-0 as a freshman, then didn’t pitch to preserve his arm for the future.

Lakewood in mourning

Khalil Saleem, a 17-year-old student and football player at Lakewood High, died Saturday after being shot in a drive-by at Silverado Park in Long Beach.

According to the Long Beach Police Department, Saleem and two other unidentified men were at the basketball courts when an SUV drove past and fired shots, hitting Saleem in the upper body and leaving him in critical condition. Saleem died from the injuries at the hospital, police said.

Lakewood coach Justin Utupo said he first learned the news from teammates posting pictures of the high school senior, then reading reports of a 17-year-old in critical condition at Silverado Park.

“I was just hoping and praying that that wasn’t Khalil,” Utupo said.

A team mom was with Saleem’s family in the hospital and relayed his death, the coach said.

Saleem transferred from Rancho Verde after his sophomore year, and never actually played a down for Lakewood, Utupo said. As a junior, he was held out the entire season due to transfer eligibility issues through the CIF, and as a senior he chose to focus on making up credits in order to graduate.

But that junior season, Saleem was still at practice every day, Utupo remembered. Still part of the team. Not making any excuses.

“That wasn’t going to stop him from helping his teammates become better on the football field … he just wanted to play so badly,” Utupo said. “And because he couldn’t, he just wanted his teammates to succeed.”

The motive for the shooting is still unknown as of Sunday afternoon. The two other men with Saleem were hit and taken to the hospital, but one has been released and another is in stable condition, according to police.

Lakewood will meet Monday as a team for a prayer to remember Saleem.

“If you were fortunate enough to get to know Khalil, you would agree that he was a great kid and he was on his way to doing some great things,” Utupo said.

—Luca Evans

Notes . . .

Santa Margarita boys swimming co-coach Rich Blanc and Edison boys golf coach Brendan Patch have been selected national coaches of the year for 2021-22 by the National Federation of State High School Assn. . . .

Mater Dei junior defensive back Khristian Dunbar-Hawkins became the first member of the class of 2024 to commit to UCLA. . . . .

Glenn Campbell has resigned as football coach at Saddleback. . . .

Charlie TeGantvoort has resigned as football coach at Santa Ana after nine seasons and will become the head coach at Marina. Rory Schoonmaker, the offensive coordinator at Santa Ana, has been named the interim coach.

Poutoa Fuega is the new football coach at Magnolia. . . .

Riverside John W. North basketball coach Mike Bartee celebrated his 800th coaching win in his 38th season as head coach. Etiwanda coach Dave Kleckner celebrated his 700th win. . . .

Former Narbonne and Long Beach Poly quarterback Jake Garcia has left Miami and transferred to Missouri. . . .

Gary Porter has resigned after 14 years as football coach at Channel Islands. . . .

Bert Esposito is the new football coach at Corona Santiago. He was head coach at Temecula Valley. . . .

Standout linebacker Leviticus Su’a of Mater Dei has committed to Arizona. . . .

Newbury Park’s Leo Young qualified for next month’s World U20 cross country championships in Australia after winning the U20 cross country 8K race in Virginia on Saturday. . . .

Girls basketball player Alyssa Jackson of Westlake has committed to UC Santa Cruz. . . .

Mike Rogozik, a senior pitcher at Hart, has committed to the University of La Verne.

From the archives: Colby Parkinson

Colby Parkinson in a 2016 photo when he was a star tight end for Oaks Christian.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Former Oaks Christian tight end Colby Parkinson was projected to be a pro football player from his early days in high school, thanks to his size, athleticism and work ethic. And it’s all come true.

At 6 feet 7, the 24-year-old third-year player had 25 catches for 322 yards and two touchdowns this season for the Seattle Seahawks. He was a standout tight end at Stanford, then drafted in the fourth round by the Seahawks in 2020.

Here’s a 2015 story on Parkinson touting being a three-sport athlete in high school.

Here’s a story from 2016 about Parkinson’s love for playing tight end.

Recommendations

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on a Riverside City College coach fighting for Title IX respect.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on brothers David and Dominic Fletcher from Cypress High playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune, a story on changes made after a Vista High locker room incident during football season.

From Globalsportmatters.com, a story on parents seeking NIL deals for athletes as young as 8 years old.

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