city section hall

The Southern California college basketball kickoff luncheon was held on Wednesday at the Downtown Athletic Club, and sitting at one of the tables dressed in suit and tie was someone as knowledgeable as any coach in the room.

Former Fremont High, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Los Angeles coach Dave Yanai, 83, was there. He won the John R. Wooden Award’s Legends of Coaching honor in 2021. He was inducted into the City Section Hall of Fame in 2023.

Asked if he’s still watching basketball, Yanai said, “A lot.”

He was the first Japanese American to be a head coach in college basketball. His nephew is Harvey Kitani, a future City Section Hall of Fame basketball coach who was at Fairfax and now Rolling Hills Prep.

Yanai still has much to offer. You just have to ask.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

When it comes to City Section sports royalty, the Johnson family at Crenshaw High is in a class by itself.

Marques Johnson started the legacy in 1971, igniting the rise of Crenshaw basketball before moving on to UCLA and the NBA. He’s a City Section Hall of Famer. His son, Kris, was a City Section player of the year and led Crenshaw to consecutive state titles.

Now the last of the Johnsons for at least awhile — 6-foot-1 Shiloh Johnson — has transferred to Crenshaw from Windward. She’s the daughter of Marques and is a top junior girls’ basketball player.

Marques has been a strong supporter of the Crenshaw community and authored the book, “Crenshaw Chronicles.”

Just seeing him in the Crenshaw gym this winter with all the City and state championship banners on the walls will be something to enjoy. And look for Shiloh’s siblings and cousins to drop by, too.

“It’s always a great feeling,” Marques said.

Shiloh is now walking through the halls where her grandfather was a teacher, her aunt was a counselor and four of her five siblings went to school.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.