Cleveland Is Stung as Wilson Smarts and Shofner Departs

Cleveland High, which always has one of the most impressive arsenals of basketball players in the Valley area, lost two of its biggest guns this week.

Trevor Wilson, the Cavaliers’ All-American forward, went to school Monday on crutches and wearing a soft cast on his left ankle. The same day, Cleveland Coach Bob Braswell said he learned that forward Antoine Shofner quit the team for “personal reasons.”

Wilson, who signed an early letter of intent with UCLA, was averaging 29.5 points and 15 rebounds a game when he injured his ankle in a tournament game against Fairfax last week.

Braswell said that Wilson experienced some swelling in the ankle area during the week, but no pain until Saturday. The injury was diagnosed as bone chips on Sunday. Braswell said that there appears to be some ligament damage, but Wilson could be back in six weeks.

Braswell said that the announcement that Wilson would be out shocked the team, but that the real jolt was Shofner’s loss. The 6-5 forward was averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds a game. Late Tuesday, however, Braswell said Shofner called to say he “hoped to be back with the team soon.”