Chris Thompson, Millennium Hall of Fame

Once the sharpshooting whiz for Corona del Mar High in the late

1960s, Chris Thompson now hopes to change the basketball world and

resurrect the lost art of the jump shot.

Check out today’s television highlights of slam dunks and three-point

shots and you’ll see what Thompson means.

“I just love coaching and I love teaching kids how to shoot the ball,”

said Thompson, the latest member of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame,

celebrating the millennium. “My main thing is shooting jump shots off the

dribble, and how to come off a pick and square up properly.

“I grew up watching Jerry West, who was my hero and I tried to copy

him. Nobody was better than West at pulling up off the dribble and

shooting a jump shot.”

These days, Thompson, 48, makes a living teaching the jump shot -- at

clinics, privately and through the instructional video “Your Best Shot,”

narrated by legendary Laker broadcaster Chick Hearn and former Laker

Michael Cooper.

“I have to work pretty hard at (shooting) and I keep my legs in shape,

because the kids won’t listen to me if I can’t put the ball in the hole,”

said Thompson, who began teaching 15 years ago, after the construction

company he worked for transferred its business to Oklahoma.

“You hardly see players pump fake anymore and shoot a 16- or 18-foot

jump shot,” added Thompson, a 6-foot guard under CdM Coach Bill Bloom,

who led the Sea Kings to an Irvine League title and 28-2 record in 1968,

Thompson’s junior year, and an 18-10 mark in ’69.

Thompson, who grew 2 1/2 inches in college, went on to become the most

prolific scorer in Golden West College history, averaging more than 25

points per game for the Rustlers in a two-year span, including the

1970-71 season when they finished third in the state.

“(GWC Coach) Dick Stricklin talked me into going to school there and

he gave me the green light when he found out I could shoot,” said

Thompson, who still holds myriad school records, including the most

points in a game (50) and the most consecutive free throws made (37).

Thompson, a two-time all-league player in high school, blossomed in

junior college, earning Southern California Conference Player of the Year

honors his sophomore year under Stricklin, as well as first-team

all-state JC All-American laurels.

Nobody wanted Thompson out of high school, but, suddenly, the

net-screeching 6-foot-2 1/2 swingman was on everybody’s recruiting list

coming out of Golden West.

Thompson always desired to play in the Pac 8, so he signed with

Oregon, but he lasted only one season in Eugene. He was one of seven

players to transfer following the 1971-72 season under Coach Dick Harter

(now an assistant under Larry Bird with the Pacers).

When Thompson transferred to Pepperdine, the Waves were going through

a “transitional period” and it was before Dennis Johnson (of Boston

Celtic fame) arrived in Malibu to turn around the program.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time for a couple of years,”

said Thompson, who sprained an ankle two weeks before he was scheduled to

play on the Lakers/Rockets Summer League team, thus ending his playing

career.

One of Thompson’s most interesting athletic achievements, however,

came on the baseball diamond.

A pitcher for Coach Tom Trager’s Sea Kings, Thompson worked 27 innings

in three straight postseason games in eight days in May 1969 and gave up only four runs.

He hurled a seven-inning shutout in the first round of the CIF

playoffs, going head-to-head against Santiago’s Bert Blyleven -- later to

become one of major league baseball’s great strikeout kings -- in a game

won by the Sea Kings, 1-0. Thompson worked seven innings the following

playoff game and, in the third game, pitched 13 innings in a win over

Antelope Valley.

By the next round, Thompson was out of gas. “I had a rising fastball

that wasn’t rising anymore, so I knew I was in trouble,” he said. “They

don’t allow any pitcher to pitch that much anymore (with a limit of 10

innings per week). My arm was shot for two weeks. It was just hanging.”

Blyleven, shortly thereafter, would become a No. 1 draft pick of the

Minnesota Twins and remain in the big leagues until the early 1990s,

finishing with 287 lifetime wins and two World Series championships (with

the Pirates in 1979 and Twins in 1987). Blyleven’s 14-inning loss to

Thompson and Corona del Mar that day would be his last non-major league

game. He went straight to the big leagues, skipping college and the minor

leagues.

It was also the last game Thompson would pitch.

“It was pretty memorable,” Thompson said. “Neither of us were

budging.”

CdM’s Dean Weise knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the 14th

inning to beat Blyleven, “or who knows how long it would’ve gone on?”

Thompson said.

Today, Thompson lives in Venice Beach with his girlfriend, Toni

Hewitt, the 1968 Olympic swimmer from Corona del Mar. The couple grew up

in school together, but never said more than two words to each other --

until their 25-year class reunion five years ago.