Hawaii Basketball

Derrick Low (Iolani ‘04) caught on video working out with the Phoenix Suns. (Watch his interview about 6 minutes in. Thanks, Jon).

Projected to be a late second round pick, at best, Low has worked out for the New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Seattle Sonics and the Dallas Mavericks and, should he go undrafted, could be signed as free agent by any one of those five teams. Whether he makes a regular season roster is yet to be seen, but there’s a good chance that he’ll be on a team this summer in one of the various NBA summer leagues that open in July.

Just nasty… Like MJ over Ewing back in the day. At least KG knew better than to jump.

From The Big Lead, Portland Trailblazers’ #1 pick Greg Oden rockin’ a Superbad tee and sipping some high-quality boxed wine at a house party on the Penn State campus. (Can someone check his ID… You think he has the Hawaii Driver’s License too?)

Or tries to… Check out TNT commentator, and former 1990 NBA Slam Dunk Runner-up, Kenny Smith as he attempts to jump over an Aston Martin.

“The Converse Weapon… The #1 Weapon in the NBA.” Commercials (and hip-hop) have come a long way… Haha. If NIKE remade this commercial (since they now own Converse), who do you think would replace Magic, Isiah, McHale, Aguirre, King and Bird?

Check out this new promo of Kobe jumping over a moving Aston Martin in the soon-to-be-released Nike Hyperdunk, touted as the lightest and strongest basketball shoe ever.

The Hyperdunk weighs in at just 13.0 ounces and features two new Nike technologies — Flywire, extremely lightweight and strong footwear construction, and Lunarlite, an extremely lightweight foam cushioning system.

The fact that he only plays basketball professionally is disappointing…

Steve Nash, the two-time NBA MVP, could be doing so much more. Besides being a decent tennis player and skateboarder, the guy is apparently good enough in soccer to play for the Canadian National Team.

On top of that, he’s also an avid filmmaker. Last summer, Nash wrote, pitched and produced this commercial for Nike on a $30K budget… It’s legit!

T.J. Ford of the Toronto Raptors drops the Knicks’ Jared Jeffries on an inside-out dribble… then sticks the “J”.

Not much to say… its just plain ugly. Ughhhh. He’s in the NBA for goodness sake. You’d think the Rockets could find someone to fix him.

With a strong performance at the 2007 Pan American Games, Derrick Low (Iolani ‘04) has improved his draft status, being placed in the latter part of the second round as the 53rd pick of the Chicago Bulls in NBADraft.net’s most recent mock draft for 2008.

While the site has no actual bearing on when or by whom he will be drafted (if at all), his being mentioned does show that he’s at least “on the radar.” At 53rd, Low is listed behind several other point guards including Darren Collison of UCLA, Drew Neitzel of Michigan State, Ty Lawson of UNC and a few incoming freshman phenoms - Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo and Eric Gordon, though they are more shooting guards than point guards.

Low’s experience, toughness and shooting ability should draw some interest from NBA scouts who will be looking for a reliable player at the point who can handle the ball, defend and hit the open shot…

View the 2008 NBA Mock Draft »

ESPN, in collaboration with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, granted the wish of one Honolulu youngster earlier this year when they sent Noa Ornellas to Chicago to meet Dwyane Wade in the first segment of the five-part Sportscenter series “My Wish”.

Ten year-old Noa, an avid basketball player and lifetime Miami Heat fan, was born with biliary atresia, a rare liver defect that primarily affects newborns. At birth, he was given very little chance of surviving, but finally made it out of the hosipital after receiving a new liver and fighting off a life-threating infection. To this day, Noa remains on anti-rejection medication and is kept out of high-contact sports (to protect his liver), but loves to play basketball where he tries his best to emulate his hero, Dwyane Wade.

Watch the ESPN Video »

Former Kalaheo and University of Hawaii standout Alika Smith was named the first head coach of Hawaii’s only professional basketball team, the Hawaii Hurricanes. The Hurricanes are a new member of the American Basketball Association which features 50+ teams from cities around the country.

Smith, a two-year assistant coach with the University of Hawaii, has been interviewing for various coaching positions over the last few months since his was informed by new head coach Bob Nash that his contract would not be renewed for the upcoming season. Team owners hope the Hawaii-born product will help the team establish a strong local following after a standout career for the University of Hawaii where he is still the third-leading scorer in UH history.

What was most exciting about Smith’s hiring was his quote that he “want(s) local kids on the team, definitely.” Hopefully he’ll get the chance to sign a few when tryouts begin in August.

The Washington State Cougars closed out their six-game tour of New Zealand and Australia with a 73-65 win over the Cairns Marlins and will return home having won 4 of their 6 games against national and professional competition.

Senior guard Derrick Low led the team in scoring at 22.2 points per game over the 6-game stretch with highs of 35 and 30. His 35-point outburst came in a 102-101 loss to the 3-time National Basketball League Champion Sydney Kings, a game in which he hit 11 of 18 from 3-point range.

Players and coaches will visit the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow before returning home Friday.

Tour Scores and Statistics »

[Photo: GordonG.com]

The Seattle Times released the test results from the NBA Pre-Draft Camp held this past weekend in Orlando, Florida and, apparently, Kevin Durant, the 2005 Iolani Classic Most Oustanding Player and expected #2 pick in next month’s NBA draft, isn’t quite the physical speciman many expected him to be.

What was most astounding was the fact that the 6-9, 210 lb freshman phenom couldn’t manage to lift the 185 lb weight in the bench press. Not even once. Though he also performed below average in the vertical jump (33.5 max) and every other performance category, Durant did manage to show that he is extremely long, recording a wingspan of 7 feet 4.75 inches, a half inch longer than expected #1 pick Greg Oden (Oden didn’t attempt the bench press due to his previous wrist injury, but performed fairly well in other tests).

All players at the camp were measured, weighed, tested for body fat percentage, vertical leap and 185lb bench press, and timed in the lane agility drill and 3/4 court sprint. In the “Lane Agility Drill”, cones are setup on each block and at the elbows (4 cones total) and players timed as they sprint, slide, backpedal and slide to each cone in one direction and then back again in the other direction.

[Photo: The Washington Post]

Ever wonder what kind of athletes make the NBA?…

Continue Reading »

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)