palmer ceremony-500 wins

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SoCalHoops High School News

LB Poly To Honor Coach
Ron Palmer's 500th Win--(Feb. 2, 2000)

We just received word of a very special ceremony which will be held this coming Monday, February 7, 2000 at Long Beach Poly HS. Sometime either before, or probably during the game at halftime (we're not exactly certain which), the school will hold a special presentation to celebrate and honor Coach Ron Palmer and to recognize his remarkable achievement of 500 wins. He picked up his 500th win in November, so this isn't exactly "new" news, but it's still going to be a very special occasion, and a way of acknowledging just how important Coach Palmer has been to the Jackrabbit community. Coach Palmer has been at Poly for 21 years, has won a State Championship and at least one "national" title--of course there is no "national" title in reality, but he's had several teams that have been ranked No. 1 throughout the season, which were named the "best team" in the US by many of the pundits who prepare such rankings, including USA Today. He's had more All-Americans and pro players come through his gym than almost any other coach still in the game, and that includes other coaching luminaries like Lou Cvijanovich (who is now an assistant at Hueneme), Gary McKnight, or even Morgan Wooten. Coach Palmer has coached at the high school level and was also the men's head basketball coach at Long Beach State for several years, but his true love was high school basketball and he returned to Poly after a short stint at leading the 49'ers.

The ceremony will also commemorate 95 years of high school hoops at Long Beach Poly, from 1904 through 1999/2000, and it's one of the most productive, successful programs in all of California and the US. Oh, and by the way, if you come out for the ceremony and the other festivities, you'll also see a pretty good game between Long Beach Poly and Long Beach Jordan.