Hawaii Basketball

According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Kameron Steinhoff, a 6-4 forward for the Punahou Buffanblu, is recovering from surgery after having his spleen removed following last Friday night’s game against the St. Louis Crusaders. Also a standout wide receiver, Steinhoff suffered the injury on a hit taken during a Punahou pass play and was transported to the hospital prior to the end of the game.

While no specifics were given, the expected recovery time for a splenectomy is about 4-6 weeks, but for competitive athletes that time can be as long as 4-6 months (to return to competition). Following this type of surgery, patients are more susceptible to bacterial infections because without the spleen, the body loses some of its ability to filter blood (part of the immune response).

Chris Sims, a QB with the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, had a splenectomy around the same time last season and while he did miss the rest of the season, was able to return to the team this year to secure the backup role behind recently signed Jeff Garcia.

Steinhoff was expected to be among the top players in the ILH and the state this season after having a breakout performance in the 2006-07 State Tournament and helping the Buffanblu to the finals. While his family, friends, teammates and coaches, not to mention fans of high school basketball, would love to see him in uniform this year, let’s all join in and pray for his quick and healthy recovery first and worry about the sports part later…

[Photo: Jon B Photography]

The official start dates have been set for the 2007-08 Hawaii High School Basketball season and to alleviate some of the scheduling concerns with the newly added girls teams, the ILH will have a little jumpstart on the rest of the state.

2007-08 Start Dates:
• ILH Boys & Girls: All Levels - October 29th
• OIA Girls: JV/Varsity - November 5th
• OIA Boys: JV/Varsity - November 12th

2008 Hawaii Basketball State Tournament:
• Girls: February 12th - 15th
• Boys: February 20th - 23rd

It’ll be interesting to see how the OIA coaches feel about their competitors in the ILH receiving an extra couple of weeks of prep time (one week for girls)… It’ll also be interesting to see how the ILH teams deal with the added two week overlap with football. For schools like St. Louis, Punahou and Iolani, their basketball teams could be without key players (and a head coach in the case of St. Louis) for up to 5 weeks if their football teams are able to advance to the State Tournament Finals.

Former Iolani School standout Liloa Nobriga, who left the islands this summer to move with his family to Las Vegas, has reappeared at Palo Verde High School in Summerlin.

Currently, the 6-3, 220 lb. junior is a starting outside linebacker for the Panther Football Team. Later in the fall, he will compete for a spot on the basketball team which went 21-5 last season and was upset in the Sunset Region - Northwest Division tournament semifinals.

Considered a perennial contender, the Class 4A Panthers lost several players to graduation so Nobriga has the potential to make an immediate impact when he takes the court this fall.

[Photo: Star Bulletin]