Martin Leaves Cleveland, Plans Transfer : Prep basketball: Junior standout says he will enroll at Washington after citing differences with first-year coach.

Citing differences with his coach, Cleveland High basketball standout Brandon Martin withdrew from school Friday and said he will enroll at Washington High in Los Angeles.

Earl Martin, Brandon’s father, said the decision to withdraw his son, a highly regarded junior, was made after he heard “through the grapevine” that first-year Coach Kevin Crider had given more than one college recruiter a negative evaluation of Brandon’s abilities.

“He’s got a shot at a full ride,” the elder Martin said. “I’m not going to let (Crider) jeopardize that.”

Earl Martin said he met with Cleveland Principal Ida Mae Windham on Friday morning and informed her of the reasons behind the family’s decision.

“I wanted to let her know what was going on in her program,” Earl Martin said. “There was no ultimatum. I told her it was in his best interests to leave.”

Crider denied making critical remarks to recruiters and said he felt that the family had decided to seek a transfer long before the season started. Crider and Martin spoke on the telephone Thursday and Crider claimed he did not make any negative comments to recruiters, but the coach said that he would not attempt to dissuade Martin.

“Personally, I got the impression that it was inevitable,” Crider said. “I had resigned myself to the idea that he would not be back, so I’m not tripping over it. I’d already started preparing for next year.”

The Martins considered a transfer to Carson a few days before the season but backed off after deciding that Brandon should see things through at Cleveland.

Martin, who lives in the Washington attendance area and can enroll at the school and retain athletic eligibility without a change of address, was bused to Cleveland for the first three years of his career. In 1990-91, the 6-foot-4 swingman averaged 24 points a game to become the first Cavalier player since Trevor Wilson (UCLA, Atlanta Hawks) to top the 20-point plateau in scoring average.

Martin, who averaged 13.6 points as a sophomore, is considered among the best players in the Southland. He said he has tentatively agreed to take recruiting trips to Kentucky and Kansas in November. He said he also is being recruited by many schools in the Pacific 10 Conference as well as Notre Dame, Brigham Young and Pepperdine. Martin said he is “99 percent sure” that he will sign a letter of intent during the early signing period in November.

“This is the best move for me right now,” Martin said. “I’ve been at Cleveland for three years, and I’ll only be at Washington for one. I hope Washington can provide the things I need.”

Washington advanced to the City Section 4-A Division semifinals this season.

Martin, an honor student, described his relationship with Crider as “strange.”

“One day he can be real nice and he really shows concern,” Martin said. “The next day, it’s like he doesn’t even want to be bothered.

“The relationship was OK. We’re not blood brothers or anything. It got worse when I started hearing what he was saying (to recruiters) behind my back.”

The relationship between Earl Martin and Crider, a first-year coach, sometimes has been volatile. During a late-season game at Taft, Crider turned and said to Earl, “See, Brandon’s not rebounding.” Earl, who was seated among hundreds of fans in the stands, waited until the game ended and gave Crider a very public earful.

“Basically, Cleveland’s been a good school for Brandon,” Earl said. “I really wish he could have graduated there. But I can’t leave him there for another year of this.”

Martin’s transfer marks a retrenching for the highly successful Cavalier program. Over the past few years, several future NCAA Division I players have transferred to Cleveland or attended the school via the L. A. Unified School District’s voluntary integration or magnet programs. Among this year’s group of starters alone, Kenny Collins and Kayheed Murray transferred to Cleveland after first playing at other schools.

Crider said the pressures at Cleveland are unique. A year ago, Coach Marc Paez resigned after one season, claiming there were too many distractions tied to the program.

“It seems like the position at Cleveland . . . there are really some strings attached,” said Crider, who became the fourth Cleveland coach in 15 months when he was hired last summer. “I understand why Marc did that. But I’m not going to quit.”