Here is my picks for the BIIF. However, these are subject to change.
1. Hilo- They are now heavily favored with the acquisition of Shintani and Allen, but how will they fit into Hilo's game plan? Where will Shintani play with Scottie Wong already playing his position? How will Allen keep up with the uptempo style? (kind of like the "Nellie Ball" of our league if you may) Getting those 2 transfers also puts even more pressure on Hilo to win this year.
2. St. Joseph- being a D2 team people will think that I am definitely going out on a limb here. However, they're performance in the NJB Summer League was outstanding. With role players getting better, and they're starting 5 even better than last year they are looking really tough. They're Princeton style offense is still a mystery on how to guard...aside from just zoning up. Then you face their deadly 3 point shooting from Ohara-Saft, Scanlan-Leite, Andrade, and even Monberg. Also, being by far the hardest working team in the league is a huge reason they have so much potential, along with great coaching. They will definitely be making A LOT of noise this year....trust me.
3. Waiakea- The losses of Allen and Shintani will definitely hurt them. However, they still keep in tact a solid bench that will do a fine job replacing those two, and look for Isaak Janado to step into Shintani's role and play big for Waiakea this season.
4. Kamehameha- A young, but extremely talented Kamehameha team will do fine this year. The addition of Shaun Kagawa will definitely help them out big time as they add an athletic wing with him. The question for them though, is who is going to hit threes and outside shots? Look for teams to play a lot of zone against them this year if they don't fix their biggest flaw.
5. Kohala- With Bautista in his final year Kohala will most likely finish 2nd in D2 to St. Joes and 5th overall. However, St. Joe's beating them still isn't going to be an easy task. Their press is still tough with a quick young team and Bautista leading the charge. However, their lack of height will definitely hurt them a lot, especially against Thomas Fairman at 6'5" for St. Joes, with Kohala's next tallest player barely scrapping 5'10."
6. Pahoa- The three keys for them this year are, Isaiah Ekau, point guard play, and Isaiah Ekau. Losing Sheyten Waters and John Viernes is a huge blow to the Daggers. However, if, (and this is a huge IF), Ekau can keep his grades up he will make a lot of noise. He is one of the most athletic players this league has seen by far with that kind of height...aside from maybe Wes Cabreros. Also with a new coach coming in how will the team adjust? Not having a true point guard will hurt them as well, look for a lot of full court pressure against Pahoa this year. Still having John Byrd and Isaiah Ekau will give them one of the biggest front lines in the BIIF.....and you can't teach height. If those flaws are fixed they could easily move anywhere between 6 and 2 in BIIFs.
7. Keaau- The loss of Tume Jackson is huge for them. They will struggle this year with having no primary offensive weapon. If they want to move up in the BIIF it will most likely have to be from tough defense. On offense the creativity of Richie Handy will cause a lot of match up problems for everyone. Haku Ishibashi is a great ball handler, but he does tend to over dribble a lot. Either he can be a wizard on offense or a dud....he is a shoot or miss kind of player right now, and being a senior that is most likely not going to change.
.........those are my top 7 in the BIIF.
