If Hawaii had one all-star team... if Hawaii Hoops could get the funding... if anyone could play...
Who would make your 2008 Hawaii "Dream Team"?
(Remember: It's the best 12-player team, not the 12 best players.)
Hawaii High School Basketball Forum
Hawaii Hoops - Forum » High School Boys
2008 Hawaii Hoops Dream Team
(84 posts)-
Posted 3 months ago #
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Nice Hoops, Gonna take a little time to put this list together. I do have a few to start with though:
Marcus Holyfield - Best player in the state. The guy you want to have the ball when you need a score.
Pablo Warner - Guy will give his body for the team
Manti Teo - Need someone to grab every rebound
Pii Minns - Doenst care that much about scoring and can stop pretty much everybody in the state on D
Marcus Monroe - Need another solid scoring option other than Holyfield
Tyler Terai - I know that this one will be disputed, but he can handle the ball as good as anyone in the state and can break a press by himself. Plus has great vision and knows how to use his size to his advantage.
I will work on getting you the others. And yes I do have mostly ILH players at this point because I watched most of their games last year. I will try to add some other players to the list.Posted 3 months ago # -
Right on board with you 69 on your first picks. I submit to you all, my roster...
Marcus Holyfield: The best scorer in the state and plays his butt off on D. Will not hesitate to challenge any competition, as evidenced by his nasty throwdown against nationally ranked Mater Dei this summer.
Pablo Warner: Needs to work on his help D but no one can stop him off the dribble. Has the biggest heart in the state and wants nothing more than to win and prove himself against the highest competition.
Manti Te'o: Which mainland team would consider messing with our team if he was on the squad? Plays as hard as he is talented.
Pi'i Minns: I feel like he is one of those players who would be a lot more effective if he wasn't the most talented player on the court. His athleticism and willingness to play hard are also to be commended.
Marcus Monroe: Another great scorer. If he gets his head right and plays within the system he will be great this year. And with the best coach in the state not named Doc coaching him up, he will be great.
Tyler Terai: Hit the nail on the head 69, the one man press breaker. Teammates would love to be on the receiving ends of his passes.
Jray Galeai: Along with Gaddis, you need someone who would accept his role and play hard D and compete every possession. Having a talented backup like this is a pure luxury.
Kainoa Gaddis: And you need someone who not only knows his role, but will speak up if the team isn't competing up to standard.
Randy Starks: The ultimate glue guy. For how small he is, I have NEVER seen him get his shot blocked. He leads the break, plays aggressive D, rebounds like a post and goes to the basket with ferocity.
Trevyn Tulonghari: I know he is much more than a shooter, but he would play the Michael Redd role on this team and bust zones to death. But you know there would be one game, like Redd's game against Argentina if I remember correctly, where he would be the best player on the court.
Kenny Ellis: When healthy, he's the most skilled big man in Hawaii. Consistently 'plays-up' against better competition, but gets lazy sometimes.
Malik Johnson: The future pick a la Kevin Durant of a few years ago. You don't have to play him a minute but you want him there for the long-term. An excellent young man, he wouldn't complain about minutes but he would compete hard in practice and would relish his chance to be on the squad.
-Just missed the cut
Matt Feldman: Only because he seemed to be playing a bit more selfish this summer. Team might need another ball-handler.
Cole Shidaki: Same reason as above. No doubting his talent.
Kainoa Scheer: Love his game, but heard he underachieved in Vegas. He's the next big man on board for sure.
DeForest: Another future pick. HUGE UPSIDE POTENTIAL!!! Haha, Bill Simmons’ Kiper jokes crack me up.
Auwae DeRego: Is he still playing basketball? Because I saw him last year and thought he was great. A true Shane Battier type.
Dalton Hilliard: A monster competitor. Sometimes his temper/confidence gets him trouble, but he is a division one athlete for sure.
Desmond Tautofi: Another big guy who needs refined technique, and with more excellent coaching from Grant, he will be a monster.
Blake Viena: Kid will run through walls and fight Shaq for position. Love his motor and disposition.
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That's about it for me. I'm a bit ILH-centric for sure, and have no knowledge whatsoever of the outer islands, but I think that team could win some games on the mainland!Posted 3 months ago # -
Wow! Raiderhoops, I'm impressed with the homework you did. Kudos!!!
Posted 3 months ago # -
Nice job Raider, you really did break each player down nicely. One thing though, didn't shidaki graduate? I thought that he was a senior last year. Anyway very nice job.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Man/bballfan69 why do you know so much about teenage boys? Isn't anyone else alarmed?
Posted 3 months ago # -
I think Randy Stark is a very underrated player. Now that Coach Tacon has taken away ball-handling duties, Starks can focus on other things.
He is their best on-ball & one-on-one defender. He guards he opponents best scorer. Even though he has that duty, he is still smart and athletic enough to stay in the proper help positions, yet not losing his primary defensive responsibility.
He is quick enough to be up in the offensive player's grill, yet strong and quick enough to stop dribble penetration.
He is remarkably strong with a quick first step. He can float away from the ball since he doesn't have to initiate offense anymore. He is smart enough to find the gaps in the defense, so when the ball rotates he can attack quickly.
His outside shot is still erratic and streaky. Right now I'd say his range is out to 10-15 feet, but that is much farther than last year.
And like another poster wrote, I haven't seen one of his dribble drives ever get blocked.
Posted 3 months ago # -
RaiderHoops12 picked Gaddis, Ellis, Johnson, Feldman. Great picks. Sounds like a Honolulu Sharks fan to me. The Sharks have the edge on All Star players. Punahou will prevail.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Man, I really think the caliber of play and players are really down. Many of these guys on the list wouldn't even make the top 25 list in previous years.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Holyfield, Warner, Gaddis, Ellis, Johnson, Feldman. I think that Punahoupride is correct. Raiderhoops12 is a Sharks fan.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Holyfield, Monroe, Galeai, Warner, Tautofi, Teo would be my regular 6 rotating starters. Minns, McClinton and Hillard would be my 3 reserves. I would not play everyone unless we were in foul trouble.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Hello Hihoopfan, I dont think that I was the one that wrote the in depth detailed story about all of the players. When someone asks a question like that it is usually one that they think about themselves. If you are that way then I think that I speak for everyone on here when I ask that you not post on here anymore. I believe that yu have issues. Nobody on here has ever taken it to that point and I know that no matter how heated we all get we would not think or say something like that. You really need to go and get some help and please stay away from the courts.
Nice job to the rest of you, even my mortal enemy did a nice job of breaking down Stark. Better be careful, we have a predator on our site now.Posted 3 months ago # -
Howzit Everyone, RH12 I have seen that kid Malik play a few times and always thought that with the right coaches and at the right school this kid would be unstopable. Huge talent, good size, good height, athletic, humble and very supportive parents. He's at Punahou next year (sucks) and just might be a future POY for sure. Happy to see someone else recognize that.
Posted 3 months ago # -
I don't like the Terai pick. While his motor is non-stop and he can break a press, why would u need one man to break a press? That is just foolish. We all know that the ball moves faster than a dribbler.
With the proper scheme and execution, the press would be moot, which should lead to easy baskets. Allowing Terai to dribble and beat the press by himself would allow the defense to recover. I don't see the logic there.
Also, he would be a defensive liability. Against mainland teams, the larger guards would expose him in the paint.
I am not saying he isn't a quality player and very effective in Hawaii. But I'm assuming that a Dream Team would compete against the nation's best.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Also, Manti is not as physical as everyone thinks. He is much worse than the Unga Brothers from Kahuku a few years back. He has no back to the basket game. He can't face up either. Also for his size he doesn't board well. He needs to use his strength better. In football he often has a running start at his opponents. Maybe in a more stationary position, he isn't as strong. Who knows?
Warner is a good pick because he is active and he probably moves the best without the ball. But he is a little small. He also needs to improve his range.
Feldman struggles in half-court sets. He is okay in transition because there is more open space. In the half-court, his size limits his vision. He often gets his balls tipped or he gets bumped off his line due to his small stature.
Holyfield is good, but he disappears in big games and doesn't like contact. He doesn't do well inside and loves to use the baseline to eliminate physical play. He needs to move better without the ball, especially on the weak side. He needs to learn how to fade and use his picks much better. With his shot, that would open up huge lanes for him to exploit.
Monroe seems to have the most upside of all the players on the list. He is a 6'5-6'6 kid who just stated to play ball who can shoot. His handles need to get better and he needs to not challenge every shot. He does get into foul trouble. He needs to work harder on defense. A kid who is that athletic should not be beaten on the dribble so easily. But he can score and play above the rim, something that is not common for Hawaii players.
Minns is a good complimentary player. But he will never be elite because he doesn't have a go-to move nor the killer instinct. But he is a good role-player. He plays defense. He is active and plays the passing lanes well. But offensively, he scores due to effort, not skill which necessarily isn't a bad thing.
Scheer is going to be good, but right now he is too inconsistent.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Well said HF, in fact so good how about an honest opinion breakdown on Tautofi, Hillard, Dumlao, Galeai and B. Viena please. Thank you.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Tautofi has incredible footwork and nice touch around the rim. Plus since he's left-handed, he gives post defenders fits. However, he needs to use his size better and his motor is average at best. I have seen games where he goes about 18-22 with 8-10 boards. Then the next game he goes 5-3. He is too talented to disappear.
Hilliard has never refined his game. Maybe it's because his number #1 sport is football. Offensively he can't shoot. His ball-handling is ok. He is explosive but has a hard time beating his man off the dribble since he never refined his one-on-one skills. He over-commits on defense. He needs to stop going for the highlight-reel play and just use basic basketball fundamentals and he would be more effective.
Viena is really outstanding. Kamehameha runs absolutely no sets for him, yet he makes his mark. he sets picks, is one of the most active post players in the state, and has an incredible motor. He thinks he can get every board. He often beats the guards back in transition which shows how hard he plays since he has to cover more ground to recover due to him playing in the paint. Plus he finishes at the rim. How could a coach not like him?
I haven't seen enough of Dumlao or Galeai to make a fair assessment, sorry....
Posted 3 months ago # -
Yes I do agree that the ball moves faster than the dribbler, and that a good press break will beat a press. A guy like Terai makes it so that other teams don't have a chance to set up their press. And the thing that I saw in him is that he can make some great passes, sometimes ones that his teammates weren't ready for. Now yes he would be a liability on D, but that is what you have help D and switching for. Anyway we can agree to disagree on this one, but I would want a guy on my team that can get by a press before it even sets up. As for Manti, i think you nailed that one. He doesn't play that aggressive on the court. I have seen him do it, but just not that much. He did appear to have a nice shot from about 10 feet in, but at that range he would have to shoot it over guys 6'8" and that isn't going to happen. But he is the strongest rebounder that this state has and if there was an all star team, he would have to be on it.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Good job again guys. Please breakdown Makaula (Punahou), Chu (Iolani), Skulman (Iolani), Gonsalves (St. Louis) and McClinton (St. Louis). Thank you again.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Sorry but I have to disagree. Even with help defense, they will be exposed. Also, I don't like switching defense. If you notice, NBA teams rarely use switching because the right schemes and counters will always create mismatch using the switching man. So assuming they have good coaching, Terai will still get exposed.
Also, on made baskets, if the team takes the ball and runs either a secondary break, press-breaker, or sideline break, that should beat the press back.
For example, even if the ball is in-bounded, assuming the offense is in the proper position, the point guard should not have the ball in his hand for that long. So, Terai, or whoevers, should only have the ball long enough to take 1 or 2 dribbles and the ball should be out of their hands via the pass.
So I can't see why you would want a point guard breaking the press, or beating the press before it sets up. Don't you think if the press wasn't set-up, the pass would still move the ball faster, and most likely be able to get a much cleaner shot since the ball will move up the court quicker and beat the defense back?
Posted 3 months ago # -
WE can argue about this all day long, you have your opinion and I have mine. I am not trying to say that Terai is the greatest player in the world. What I watched of him last year was a kid that would beat both the D and his own team up the floor with the ball a lot last year. This led to him getting some easy lay-ups. Yes he would be exposed on D at times, but if you want a player like that on your team then you have to be able to make up for his weaknesses, which in this case would be his halfcourt D. His size is his advantage in the full court, both on O and on D. If you watch a lot of mainland games, most like to run full court man to man D. This makes it more difficult to just throw the ball up the court. This is where a player with his ball-handling skills would come in. You look at his size as a weakness. I look at it as a strength. What is with you always cutting down the Maryknoll guys? Or are you just looking to argue with me? Either way, we will always have different opinions on this one. Would you tell Tacon that he was an idiot for letting austin just dribble the ball up the court last year. I went to quite a few of their games and he was a 1 man press breaker. It seemed to work for them.
Posted 3 months ago # -
To answer your question about getting the ball up the court before the D sets up. Most coaches teach their kids to run back in lanes on D. This keeps them wide and helps them take away the pass up the court. So with that being taken away, yes I would want a PG that could just blow by all of them, especially if the other team was taking the pass away. You make good points, but so do I and we will never know who would be right in the situation.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Next time I talk to Coach Tacon I will tell him. The analogy with Stevie Austin is not a fair one. Obviously there are always exceptions to the rule such as Austin, Low, Ostrowski in the past 5 years. But Austin has proven to be an elite talent in Hawaii (last year). Did you see what he did against Iolani in states? He almost took Moanalua to the state finals.
Austin is a finisher around the rim, Terai is not. Terai is a fine player. But, he is doing this against short guards in Hawaii. With 6'0 and taller guards, the passing lanes will be smaller and he will be exposed. It's not like he has Mugsy Bogues' kind of speed.
Terai is a complimentary to above-average player at best. He is not elite. Plus Austin usually gets the ball going up the court, and rarely catches the ball under the basket after a make.
If being small was an advantage, then wouldn't many premier point guards be under 5'7? But if you look at most Division I schools, how many have point guards (even 2 deep) are that small? So I believe that most recruiters/coaches do not put a premium on small point guards.
So it is fair for you to say that you feel being small is an advantage. But the numbers do not support your argument.
Honestly, the only worth I can see is to have him play like 6-8 minutes per half to change tempo and pace, kind of like throwing a knuckle-baller after a fireballer.
How am I cutting down Maryknoll guys? I have only talked about Terai? Who else have I ever talked about with regards to Maryknoll, ever?
I just said that I don't believe Terai is one of the elite players who should warrant being on a Dream Team in Hawaii. That doesn't mean he is bad or junk, just not one of the tops in my opinion.
As for Austin being a one man press-breaker, I rarely saw a team press Moanalua. Tacon runs his secondary sets into early offense. He is always looking for a quick score to increase tempo. So playing a fast tempo allows Stevie to dribble more and also look to pass the ball ahead which is what he does a lot.
And when Stevie was playing off-guard, they were looking at pushing the ball up via the pass, and not the dribble. If you recall, Tacon was trying to develop a point probably to relieve Austin of so much offensive responsibility.
I know for a fact that Coach Tacon stresses passing the ball up the court in transition over the dribble.
Posted 3 months ago # -
One guy is smart, the other guy just thinks he is.
Posted 3 months ago # -
I think you missed the point fanatic. I am in no way comparing Austin and Terai in basketball ability. What I am comparing is just bringing the ball up the court. Both of them did an outstanding job of getting the ball up the court before the D had a chance to set up. Now yes when it gets into a half court game Terai will struggle. I think that it will depend on how the game is going. If you are just running and gunning up and down the court, then I would want a kid like Terai to get the ball up the court. If you were working your half court sets, then now I would not think he would see the floor. I only went to a few games last year, and I did see teams try to press but were not able to because of Austin. I also think that teams that did not press made that choice because of Austin as well. The games that I say Maryknoll play, teams pulled off their presses because of Terai. Kam stopped pressing and Iolani stopped picking up full court because he was blowing right by both presses. I was also at the semi final games when Mary played Damien and Damien had a 15-20 point lead and Terai took over the game. He ended up with something like 24 pts and probably 7 assists. Yes it was Damien but he did take over. The fact is that it really doesn't matter who would be on a team like this, they would still get their butts kicked on the mainland. Thank you for all of the great debating on this Fanatic, I can appreciate your knowledge on this matter. We may not agree but you do make great points.
Now to you hihoopfan, didnt I say we dont need a molester like you on here. Thinking about men looking at boys is just sick. You really need to get some help. I dont want to see you on "How to catch a Predator" I wish you all the luck in getting the help you need. Maybe you should just get rid of your computer then you won't have the itch to get on there and look for young boys to come over and play video games with. Good luck sicko.
Posted 3 months ago #
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