ATHLETE OF THE WEEK : Role of 6th Man Puts Branham at Ease Before Joining the Fray

Believe it or not, Richard Branham actually prefers to measure the flow of the game from the bench. As he watches the beginning of a Cleveland game, Branham relaxes and thinks positive thoughts.

Coach Bob Braswell says letting the 6-4 senior forward watch the opening minutes takes the pressure off Branham, the strongest player on the Cleveland front line.

“He’s very intense,” Braswell said. “And sometimes, he just puts too much pressure on himself. He feels like he has to produce.”

Braswell must have a sixth sense about his sixth man. Since Branham started coming off the bench last month, Branham’s production is up and his anxiety is down.

“I really don’t mind it,” said Branham, who has signed a letter of intent to attend Cal. “I think I’ve been more effective off the bench because I don’t have to worry as much about fouling and all that stuff.”

Stuff? That’s basically what Branham did to 6-5 center Clarence Williams in Cleveland’s 85-66 win over Kennedy last Wednesday. Williams had led Kennedy to an 11-0 record, the best start in school history.

With Cleveland’s Warren Harrell and Branham defending him, Williams was held to only seven points--on one field goal--and eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter. Branham, meanwhile, was piling up a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who moved past Kennedy into second place in the Valley League.

Others in the league know Branham’s stint on the bench is no affront to his talent.

“I know we can’t guard him,” Taft Coach Jim Woodard said. “He scored 30 points in the first half of a game against us last year. He’s just too quick for a big guy to handle and too strong for a quick guy to handle.”

In addition to breaking the Kennedy winning streak, Cleveland had other goals in mind, Branham said .

“We’d seen a write-up that Kennedy was calling itself the best defensive team in the Valley,” said Branham, who scored 13 points against El Camino Real in a 70-43 win Friday. “We put it up on the locker-room wall.”

Cleveland (12-2) pushed the Kennedy defense to the wall. The Golden Cougars had allowed an average of 55.6 points a game--Cleveland scored 32 in the second quarter.

Braswell said there is no question Branham is a critical element in the Cleveland lineup. The problem is that Branham is aware of it, too.

“He knows we depend on him because we’re not real big up front,” Braswell said. “Maybe coming in a couple of minutes into the game is what works best for him.

“But like I always tell the guys, it’s not who starts the game that’s important, it’s who’s there at the end.”