Hometown honoring Todd Lichti Nov. 20 on his way to basketball Hall of Fame

By Jay Bedecarré 5 years ago
Hometown honoring Todd Lichti Nov. 20 on his way to basketball Hall of Fame
Todd Lichti went from three-years of all-league honors at Mt. Diablo High to three years as an all-American at Stanford before going on to a career in the NBA. He finished his pro career in Australia and has lived there since 2002. He returns to Concord next Wednesday for a celebration before his induction to the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy Stanford Athletics.

Mt. Diablo High School legend Todd Lichti is being inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame Nov. 24 in Kansas City but four days earlier he’ll get a chance to meet family, friends and fans from his hometown when a reception is held at Legends at Diablo Creek Golf Course next Wednesday.

The 6 – 8 p.m. event is fittingly at Legends where Lichti held his NBA Draft Party 30 years ago. Lichti, who prepped at Mt. Diablo and then had four outstanding years at Stanford, was picked 15th by Denver in that draft, one place after the Warriors tabbed Tim Hardaway.

At the Nov. 20 reception in Concord Lichti’s Stanford coach Mike Montgomery will be on hand. Montgomery was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2016 and will also be at Lichti’s big day in Kansas City. Former De La Salle and Northgate coach Frank Allocco will also be a guest of Lichti at the reception.

Montgomery coached Lichti in his final three years at Stanford after replacing Tom Davis, who recruited the Mt. Diablo player and coached him as a freshman.

Lichti is part of a prestigious 2019 Hall of Fame class that includes Indiana’s Calbert Cheaney, Duke’s Shane Battier, Purdue’s Terry Dischinger, Providence’s Ernie DiGregorio, UNLV’s Larry Johnson and former coaches Homer Drew, Lute Olson and the late Rick Majerus.

Mt. Diablo High School has retired one jersey number in its 118-year history—No. 41 in basketball. Lichti received that honor when he was graduating in 1985.

He attended Holbrook Elementary and Glenbrook Intermediate School before coming to Mt. Diablo in 1981. In his three varsity seasons Lichti excelled to the extent that major college coaches like Notre Dame’s Digger Phelps and Davis were coming to P. J. Kramer Gym to scout and woo him.

Everyday beginnings

“I thought my basketball award days were long behind me,” Lichti said. “It’s humbling to be part of this conversation so many years on, let alone to now be a member of this select group. I struggle somewhat to put this into context coming from everyday beginnings, the son of two schoolteachers and returning there in my life now where I suppose I’m most comfortable.

“I must thank my teammates and coaching staff while at Stanford,” Lichti continued. “They worked as hard as I did to achieve what we did and from whom I learned much. My family has always been an incredible support system since my childhood – and now my wife and son are.

“One of the first things I did upon hearing the news was look at the list of players already inducted searching for one name – [Stanford legend] Hank Luisetti,” Lichti added. “He was there and that made it ok for me to be included.”

Tickets for the Nov. 20 Hall of Fame Celebration honoring Todd Lichti are $42 (his Stanford jersey number). Visit the website: ­LegendsDiabloCreek.com

Todd Lichti photo gallery

 

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