AROUND THE LEAGUES : One Basketball Gym for Two Teams Equals an Eight-Man Alemany Roster

Most high school basketball coaches keep a roster of 12 or more players around to help out in case of foul trouble, fatigue, or just to ensure a full complement for full-court practice. At Alemany, however, Coach Joe Anlauf believes that eight is enough.

His reason is simple. “We believe in equal opportunity for women,” he said.

Anlauf kept an eight-player roster last season and figures to do the same in future years--or as long as Alemany has only one gym shared by the boys’ and girls’ programs. Anlauf practices his varsity and junior varsity teams together, and keeps the roster small because he can’t handle a bigger team.

“We’ve already got the sophomore boys practicing at six in the morning,” he said, “and the freshman boys and girls are outside.”

Anlauf has learned to live with the situation, but he is less than overjoyed.

“When I got here the girls’ program was more established than the boys,” he said. “What was I going to do? Tell the girls to get out? As long as we have one gym, that’s the way it is. That’s life in the parochial schools.”

Cleveland doesn’t let its guard down: When Cleveland guard Damon Greer, a three-year varsity player, injured his right hand in an alumni game three weeks ago, it appeared the Cavalier trademark--its running game--might be slowed. Coach Bob Braswell said before the season he was three-deep at each guard spot, and the injury has given previously unheralded players a chance to shine. Andre Anderson, especially, has responded with clutch performances. His fourth-quarter free throws were the difference Saturday against Calabasas and two weeks ago against Merced. “Andre has taken a lead role in our offense,” Braswell said. “He’s always had fine defensive skills and intensity. Now he’s becoming a complete player.”

Adrian King, Michael Gray and Joey Manliguis are other skilled Cleveland guards who contribute extensively. . . . Kennedy defeated a strong Culver City team, 59-56, Monday to win the Palisades tournament. Marcus Malone, a Times’ All-Valley guard, was the tournament MVP after scoring 14 points in the final and 36 in the semifinal. Kennedy’s Clarence Williams and El Camino Real’s Sean Davis, who led the tournament with 70 points in three games, made the all-tournament team.

Shooting at the crack of dawn: After inconsistent shooting led to three straight losses, Thousand Oaks Coach Ed Chevalier thought it was time to get serious. So practice this week began at 7 a.m. with the first hour of the three-hour sessions dedicated to shooting. “This is a great time to practice,” Chevalier said. “It’s real quiet and everyone is very businesslike. All you can hear is the ball hitting nets and rims.”

Fewer fast breaks: At this time of the season most coaches want their teams to play as often as possible in preparation for league. But Chatsworth Coach Gary Shair has a different approach. While most teams had played at least seven games before last week, Chatsworth had played only four. Since Friday, the Chancellors have played four games in the Chaminade tournament, but Shair said he would have preferred to rest his team during the vacation.

Rough stuff: Granada Hills Coach Bob Johnson says Gary Gray, who is 6-9, is being picked on because of his size. Gray scored 20 points Monday in Granada Hills’ 58-55 loss to Glendale in the championship of the Glendale tournament, but Johnson said the officials allowed Glendale to manhandle the Highlanders’ All-City center. “I’ve never been in a game where so many fouls were not called,” Johnson said. “There’s a difference between playing physical and mauling someone. They out and out murdered him.”

Double Trouble: With junior guard Peter Nappi running the North Hollywood offense last season, the Huskies finished second in the East Valley League with an 8-2 record. This season Coach Steve Miller has reason to be twice as happy: He has another Nappi. Dominic, a 6-6 junior forward averaging 15 points per game this season, has teamed with brother Peter, now a senior. “With this lineup, I think we have a legitimate shot at the league title,” Miller said.

Girls basketball: Lynn Flanagan’s left-handed scoop shot with three seconds left gave Louisville a 60-59 win over highly regarded Morningside on Monday in the Thousand Oaks tournament. Under the circumstances, the shot was amazing, and was even more so considering Flanagan, 5-8, challenged 6-3 freshman center Lisa Leslie on the shot. “Lynn just challenged that girl,” Louisville Coach Brian O’Hara said. Andrea Knapp, Louisville’s 6-2 center, scored 28 points and held Leslie to 11. . . . Kim Powers averaged 14.2 points and was the most valuable player as Burroughs (9-1) won the Hoover basketball tournament. Burroughs defeated Burbank in the championship game, 57-49, in the closest game of the season for Burroughs.

Track and Field: Todd Lytle of Granada Hills, and Ed Trotter and Anna Howell of Rio Mesa will run in an international road race in Canton, China on New Year’s Day in conjunction with the International Sports Exchange program. The 10-day trip, which began Dec. 26 and concludes Jan. 4, will take Lytle, Trotter and Howell to Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.