Ed Ratleff had just scratched the surface when he led Columbus East High School (25-0) to the 1968 Ohio Class AAA championship. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward played on three NCAA Tournament teams at Cal State/Long Beach University and earned two Associated Press first-team All-American honors. He co-captained the 1972 United States team that lost the controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union. Ratleff still holds the school (now Long Beach State) record for highest career scoring average at 21.4 points per game. His 1972-73 single-season average of 22.8 stood for 20 years as the 49ers’ highest. The school retired his number (42) in 1991. He was a first-round draft choice (sixth overall) of the Houston Rockets in 1973 and spent five seasons with the National Basketball Association team. He averaged 25 minutes, 8.3 points, and four rebounds in 338 games.