By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Seattle Metro high school basketball heads into the playoffs with all teams poised for potential deep runs in the state tournament. Among them, Cleveland High School’s varsity boys’ basketball team, competing in the Washington 2A classification, looks to finish its season on a positive note, drawing strength from community support and a fresh coaching philosophy.
Despite its small size, Cleveland relies on strong community involvement and a culture that blends academics and athletics. As a STEM-focused school, many Cleveland athletes understand the balance between classroom responsibility and performance on the court. This year’s squad, while young, has shown competitiveness that head coach Abdul Kariem Mohamad believes will unlock the team’s potential.
“It is about building a culture with everybody understanding the expectations and the standards,” said Mohamad. “We’ve got great kids. They work hard every day, learning to play the game the right way, doing everything that they are asked of by the coaching staff and just competing at a high level, giving effort and having energy every night and every day.”
Mohamad is in his first season as the varsity head coach, having spent three years leading Cleveland’s junior varsity team. His coaching approach is grounded in standards, hard work and high-level competition. He has assembled a coaching staff with extensive experience, translating that knowledge into building a high basketball IQ among his players.
“My coaching staff has a lot of knowledge of the game and gives it back to the kids,” said Mohamad. “So, the kids and the team, they are learning, playing with passion, playing for the love of the game and just coming in and working hard every day.”
Senior team captain Haady Mohamad, who is also the coach’s younger brother, echoed the coach’s emphasis on resilience and handling adversity.
“Teaching us to take control of adversity, like this year, throughout the season we had to deal with a lot of adversity,” said Haady. “So, our coach’s philosophy is teaching us just being able to stay together, how we play together and in what ways we can play together, particularly when under pressure or experiencing adversity both in a game and in life.”
A Seattle native, Mohamad graduated from Franklin High School in 2012 and went on to play college basketball. He spent two years at Shoreline Community College before transferring to the University of Saint Catharines, where he played for two more seasons. After college, Mohamad pursued a career in education and later completed his master’s degree at the University of Washington.
His coaching journey includes time as an assistant at Franklin and leading AAU teams before taking on Cleveland’s JV squad. Stepping into the varsity head coaching role this season, Mohamad said it feels like coming full circle, coaching in the community where he grew up.
Cleveland’s roster includes five seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. Mohamad credits his own mentors for shaping his coaching philosophy and works to instill in his players that the game reciprocates how it is treated.
“It is my first year, but I know what I’ve learned from all the great coaches I’ve had in my life and my expectation is just competing,” said Mohamad. “Come in, compete, learn, come and play in the right way and learn how to play the game with discipline, integrity and having respect for the game. This game will treat you good if you take care of the things you need to do because there are no shortcuts.”
Like any developing team, Cleveland has faced both highs and lows. The coaching staff and players agree that addressing strengths and weaknesses as a unit has been a vital part of growth.
“There has been ups and downs this year, but the strength of the team is I know they can dial in and execute plays when it comes down to the stretch and they can adapt to the environment and tune out the noises,” said Mohamad. “Focusing on the details of what needs to happen when the Xs and Os are out there, and they really came a long way from not being a team to becoming a team by just collaborating with each other and trusting each other.”
Mohamad said the team’s area of improvement centers on self-reliance on the court and defensive intensity.
“The weaknesses that we have is they have to be the ones to coach themselves on the court because at the end of the day, I can give the Xs and Os, I can’t play the game for them and they have to be more competitive on the defensive side because that is my niche for them this year,” said Mohamad. “We are going to be a defensive team, so just playing with some integrity and heart and coming out to punch someone in the mouth first, you don’t get punched first.”
Haady agreed with his coach’s emphasis on defense, noting that it is both a strength and an area where the team can still grow.
“One thing for us this whole season was our motor, our energy being on defense,” said Haady. “Our head coach being the defensive player of the year back then, so he is great at telling us what to do on defense. So, with us having a strong motor on defense, it led us to easy offensive plays and being able to just set up our offensive plays through defense as well, so, yeah, I’ll say defense.”
Beyond the Xs and Os, Haady said another focus for the squad is understanding and embracing each player’s role as they move through the playoffs.
“I’d say honestly, just being comfortable playing basketball,” said Haady. “Like we’ve been playing basketball since the summer together, fall league, summer league, but when it came to the Metro season, it gets to the point where we just had to figure out what roles we have to play and what to really do to capitalize on the whole season.”
As Cleveland prepares for the WIAA 2A state tournament, the team’s discipline, development and commitment to culture will define how far they go — and how much they grow along the way.
