Hall of Fame
Art Larson was recruited out of Pasadena High School by Coach Myron Finkbeiner. He was one of those student-athletes who experienced both campuses. The first three years of his basketball career were in Pasadena. His senior year the school had moved to San Diego. He followed the transition and wrapped up his education and competition in Point Loma.
“Though Art may not have had the most God-given talent of any of the players on our teams, he was arguably the best, or one of the best players on each of those four teams,” said Dale Best, former teammate. “He was able to accomplish things beyond what anyone would expect because of his fierce, competitive drive and was able to push himself well beyond reasonable limits. It was this incredible mind set and drive that made Art the great player he was.”
“Art was an outstanding point guard that could score,” said Ben Foster , former assistant coach. “He was a quick penetrating guard with great interior passing skills and was at his best running the middle of the fast break. He was truly a great free throw shooter and he seemed to get that opportunity often because of his penetrating skills.”
Larson averaged over 80 percent from the free throw line during his four-year career. He was the leading scorer in his sophomore year after only playing in eight games as a freshman in ’71-’72. In ’72-’73 he was the second leading scorer. Larson averaged over 15 ppg all four years of his career amassing 1,498 points which at one time ranked ninth on the all-time scoring list. This was all before the three-point shot came into play. While at PC and PLC, Larson was selected all-conference, all-district and Honorable Mention All-American.
Larson married the former Radwyn Ponsford. They eventually settled in Brush Prairie, WA with their children: Michael, Matt, Nicky and Kimberly. Matt played basketball for one year at PLNU at the guard position. Larson went to work as the regional business director for Bristol Myers-Squibb of the northwest.
The award for Outstanding Achievement by an Athlete was presented to Larson by Bob Brower.
