"The talent level clearly has hit rock bottom only a year after Alijah Arenas was a McDonald's All-American at Chatsworth High and Tajh Ariza led Westchester to the City Section Open Division title. Because their parents went to City Section schools, Arenas and Ariza stuck it out. Then Arenas graduated early to join USC and Ariza left for St. John Bosco, then prep school."
"Westchester is where Ed Azzam won 15 City titles in 42 seasons until his retirement in 2021. Crenshaw is where Willie West won 16 City titles and eight state titles. Taft is where Derrick Taylor won four City titles and coached future NBA players Jordan Farmar, Larry Drew II and AJ Johnson. Fairfax is where Harvey Kitani coached for 35 years, won four City titles and two state titles and earned most of his nearly 1,000 victories."
"None of the City schools once considered among the best in Southern California are even close to resembling their glory days, and they aren't alone. The City Section has lost most of its talent, and it was truly Hall of Fame talent: Marques Johnson and John Williams at Crenshaw; Gail Goodrich at Sun Valley Poly; Willie Naulls at San Pedro; Dwayne Polee at Manual Arts; Gilbert Arenas at Grant; Trevor Ariza at Westchester; Chris Mills at Fairfax. There were decades of success."
City Section high school basketball has lost much of its elite talent and no longer resembles past glory. Several top players left or moved on early, with some staying only because of family ties. Historic programs produced Hall of Fame-level players and long-tenured, title-winning coaches, but many legacy schools now face diminished rosters and reputation. The Los Angeles Unified School District did not reverse the trend and compounded problems by opening numerous new schools rapidly, which contributed to declining enrollment and eroded the luster of longtime programs.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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