Casey Jones, Millennium Hall of Fame

With basketball skills and documentary film camera in hand, former

Corona del Mar High and USC point guard Casey Jones found the perfect

shooting site.

Australia.

Jones, who wanted to explore the world after graduating from USC with a

cinema degree, played eight years in Australia’s professional National

Basketball League, a former player/coach for the Geelong Cats.

“That’s part of the reason why I went to Australia -- to do documentary

films at the time. It was a good launching pad, if you will, to do those

sort of films, and it was close to Asia,” said Jones, who still operates

a film business, producing spots you might find on the Discovery Channel

or National Geographic television specials.

“It’s a speculative business,” he added, “and it can be nerve-racking,

but I’ve gotten to see the world and been to quite a few places.

(Traveling) is not as big a deal as it used to be. Now, I’m very family

based.”

Jones, a 6-foot-2 standout for CdM Coach Tandy Gillis in a golden Sea

King era in the 1970s, was a three-year varsity starter who earned

first-team All-CIF 4-A honors twice and went on to play four years for

the Trojans, starting his final two years under Coach Bob Boyd.

Jones, who learned slick passing from his father, George, and tenacious

defense from Gillis, was the playmaker on CdM teams that featured Jeff

Wharton, Matt Keough and Mike Sevier and recorded marks of 23-3 in

1971-72 and 26-2 in 1972-73, when the Sea Kings won back-to-back Irvine

League championships.

A former Daily Pilot paperboy, Jones said the support those teams

received from parents and students was incredible. “That was a very

special group of guys,” said the latest member of the Daily Pilot Sports

Hall of Fame, celebrating the millennium.

Once, Jones arrived at the school two hours before tipoff and couldn’t

find a place to park, because fans packed the gym in advance and watched

the undercard JV match to secure a seat for the main event -- CdM, ranked

No. 1 in Orange County, against No. 2 Fountain Valley.

“I think we all look back fondly at that time, because the whole school

environment was positive and people supported us,” said Jones, a prep

All-American by more than one publication his senior year in 1973.

“We were very blessed, from the top on down. Tandy Gillis, who’d won an

NCAA championship (at Cal) and played for Pete Newell, gave us all that

instruction and teaching, and taught us how to play basketball, how to

conduct ourselves in our lives and we were very fortunate to have that

gathering of people. They were all good guys and we all liked each other

and played hard.

“We won a lot of games (in the 1972-73 season) by one point (five), and I

think the way we pulled together, that was probably our keynote

characteristic.”

Jones, who grew a half inch at age 25, helped CdM edge Fountain Valley

twice his senior year -- by one point each time. “In one game, the only

time we led was when we won the game,” he said. “I heard a couple of

years ago from somebody who knew one of the (Fountain Valley) guards, and

he said (the loss) was devastating to them.”

In 1973, Corona del Mar lost to Verbum Dei in the CIF semifinals, 69-63,

after knocking off Redondo, Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly in the

section’s largest division. The Sea Kings that season beat all three

district rivals twice (including Estancia once in overtime, 53-52).

“It was a fortunate time,” Jones said. “You kind of knew something

special was going on. Everybody talks about high school glory days and

stuff, but what’s important is not necessarily what you achieved with

records and accolades, but being part of a group like this that

encompassed everybody, student body and parents. We were just kind of the

representatives on the court.

“It’s something you had to have experienced to understand, otherwise it

sounds like a cliche. But it really was a close-knit group, and the

reasons why there are cliches is because they’re true.”

Jones, who played professionally until he was 30, still competes in the

Newport Beach adult basketball leagues at age 44. He grew up admiring

local legend John Vallely and watching his father, who played at Stanford

and Cal, and later in the Senior Olympics with George Yardley.

“When my dad would play with (Yardley), he said it was just a joy,

because he was so clever,” Jones said. “(Yardley) was so smart. Within a

minute, you’d be in sync with him. He could read his teammates.”

Jones said Wharton had such a natural soft touch on his jump shot that

balls would “bounce around the rim, and bounce and bounce and bounce and

go in.” Keough, he said, was “one of the best athletes I’ve ever been

around.” Wharton and Keough were featured earlier this year in the Daily

Pilot Sports Hall of Fame series, which profiles a local athlete or

sports figure each day.

In Australia, where Jones lived for 11 years, he played on two teams,

including Geelong, which had a cast of four future Australian Olympians

on the 1988 squad that finished fourth at Seoul.

“Now days, you can make over $100,000 a year in the Australian NBL if

you’re a good American,” Jones said. “Plus all the perks and benefits.”

Jones lives in Corona del Mar with his wife and former high school

sweetheart, Cheryl, and their five children: Paul, 15, twins Nick and

Tony, 11, Joey, 9, and Kylie, 2.