Hawaii Basketball

JV: 5:00pm
Varsity: Start 15 minutes after completion of JV

JV: 5:00pm
Varsity: Start 15 minutes after completion of JV

UPDATE: All Varsity Levels will move in 2007-08 (JV and Intermediate seasons are still being decided).

The Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive board approved the realignment of the girls basketball season, among others, for the 2008-2009 school year. Currently, girls basketball is played during the spring in Hawaii while on the mainland and at the collegiate level their season is held during the winter. This fact has drawn criticism from local civil rights lawyer Jill Nunokawa who believes that female players here are missing out on college scholarship opportunites because they are “out of season.”

In 2008-09, Hawaii will realign some, but not all high school sports to follow the mainland calendar. Girls basketball will move from spring to winter, softball from winter to spring and boys volleyball from fall to spring. Boys and girls soccer, which is played during the fall at the collegiate level, will remain a winter sport.

Will this make things better or worse?… Let’s see.

Gym Space: Worse
Pros: None.

Cons: While this is an obvious problem for all schools, for the ILH, this is a nightmare. To offer more students the opportunity to participate, the ILH schools often field additional teams on the intermediate level and in some cases even add a second varsity. For a school like Iolani, they will need to figure out how to manage 10 teams, 5 each for girls and boys in Varsity I, Varsity II, JV, Intermediate I and Intermediate II. In the case of Punahou and Kamehameha, they face an even greater challenge with two teams at all levels including the JV.

The proposed solution to alleviate the scheduling problems was to move the JV to a different season, but that may also prove difficult because volleyball will be in the opposing seasons - girls in the fall and boys in the spring.

What do the ILH schools do?… Do they try and fit 12 teams into gyms that barely fit 6 or do they just eliminate the “extra” levels? Hmm…

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Many years before Derrick Low was the Pac-10’s most popular Hawaiian, Clifton Jones was putting in his time as a forward for Oregon State, starting his final two seasons for the Beavers and considered by Sports Illustrated as “one of the Pac-10’s best rebounders.”

After being named an OIA East First Team All-Star as a standout for Kahuku High School in 1996, Jones went on to Skyline Junior College where he is still among the top 10 in career points and top 5 in career rebounds. In 1998, he moved on to the Pac-10 where he started for the Oregon State Beavers averaging 5.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 57.1% from the field. In his senior season, Jones led the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg), total blocks (1.1 bpg) and field goal percentage (63.6%) and was 5th on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg).

Currently Jones is in Finland, playing for Joensuun Kataja, the team with which he started his career and led to a Finnish Basketball Association championship in his first season. During that season, he averaged 16.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and a league-leading 2.5 blocks per game.

Now in his 7th season, the 6-8 Hawaii product is averaging 6.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and shooting 62.2% from the field. Full Statistics » (in Finnish)

Currently the Student Activities Director at his alma mater, Kirk Uejio (Iolani ‘98) was named the 1998 Hawaii State Player of the Year in basketball after helping the Raiders win their third state championship (overall) in his senior season.

Though his numbers weren’t gaudy, Uejio was the unquestionable leader of a talented Iolani squad which featured 6-4 twins Cord and Brad Anderson as well as 6-7 center Shawn Christensen. With the ball in his hands, Uejio commanded the court, organizing and directing teammates each time down the floor like a general in the armed forces…

From the Star Bulletin:

When the situation required him to hurl his body into the bleachers in pursuit of a loose ball, he did it… If it required a pickpocket steal, he got it done… If it meant hitting the 3-pointer when the whole season hinged on it - as it did in the last minute of regulation in the state championship against Kalaheo - he hit it…

Star Bulletin article, 1998 Mr. Basketball »

After high school, Uejio went on to play at Division III Claremont McKenna College, but cut his career short to focus on school and explore opportunites to study abroad, a decision that allowed him to live in a remote village in Kenya for an extended time.

In his first truly difficult task as the head coach of the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team, Bob Nash, announced yesterday that he will not renew the contract of 2-year assistant coach and former UH standout, Alika Smith.

Let’s examine the pros and cons:

Pros: Despite his lineage as the son of legendary Kalaheo Coach Pete Smith, Alika is relatively inexperienced when it comes to coaching at the college level. Since graduating from UH, he was an assistant under Jeff Law at the University of Hawaii - Hilo from 2001-2003 and was part of the Manoa staff for the last two years. His departure allows for the hiring of a “seasoned” assistant that could bring added knowledge to the staff or enhance recruiting. We’ll know more when the new coach is hired…

Cons: For a guy that received his first coaching opportunity 25 years ago despite his own inexperience, this was a disappointing move for the new head coach. Alika, much like Nash, was a standout at UH, but unlike Nash, was an all-state performer here in high school and the only true “kama’aina” on the staff. While his age, 31, may appear to be a hinderance, the importance of having a relatable presence on the staff is often invaluable to bridge the communication gap between the older coaches and the college-aged players.

Bob Nash has been named the new head coach of the University of Hawaii… now what? Seems like we should all know the guy after 26 years, so why is it so hard to figure out what we’re in for next season?

Well, despite his long tenure at the school, Nash hasn’t had many opportunities to do what he’s wanted to do (whatever that is), so it’d be unfair to assume one way or another that he’ll be just like Riley or completely different. All we can do right now is listen to what he’s saying in the media and hope for the best…

Here’s a few notable quotes from Coach Nash’s appearance on Stephen Tsai’s blog:

Asked about a shift to a high-paced game:

…we hope to bring an exciting brand of fast pace basketball back to the Stan Sheriff but we have to go out and get athletes to do that so we are goint to be out recruiting to find replacements for Lojeski and Gueye.

Response to a question about the returning players and their ability to adjust to a new system:

We have a good nucleus returning and when you look at Bobby Nash, Matt Gibson, those guys have alwasy been on the open floor and could shoot the ball. Those guys like the freedom to do that. Matt Gibson is good in the open floor. But we also have to grab boards and that’s where P.J. Owsley and Stephen Verwers come in.

We will also try to get the ball to them in the block.

Continue Reading »

Kelly Grant, the 2007 Hawaii State Coach of the Year for the State Champion Kaimuki Bulldogs, will be the featured coach at the Elite Basketball Academy’s Coaches Clinic on April 21-22 at the University of Hawaii Athletic Complex.

Coach Grant has an extensive basketball resume as both a coach and player. He has coached basketball at the varsity level for over 10 years, including two seasons at Kaimuki when the Bulldogs won back-to-back OIA Championships and reached the State finals twice, winning in the title in 2007. As a player, Grant was a star performer under Tony Selitto at Maryknoll High School and went on to play at the college level at HPU. More about Coach Grant »

The Clinic will include 2 hours of classroom time and 4 hours on the court. The topics that will be covered are: practice schedules, time-management, age-specific drills, various offensive sets, defensive schemes, secondary break, full-court press, breaking the press and more…

Date: Saturday & Sunday, April 21-22, 2007
Time: 9am - 12pm
Location: UH Manoa Athletic Complex
Cost: $60 (or $100 for head coach & assistant) - Includes T-Shirt

Elite Coaches Clinic - Flyer
Elite Coaches Clinic - Registration Form

For more information call 385-5925 or email esahawaii@yahoo.com.

Bob Nash has been named the new head coach of the Unversity of Hawaii Men’s Basketball Team and will get his opportunity to lead the very same university he once played for as a member of the legendary “Fab 5“.

Nash has been on staff with UH for the last 25 years, including being the assistant coach for the last 20 years under Riley Wallace who recently resigned following the 2006-07 season. During his time as an assistant, Nash was in charge of scouting future opponents as well as scheduling opponents for upcoming seasons.

By now, everyone seems to be pretty familiar with Coach Nash, so let’s just end the speculation and see what happens. Just be reminded what day today is… Friday the 13th. Let’s hope that means bad luck for all the other WAC teams. Haha.

Press Conference - Update: (From Stephen Tsai’s Blog)

Nash said he wants a “tougher basketball schedule.”

“Basketball wise, I’m a fast-paced guy,” Nash said, indicating the Rainbows will run a more uptempo offense. He also wants to have more of a pressing defense. He said he wants to give the players more freedom. He said he wants “to let these guys make plays.”

The search for the new University of Hawaii head basketball coach has been narrowed down to four candidates and a preliminary selection is expected within the next few days.

The “Final Four” candidates are: Bob Nash, UH, Associate Head Coach; Dean Demopoulos, Portland Trailblazers, Lead Assistant Coach; Willis Wilson, Rice, Head Coach; Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s, Head Coach

Apparantly, UCLA assistant Donny Daniels was not among those contacted last week by UH to come in for an interview (according to the Honolulu Advertiser).

About the other candidates (not already covered):

Willis Wilson, Rice, Head Coach
Why he should get it: Coach Wilson just completed his 15th season at Rice University compiling an overall record of 216-219 with the Owls, including a record of 16-16 last season. In 2004 and 2005, Rice received bids to the NIT with wins totalling 22 and 18 respectively. In the early 90’s, Wilson spent time on the Stanford coaching staff under Mike Montgomery, making the NCAA tournament in 1992.

Why he shouldn’t: In all his time at Rice, Coach Wilson has a sub-500 record and was never able to lead his team to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Nuff said. Wouldn’t his selection be a step down?

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Ramsey Williams (Moanalua ‘98), the 1997 Star-Bulletin Hawaii State Player-of-the-Year, has resurfaced in the Philippines having been picked up by Harbour Centre of the Philippine Basketball League.

Williams, a reserve guard for the Port Masters, helped the team win the 2007 PBL Silver Cup in a 3-game sweep of the Hapee-PCU Teethmasters in the championship final. Though his minutes were limited, Williams averaged 3.1 assists per game at the point guard spot for Harbour Centre with a season best 9 assists (5 points and 6 rebounds) against Kettle Korn - UST.

During his playing days in Hawaii, Williams was an All-State First Team selection in 1997 and 1998 and a member of the back-to-back state champion, Moanalua Menehune in 1996 and 1997. He was an incredible ballhandler with an innate scoring ability, virtually unstoppable from any spot on the floor.

After high school, Williams spent some time at Leeward Community College and played two seasons at Missouri Valley College and College of the Desert (California). In 2002, he walked on to the University of Hawaii and was a reserve guard for the Warriors, but stayed for only a single season.

[Photo: Star Bulletin]

While programs around the country are signing new coaches, snatching them from the virtual merry-go-round of resignations and acceptances as fast as they possible can, the University of Hawaii is still without a new head coach and may not be left with many choices as the coaching pool gets smaller and smaller with each passing day. The “hopeful” Final Four deadline has passed, but the interviews are still ongoing and hopefully there’s a few good “interested” candidates still left.

Here’s a few that have been mentioned as potential candidates:

Dean Demopoulos, Portland Trailblazers, Lead Assistant Coach
Why he should get it: While Demopoulos (shown, The Seattle Times) would surely bring his NBA experiences (and connections) along with him as a current assistant with the Portland Trailblazers, its his 17 years at Temple University under legendary coach John Chaney that’s the most appealing. During his years at Temple, the Owls became a national powerhouse amassing a record of 393-151, making 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and reaching the Elite 8 on four occasions. As an assistant, Demopoulos was known as the balance to the tempermental Chaney and was the recruiter responsible for bringing in future NBA players Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie.

Why he shouldn’t: Demopoulos has only been a head coach for one year and didn’t do so well. At the University of Missouri - Kansas City, he coached the team to a 14-16 record in his only season before moving on to the Sonics (and eventually to the Blazers). Granted, he didn’t have much time to recruit or implement his system, but its disappointing that he would leave after just one year.

Donny Daniels, UCLA, Assistant Coach
Why he should get it: Daniels would bring a wealth of experience to UH in all facets of the college game having participated as a player, coach and top-level recruiter. His coaching resume as an assistant is extremely impressive as he served 11 years under Rick Majerus at Utah and is currently an assistant under Ben Howland at UCLA. Both are highly respected coaches and programs which Daniels had to have learned a lot from. As a recruiter, Daniels was one of the main influences in bringing future NBA stars Andre Miller and Keith Van Horn to Utah during the Utes’ most successful years. At UCLA, he helped recruit the highly touted Class of 2004 which included Jordan Farmar, Aaron Afflalo, Josh Shipp and Lorenzo Mata.

Why he shouldn’t: There aren’t many reasons as Daniels appears to be among the most well-rounded candidates available, so it’ll probably come down to whether or not he wants to leave UCLA. His only downside may be that after 3 years as the head coach of Cal State Fullerton (his alma mater), the Titans only won 20 total games and as soon as they made the turn, he left for UCLA. People familiar with the situation call his work at Fullerton “a complete turnaround” which could be promising.

Continue Reading »

After spending two years in the NBDL, former University of Hawaii standout Carl English, moved on to Europe to play for Virtus Bologna of the Italian League in 2005-06 and KK Zadar of the Adriatic League this past season (2006-07).

As a starting guard, English helped Zadar to the 2007 Croatian National Championship leading the team in scoring at 20.3 points per game and contributing 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per night. He shot 44.2% from the field including 37.4% from 3-point range and was also named the MVP of the 2006 NLB All-Star Game.

KK Zadar finished in 7th in the Adriatic League with a record of 14-12.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin announced their selections for the 2007 All-State Boys Basketball team today, naming the top 15 players in Hawaii to a single list which they’ve termed the “Fab 15″.

2007 Fab 15 All-State Basketball Team:
Keone Reyes, Kaimuki, F/C, 6-0, Sr.
Miah Ostrowski, Punahou, G, 5-9, Sr.
Beau Albrechtson, Kaimuki, F/C, 6-4, Sr.
Spencer McLachlin, Punahou, F/C, 6-7, Sr.
Scott Smith, Saint Louis, C, 6-7, Sr.
Stevie Austin, Moanalua, G, 5-9, Jr.
Cheynne Lishman, Kalaheo, G/F, 6-1, Jr.
Mea Wong, Kam.-Hawaii, G, 6-0, Sr.
Rykin Enos, Kamehameha, G, 6-0, Sr.
Gary Satterwhite, Radford, G, 6-3, Sr.
Ryan Dung, Iolani, G, 5-10, Sr.
Daniel Colon, Kaimuki, G, 5-9, Sr.
Tyler Caswell, Kalaheo, C, 6-6, Sr.
Tristan Sealy, Thompson, G, 6-3, Sr.
Case Miyahira, Iolani, G, 5-10, Sr.

Player of the Year: Keone Reyes, Kaimuki
Coach of the Year: Kelly Grant, Kaimuki

Derrick Low (Iolani ‘04) is featured in the May 2007 publication of SLAM Magazine under the heading “Picture Me Ballin” which lists three “Under-the-radar players who demand your attention”.

“Derrick Low, Washington State: The WSU Cougars are the shock of the Pac-10 with their 19-4 record as we go to press, and no one (besides perhaps their rising star of a coach, Tony Bennett) is responsible for that mark as this 6-1 junior guard out of Honolulu. Low puts up a team-high 15 ppg while serving as the go-to guy for the grind-it-out Cougs.”