Hawaii Basketball

Four teams set to appear at the 2007 Iolani Prep Classic opened their season ranked in the USA Today High School Basketball Super 25 which was released today:

Montrose Chrisitan (MD), coached by Classic veteran Stu Vetter, will return to Hawaii as the No. 7 ranked team in the country with what he calls one of his “most talented teams”. That’s quite a claim when you consider the teams and players Vetter has coached over the years such as former NBA veteran Dennis Scott (Georgia Tech, Orlando Magic) and recent No.2 Draft Pick Kevin Durant (Texas, Seattle Supersonics). This season, Montrose is touted as having the best core of juniors in the country in 6-6 F Terrell Vinson, 6-7 F Tristan Spurlock and 6-7 F Isaiah Armwood. And if they weren’t big enough already, they also have two recently acquired transfers Temidayo Adebayo (6-10) and Brian Ameka Okam (7-0).

As last year’s New York State Runner-up, Rice (NY) will be back at the Iolani Classic this year with four returning starters. Their talented backcourt is led by Connecticut recruit, PG Kemba Walker, and All-State Selections SG Chris Fouch and Lamont Jones. Rice is ranked No.11 in the USA Today Super 25 and No.4 in the Sporting News.

2006 Iolani Classic Champion Leflore (AL) will be looking to defend their championship in 2007 when they return as the No.16 ranked team in the Super 25. Despite already sporting a huge lineup, the Alabama 6A champions got even bigger (and better) when 6-10 junior center DeMarcus Cousins, the No.3 center in the Class of 2009 according to Scouts, Inc., transfered to LeFlore in late October. 6-5 Marquette-signee Nick Williams, a 2006 All-Tournament team selection, will also be back for the Rattlers.

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Formerly known as “Big Time”, the “Reebok Championships” featured 224 total teams from 39 states, Washington D.C., Belgium and Canada and is widely considered one of the best and biggest open summer tournaments in the country.

Opening pool play on July 22nd, two teams from Hawaii competed in the tournament, but didn’t fare well, picking up just two wins in nine games.

Hawaii Raiders - Results: (0-4)
Pool Play
Illinois Bobcats 60, Hawaii Raiders 37
Hawaii Raiders 50, New Mexico Force 16U 64
Hawaii Raiders 56, Branch West Orange 74

“C” Tournament
Colorado Chaos 17’s Green 70, Hawaii Raiders 68

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With the shift in the girls basketball season, Hawaii fans will have the opportunity to see the island’s best and brightest compete against top level teams from around the country when the nationally renowned Iolani Prep Classic adds a girls division to its highly successful boys tournament in December of this year.

Announced today, the 2007 Iolani Prep Classic will feature an 8-team girls division which will run a few days prior to the boys tournament from December 13-15. While the final field has yet to be set, tournament coordinator Glenn Young has already received commitments from three California schools, two of which are considered among the top teams in the state.

Here’s a quick rundown of the California teams:

Narbonne Gauchos (Harbor City, CA) - Narbonne finished their 2007 season with a record of 26-3, going undefeated in league play (12-0) and winning the Marine League Championship, but were banned from the playoffs as punishment for using an ineligible player during the ‘06 season.

The Gauchos are among California’s top teams year after year and have even contended nationally earning the top spot in USA Today’s Super 25 rankings for two consecutive years in 2000 and 2001. Next season, Narbonne will return 5-8 guard Reiko Thomas and 6-1 forward Gabrielle Clark who recently was named the MVP of the Watts Summer Games after leading the Gauchos to an upset of Division I state champion Long Beach Poly.

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Two teams from the Big Island swept the Division I and Division II titles at the 2007 Hawaii Girls Basketball State Tournament this weekend taking down teams from the ILH in the finals at Stan Sheriff Center.

The Konawaena Wildcats completed their three-day “run for respect” with a 59-47 victory over the Punahou Buffanblu in the Division I Championship game. Despite going 15-0 in the BIIF, Konawaena was given the #2 seed and placed into a tough bracket along with ILH Champion Iolani and OIA 3rd place team Kalani. The Wildcats defeated the Falcons 58-46 in the quarterfinals and advanced to the semfinals where they overcame a 6-point halftime defeat to beat the Raiders 50-41 behind 27 points by star forward Jazzmin Awa-Williams. In the finals, Konawaena got a huge contribution from junior forward Mana Hopkins (26 points, 9 boards) and were able to take down a fiesty Punahou team, leading 27-14 at halftime and holding on for the win.

The 2007 State Championship is the second for Konawaena in the last 4 years. Since 2004, the Wildcats have two state titles (2004 and 2007), one 2nd place finish (2005) and one 4th place finish (2006).

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Disrespect versus improbability…

The Konawaena Wildcats will be out to prove they rightly deserved the #1-seed in this year’s tournament when they face the “no-one-expected-us-to-be-here” Punahou Buffanblu in the finals of the Hawaii Girls Basketball State Tournament. The two teams come into the game after hard-earned wins in the semifinals and will be looking to impose their style of play on the other and capture the 2007 title.

What will each team need to do to win?…

Konawaena will need to execute their offense effectively and get easy opportunities for star forward Jazzmin Awa-Williams who is coming fresh off of a 27 point performance in the semifinals against Iolani. More importantly, the Wildcats will have to handle Punahou’s pressure. If they are able to limit their turnovers and play the same “keep-um-in-front-of-you” defense that stifled the Raiders in the second half of last night’s game, Punahou will have a difficult time putting up enough points to win.

Important Roles: Awa-Williams will need to do it all. Besides scoring, she’ll have to help her guards handle the Buffanblu press and help the bigs control the boards. The Hanato-Smith sisters will need to limit turnovers and make the most out of their offensive opportunities while forward Mana Hopkins will play an important role as a finisher once the Wildcats get past the first wave of Punahou pressure.

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The field is set and the schedule is made… so get ready for the 2007 Hawaii Girls Basketball State Tournament which starts on Tuesday, May 15th at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Full tournament schedule »

Here’s a quick rundown of the DI “contenders” (by seed):

#1 - Roosevelt (14-1): Last year’s state runner-up returns to this year’s tournament as the questionable #1 seed fresh off winning their second consecutive OIA championship on Friday over the Radford Rams. The Rough Riders are led by one of the most gifted players in the state, Iwalani Rodrigues, a 5-8 guard with a smooth handle, accurate jumper and unquestionable athletic ability.

Keys to victory: While “Iwa” will undoubtedly get her points, it will be Roosevelt’s supporting cast that will determine their overall success. Point guard Diana Zane will be instrumental in handling the ball for the Rough Riders and may be called upon to fill the offensive void left by injured guard Tiana Sugui. Sugui, one of the team’s top three-point shooters, missed the OIA final after turning an ankle late in the semifinal game against Farrington. Her return in questionable, but the team and coach Bobby Keanini are hopeful.

#2 - Konawaena (15-0): Despite going undefeated in league play and being ranked #1 in the latest Star Bulletin Top 10 poll, the Wildcats were given the #2 overall seed in the 2007 State Tournament, an interesting move by the committee given Kona’s unblemished record and past success. The Wildcats are led by 5-9 forward Jazzmin Awa-Williams, a 4-year varsity player who was a member of the 2004 State Championship Team and has been among the state’s best the last few years. In the finals of the BIIF Tournament against Honokaa, Awa-Williams scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help her team secure the win.

Keys to victory: The biggest advantage the Wildcats have over the competition is that very few teams have seen then play “in-person” during this 2007 season. While the OIA and ILH have made appearances on TV, Kona has managed to stay “under-the-radar”, choosing to play most of their games on-island rather than travel to Oahu to face other local teams during the preseason. The Wildcats generally employ an uptempo style that overwhelms teams with pressure and transition baskets, but who really knows what they’ll bring when they get to Honolulu…

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The 2006 Iolani Prep Classic featured a few of the top teams in the country as well as some of the best teams from each state. Here’s a rundown of how the team’s fared after starting their preseason in Hawaii:

LeFlore (Mobile, AL) - 2006 Iolani Classic Champion - The Rattlers went on to win the Alabama Class 6A state championship finishing with a record of 32-3 overall and a #14 ranking in the final USA Today Super 25 Poll.

Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, PA) - 2006 Iolani Classic Runner-Up - Ended the season with a record of 28-3 and a #20 USA Today ranking winning the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament as well as capturing the championship of the Philadelphia Catholic League.

Fairfax (Los Angeles, CA) - Won the California State Division I Championship and finished with an overall record of 28-5.

Georgetown Prep (Bethesda, MD) - Prep closed out their season on a 9-game win streak that included the championship game of the Interstate Athletic Conference tournament, but because of a unique point system that factors in each team’s regular season performance, the Little Hoyas (who started the season poorly) finished in 2nd.

Vincent (Milwaukee, WI) - After two losses in the Iolani Classic to Roman Catholic and Iolani, the Vikings only lost one more game the entire season to finish with an overall record of 24-3. Unfortunately, their third loss came in the Wisconsin state finals to last year’s champion, Oshkosh West.

Kaimuki (Honolulu, HI) - After a slow start, the Bulldogs went on to win the Oahu Interscholastic Conference championship as well as the 2007 Hawaii Division I State championship.

Date: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 2:00pm HST
Network: ESPN (preceded by the Dunk and 3-point Contest at 1:00pm)

While you won’t get to see any Hawaii players in the 2007 McDonald’s All-American Game (none have every participated), you will get to catch an early glimpse of a few of guys that will be on college rosters when their teams travel to Maui later this year to play in the 2007 Maui Invitational sponsored by EA Sports.

2007 Maui Invitational McDonald’s All-Americans:
James Harden, 6-5, 215, Guard - Arizona State
James Anderson, 6-7, 195, Forward - Oklahoma State
Taylor King, 6-8, 218, Guard - Duke
Kyle Singler, 6-9, 210, Forward - Duke
Nolan Smith, 6-3, 190, Guard - Duke

Also, don’t miss your chance to see two of the top high school players in the country who will be playing opposite Derrick Low (Washington State) in the Pac-10 next season:

Future Pac-10 Stars:
O.J. Mayo, 6-4, 190, Guard - USC
Kevin Love, 6-10, 255, Forward - UCLA

See the complete roster for the 2007 McDonald’s All-American Game »

Though none were selected, the nominees from Hawaii included:

Boys: Rykin Enos, Kamehameha-Oahu; Miah Ostrowski, Punahou; Gary Satterwhite, Radford; Tristan Sealy, Thompson Academy; Scott Smith, St. Louis; Mea Wong, Kamehameha-Hawaii

Girls: Courtney Gaddis, Kalani; Keisha Kanekoa, Honokaa; Ashley Metcalf, Christian Academy