Sea Kings to retire Vallely

Corona del Mar High will retire John Vallely’s No. 21, making the 1966 Sea King graduate, who went on to star at Orange Coast College and UCLA, the first player to have his jersey retired in school history.

Vallely, 58, will be honored at halftime of CdM’s season opener against Newport Harbor on Thursday at 7 p.m. There will also be a two-minute video tribute to Vallely by his former UCLA coach, legendary John Wooden. As a starting guard, Vallely helped the Bruins win NCAA national championships during 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons.

“We want to honor our past, and what better player to start off with than Vallely. He set the standard here at CdM,” said first-year coach Ryan Schachter, who coached at Costa Mesa the previous two years. “We will frame a replica jersey of his, so everyone can see it in our gym. Everyone is excited because we will be honoring him during the Battle of the Bay game.”

Vallely, a recent inductee into UCLA’s Sports Hall of Fame, also went on to play in the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks drafted him in the first round in 1970.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza