Basketball Preview : El Camino Loses Four Starters But Is Coach Worried? ‘Nope’

El Camino College basketball Coach Ron McClurkin has a black-and-white photo hanging on his office wall that says a lot.

It features Zlatko Josic, Van Myers and Kevin Mixon, three of last year’s stars, dressed in caps and gowns, holding diplomas. Another standout, Kelvin Harris, isn’t pictured because he graduated during the summer.

All got scholarships to Division I schools. Josic is at Clemson, Harris at New Mexico State and Mixon at Oregon. Myers turned down a scholarship to St. Mary’s for personal reasons.

That means the Warriors, who made it to the semifinals of the state tournament last season, lost four starters from a team that won the South Coast Conference title and went 24-9.

So is McClurkin worried?

“Nope,” said the coach as he bit into a taco. “We got six guys back from last year. We got 14 guys that can play. Usually we don’t have (more than) eight, some years seven.

“This is the deepest team I’ve ever been associated with since I’ve been here, and I’ve been here 11 years.”

The talent and depth will allow McClurkin to do a lot of substituting as he did last season. Nine consistent three-point shooters and an array of quick defenders will make the task easy for the second-year head coach.

“I think this team is deeper and more talented than last year’s,” McClurkin said. “But so is everybody else (in the league).”

El Camino, ranked second in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau, has an experienced starting lineup that includes four sophomores.

Keith Brown (5-foot-10, 155 pounds) is the point guard with Larry Lockley (6-3, 180) at off guard. Lockley was an all-league player and team MVP for El Camino in 1986. The 22-year-old left after his freshman year to join the Army.

Starting center Charles Evans (6-8, 220), an all-league selection last season, also served in the Army. His physical strength and experience will be a big asset for El Camino.

The rest of the front court includes Jamal Ross (6-7, 210) and Michael Houck, the only freshman in the starting lineup, at small forward. The 6-5, 185-pounder averaged 19.4 points last year at Redondo High School.

Key backups include forward David Keeter (6-5, 185) and point guard Allen Caveness (6-2, 165). Both were part-time starters last year.

Shawn Foster (6-5, 210), perhaps the Warriors’ best offensive rebounder, will also play a lot. The freshman forward averaged 25.5 points at El Segundo High last year.

“He just goes like a madman,” McClurkin said.

Last week the Warriors won the Fullerton Tournament by defeating state champion Cerritos, 81-69, in the final. El Camino also defeated L.A. Trade Tech, 70-55, in its season opener.

“The team is just as good as last year,” said Trade Tech Coach Oliver Jones, “but they have more good players. They’re tough. They’ve got good size, good shooters and they play tough defense.”