Cleveland Roster Reduced to Seven After Defections

First-year Cleveland High basketball Coach Kevin Crider does not allow his players to take their game uniforms home with them. Each night after the Cavaliers play, Crider can be found doing laundry.

Before each game, he brings an armful of shorts and jerseys into the gym and hands them out to the team.

“I only bring ones for the players I know are going to be there,” Crider said. “If I left it up to the players, I’d be trying to track them down every time somebody left.”

Lately, after several players defected, Crider has been traveling light--the Cavaliers are down to seven players.

Three players left the team last week over a lack of playing time, Crider said Thursday after Cleveland’s 83-76 defeat of Paramount in the quarterfinal round of the Artesia tournament. And although one, junior guard David Afzal, rejoined the team before the game, two others apparently have left the team permanently.

Crider said that Chris Harper and Eseubio Lopez, who played sparingly for Cleveland (10-2) this season, left the team after the L. A. Invitational tournament, the title of which was won by the Cavaliers on Saturday.

Consequently, the Cavaliers--whom Crider said were only 11 strong to start the season--were down to seven players against Paramount. It was even worse a day earlier.

Crider said senior forward Kayheed Murray missed Wednesday’s 82-66 quarterfinal victory over Bosco Tech because he was stuck in traffic. Crider said Murray realized he was not going to arrive in time for the game, so he turned around and went home.

Murray, who two weeks ago was suspended for one game for missing school, played against Paramount and scored 17 points.

Crider said that Afzal walked into the gym before Cleveland faced Paramount.

“I asked him if he had anything he wanted to say and he said, ‘No, I just want back on the team,’ ” Crider said.

Crider said he plans to allow Afzal to rejoin the team but that he did not bring Afzal’s uniform to the game against Paramount.

Currently, Cleveland’s two reserves are Mike Scovell and Chris Frierson, neither of whom scored against Paramount.

Scovell, a senior starting in place of Murray, scored 12 points Wednesday night, leaving Frierson as the only substitute.

The attrition rate has taxed the starters. Junior forward Brandon Martin, a team captain who has scored 33 and 28 points the past two games, did not leave the floor against Paramount and played all but two minutes against Bosco Tech.

Mike Sutyak, a reserve forward, is on vacation but will rejoin the team when league play resumes in January. Sean Gunter, a backup guard who suffered a broken leg in the preseason, still has not recovered.

Cleveland, ranked No. 2 in the area by The Times, faces Long Beach Poly in the semifinal round today at 5:50 p.m.