BOYS' BASKETBALL: ASGHARI RETURN SPOILED BY TAFT WARM WELCOME FOR EX-TOREADOR TAFT 61, BIRMINGHAM 48.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

There were signs of support, shouts of encouragement and more than a few hugs and handshakes when Mustafa Asghari showed up at the Taft High of Woodland Hills basketball gym Wednesday.

The only thing missing was his familiar Toreadors uniform.

In fact, Taft's former leading scorer and senior point guard was wearing a very unfamiliar Birmingham High of Van Nuys uniform, taking the floor against his ex-teammates and scoring nine points in the Patriots' 61-48 West Valley League loss to the Toreadors.

Talk about an odd sight, and an odd night.

``Up until a few days ago I'd never played a game without Mustafa,'' said guard Nima Javarherian, who had 16 points for Taft (11-7, 3-2). ``Now all of a sudden I'm playing against him. Weird. Very weird.''

For everyone involved.

Asghari was removed from the Taft team two weeks ago after a falling out with Toreadors coach Derrick Taylor, the central issue being style of play.

A few days after his removal, Asghari and his mother moved into an apartment near Birmingham (6-9, 1-4) so he could resume playing immediately with the Patriots.

Wednesday's game against Taft was just his second with Birmingham, although he had a difficult time separating what was from what is.

``This is my home court, has been for more than three years,'' Asghari said. ``I still consider it home. But I mean, the reality is I'm with Birmingham now. Coming back as a player on another team, I mean it's still a shock to me. It always will be. I never thought this would happen.''

Neither did Taylor.

``I'm still broken up about all this,'' Taylor said. ``Tonight was extremely awkward. I like Mustafa a lot, I always have and always will. But it was a situation where I had to do what I had to do. I still hope that one day we can sit down and talk again.''

It's clear Taft misses Asghari and he misses Taft. The Toreadors have struggled offensively since he left, finding it difficult to make up for the 26 points he scored each night. Beside's Javarherian' 16 points, Steve Smith had 12 and Ray Vaughn had 10 on Wednesday.

On the other side, Loren Leath had 16 points and Arman Shatrang added 12 for the Patriots. Asghari, playing forward rather than guard, looked uncomfortable in his new position, struggling with his shot as he tried to fit in with a new offense.

``I'm still not 100 percent sure where to be at all times, but that's no excuse for how I played,'' Asghari said. ``I mean, I played the most horrible game of my life. But I'll be better the next game.''

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Mustafa Asghari (50), a one-time Taft of Woodland Hills standout now with Birmingham of Van Nuys, returned to the Toreadors' gym Wednesday night, scoring nine points. However, his new teammates lost to Taft.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer