Advertisement

Boys’ basketball: Cleveland reloads with transfers

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The West Valley League might be known as the transfer league this season in boys’ basketball with so many players switching schools, and don’t blame Woodland Hills Taft.

Yes, the Toreadors got a couple of impressive transfers, but they aren’t the only ones. Reseda Cleveland picked up four transfers that could enable the Cavaliers to be the prime challenger to Taft in league play.

Advertisement

Three sophomore guards -- J.R. Williams from Taft, Jason Moore from Taft and Julian Hernandez from Alemany -- will be eligible immediately at Cleveland under the one-time free transfer rule. But the best player is Jaylen Bland, a 6-foot-2 junior guard from Saginaw (Mich.) Hill High who was set to be one of the top underclassmen in Michigan.

Woodland Hills El Camino Real gained transfers from La Canada Renaissance, Culver City and Rosamond.

Why all the transfers?

‘To me, it’s a situation where some kids are looking for opportunities they wouldn’t get at their prior schools,’ Cleveland Coach Osiris Nalls said.

As for Bland’s arrival, Nalls said the guard’s father is marrying the mother of a Cleveland player.

It should make for quite a West Valley season, with Bland testing Taft’s outstanding group of guards.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Advertisement