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'The Thrill' is thrilling

(31 posts)

Started 1 year ago by Hi-Low
Latest reply from Luna86

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Hi-Low
Member

If the BIIF boys basketball season started tomorrow, no one is more ready for an outstanding senior year than St. Joseph's Will "The Thrill" Scanlan-Leite.

I've seen Will play throughout the summer and he's is playing great basketball right now. This past week, he was named the most outstanding camper in the Vulcans Hawaii Basketball School, beating out teammate Sebi Ohara-Saft and Waiakea's Isaak Janado for the top award in the 32-player elite division. (The camp drew 150 campers.)

Will, a 5-foot-10 point guard, is not only controlling the game's tempo, like a younger-version Jason Kidd, but he's also shooting the ball with a lot of confidence. Add to that, he's attacking the defense and either getting all the way to the rim or hitting an open teammate.

Will has matured as a player and an individual. He will be one of the top three players in the BIIF this coming season and one of the top point guards in the state. Without question, he's the best passer on the Big Island and will be the glue to what should be another great year for Coach Harry Scanlan-Leite's Cardinals.

Sebi, a 6-2 guard/forward, is also playing outstanding basketball. His valuable experience playing with the Iolani Raiders team on Oahu this summer has boosted his confidence and he's almost unstoppable with the ball -- able to score from 3-point range, on a pull-up jumper or attacking the basket more than he's ever done.

Will, Sebi and 6-4 Thomas Fairman led St. Joseph to the Big Island summer league title earlier this summer, beating Kamehameha. The deep-and-talented Warriors are being picked to win the BIIF's Division I title this year. St. Joseph is the D-II favorite.

Kohala's Chris Roxburgh and Andrew Trump also played well at the Vulcan Camp. Also showing improved games were Waiakea's Cameron Ita, Rylan Kawazoe, Owen Sandstrom and incoming freshmen Bryson Ita and Luke St. George. Kealakehe's Brenton Shropshire, a 6-5 sophomore, also showed unlimited potential. He just needs to gain more confidence and play as much hoops as he can.

The upcoming BIIF season could be a memorable one with outstanding players like Will, Sebi, Isaak, Richie Handy and Lanaki Apele to mention just a few.

Posted 1 year ago #
KeaauFan1
Member

@HiLow
Thanks for update on Vulcan Camp. Saw the Thrill play summer league along with most of the other players you listed.I agree Kam with Lanaki and Shaun D1 favorites St.Joe with Will,Sebi And Thomas DII co-favorites with HPA/Honokaa.
Any Keaau players who caught your attention at the Vulcan camp or this summer?

Posted 1 year ago #
Hi-Low
Member

KeaauFan1 -- I didn't get a chance to see a lot of the summer league games, like only five or six. But obviously, Richie Handy is going to be a stud this season and take the Cougars as far as he and his teammates can.

A question for you? Who will be the Keaau boys coach this coming season? There are various rumors circulating and the coach could make a difference. Good luck to all the Keaau players and the coaches.

On a team to watch note, HPA could be a force with the addition of two more foreign exchange students and a BIIF transfer from Kona-side who's a good scorer. Rokas will be a monster in the middle for the Ka Makani.

Posted 1 year ago #
bibbyboi
Member

Nice write up but Will aint 5-10...lol....

Posted 1 year ago #
Hi-Low
Member

bibbyboi -- I was told both Will and you are 5-10 in heels! (lol) Would 5-9 be more appropriate? Or should we say "The Thrill" is playing like he's 6-3! It's your call, BB.

Posted 1 year ago #
Hi-Low
Member

bibbyboi -- I drove down to St. Joseph tonight to see Will play in open gym. He's 5-foot-8 3/4 inches .... which rounds off to 5-9.

From here on out, The Thrill will be listed at 5-9 ... without heels. (lol)

Grammer: You should have haole-ized it by saying: "William Scanlan-Leite is actually 5-foot-9 in basketball shoes. That's based on a measuring tape that I used on him as well as the sun and stars to gather his exact verical alignment on Earth."

Then add: "If you don't like it, no matter, I ain't going to do nothing about it."

Posted 1 year ago #
Kainoa808
Member

WOW. Are you his father Hi-Low? How and why would you waste all of your time writing this? Better yet, where do you find the time to commend Hawaii basketball anyways? We all know HI bball is a joke, and your praising a 5'8 polynesian guard that wouldn't set foot on the worst of junior college's teams. Let's stop this nonsense talk already...

Posted 1 year ago #
jonnyboy
Member

Whose the Kona transfer to HPA?

Posted 1 year ago #
KeaauFan1
Member

@Kainoa808
In case you didn't notice it's called HAWAII HOOPS FORUM. You think we care about mainland basketball? Not one topic has been about mainland high school basketball.It may not be the best but we still love our Hawaiian Players and Hawaii Basketball.If you think it's a waste of time to talk about HI bball then you're a joke cause that's what this site is all about.
Keep up the good work HI-LOW.Don't listen to the haters. And good luck to Will the Thrill and all the other great Big Island players this year.

Posted 1 year ago #
OldG
Member

Kainoa808~ it's comments like yours that make other bloggers think negatively of us Hawai'i island basketball fans. There's no need to bring some bad vibes into this. It's all good my friend.

Though Hi-Low is not coach Harry at all, he does know a thing or two about basketball. I know that you are aware of that. So why do you have to disrespect him?

If Will makes it to the next level, then be proud that a student athlete from Hawai'i nei has that opportunity. Can you tell us who the worst junior college teams are? Please tell us so I will not waste my time looking for a college for my son to attend.

Posted 1 year ago #
Hi-Low
Member

OldG -- There are a little over 100 junior colleges in the state of California alone, and most have sports programs that have seen Hawaii athletes successfully compete at that level. Luna86, for example, played hoops at Mendocino JC in northern California, while I played a year at Santa Rosa JC before going on to finish my career at UH-Hilo.

And if Hawaii basketball fans followed the sport in the past eight to 10 years, they'd know that there are more and more boys and girls going on to play at the JC, NAIA, or NCAA D-I and II levels than ever before.

Only a few Hawaii players go on to play D-I, but if you're a player and want to play, there is always a place across the country. For example, former Waiakea guard Jamielynn Moe went to play at Saddleback Junior College in southern California, while ex-teammate Kamie Imai will attend Utah State this coming year on a basketball scholarship.

Kainoa808 can take shots at others, but what's his resume? Did he play in college or is he still in high school? Most of the bloggers on this site are current or former players, or coaches, and share their love for the game.

The bottom line is: Good luck to all the Hawaii athletes in their pursuit of a quality college education and playing sports. Then once they get their degree and finish their playing careers, hopefully they'll come back to Hawaii to coach and make a difference.

Posted 1 year ago #
RooseveltCoach
Member

Well said Hi-Low. Hope your summer is going well. Don't think we are going to make it to the St. joe preseason tourney. Just dont have the funds this year to bring the team. But I am sure we will catch up sometime during the season. Take care.

Posted 1 year ago #
Hi-Low
Member

RC -- Glad things are going well for you. Good luck to your players at the Channing Frye Camp. Every chance a player gets to work on his/her game is well spent, developing good technique and muscle-memory habits that will carry over into the games.

I'm sure we'll run into one another at some point this coming season, and maybe next summer, hook up in a camp.

I spent three weeks this summer teaching at camps (Oahu, Maui and Big Island), dealing with almost 400 players. It was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. Now, after a long vacation, I'm heading back to my real job.

Take care - Hi-Low

Posted 1 year ago #
OldG
Member

Hi-Low Jamielynn is attending Saddleback JC where Andy Ground coaches the mens BBall team. I take 3 business trips to that area annually. I'm hoping to catch a few of her games during the winter.

Thanks for the info about different JC's. I was kinda wanting to know if Kainoa808 could tell me the worse JC though. In any case my friend you have a great 4th

Posted 1 year ago #
Hi-Low
Member

OldG -- Andy Ground's team won the state JC men's basketball title this past season, a year after finishing second the previous season.

Andy, who played for the Vulcans in the mid-1980s, is one of the top JC coaches in California and he worked the Vulcans-Hawaii Basketball School last summer. That's where he met Jamielynn Moe and helped point her toward Saddleback.

Andy was not available this summer for the Vulcan Camp, but hopefully he'll return in the future. He was a great addition and someone who could open the JC door for Hawaii players wanting to go to California to attend school.

I hope you'll get to see Jamielynn play. She's a really nice girl and a great outside shooter. Since you help at Waiakea, you know it's all good with her, a true student-athlete.

Have a great July 4th ... and we should know soon where LeBron will sign.

Posted 1 year ago #
hoopwaiian
Member

will is the heart and soul of team....... st.joseph, this year, is going to be better than last years team. with the maturing of sebi ( saft will keep defenses honest) and fairman, you throw in that other big, cody andrade, (6'3"-6'4") that aint bad! "thrill" set up jacob andrade, ALOT, last season. with sebi being able to look over the D, will's going to get alot of looks and cash in! came up to me during a recent game ( was getting blown out by paiea at BGCLUB) question some calls. gave him my reason and answer, and the next game, both he and dad came over and apologized and told me after looking at the tape, the calls were right on ! classy people! capable of spashing 30 on any given night. like his spirit! most emotional of THAT group. ( imagine if "thrill", ritchie, kainoa, "knock it" and "money", all went to the same high school? )

Posted 1 year ago #
HawN
Member

@johnny boy
Kona has no transfer, the boy is 6'1" coming outta 8th grade, strong player, but bang em up inside or play a little rough, not strong mentally. He has a nice midrange jumpshot, can hold his own, especailly when we saw him play against Rokas he held him back. We saw HPA play in Honoka'a and plz tell me this is not there team, no meshing going on yet! I think they need to play as a team, too much indivudales playing. Rokas is a beast if he comes back so it should be an interesting season to watch!

Posted 1 year ago #
HawN
Member

oh yeah his name is Zane Gray! Strong athletic player, plays football and baseball as well!

Posted 1 year ago #
jonnyboy
Member

Any info about Honokaa's team this year?

Posted 1 year ago #
BIIFFan
Member

Here is a question that you guys can answer???

If you could start a team with 1 point guard... Who would it be? Why?

1. Will(Senior)?
2. Lanaki(Junior)?
3. Kainoa(Junior)?
4. Cameron(Senior)?

Posted 1 year ago #
OldG
Member

Great question BIIFFAN, but I will leave this one alone.

Stay thirsty my friends.

Posted 1 year ago #
jonnyboy
Member

Is Kawaha the one that looked out of control vs Punahou and got his pocket picked twice early in the game?

Posted 1 year ago #
saynotodrugs
Member

Can I have the brain from Will,scoring from Lanaki and the defense of Kawaha.That's who I'll start my team with.

Posted 1 year ago #
BIIFFan
Member

Kawaha did have a rough game aganist Punahou.. But at least he help put his team in that situation.. Will and his team got one and done in the first game os states. Naki's team didnt even make the BIIF playoffs.. The one knock on Kainoa is his shooting..

Best well rounded Point Guard: Lanaki Apele..

Posted 1 year ago #
KeaauFan1
Member

I'd take Richie and convert him to point guard. He'd be the best.

Will the Thrill- Like Richie he's all about winning. Not points, not stats,not style just winning. Makes teammates better.

Kainoa- Hilo's Rondo, super quick,great on ball defense, can penetrate and finish or assist,outside shooting suspect.

Lanaki- more upside than the others. Kam's CP3. Can do it all. Dominates the ball. Must make teammates better. Win.

Cameron- Waiakea seemed to use Libao as PG last year so hard to compare but has all the skills to have a great year. High basketball IQ makes up for lack of size.

Posted 1 year ago #

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'The Thrill' is thrilling

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