The 2009-10 boys basketball season offered fans some outstanding individual and team play, in both Division I and II, culminating with Iolani and Pahoa winning state titles.
Several top seniors, like Iolani's Kainoa Chu, Kahuku's Nehoa Akina and Moanalua's Marcus Monroe, plan to go on and compete at the collegiate level.
Kamehameha's Micah Christenson, a multi-talented junior, will be back for another year and should help make the Warriors the team to beat in D-I. The 6-foot-5 Christenson is an NCAA D-I basketball talent, but most likely will take his highly regarded volleyball skills to play at a D-I volleyball powerhouse.
However, there are two juniors and a sophomore that could rank in the top five or six players in the state next year if they continue to improve their all-around skills and develop physically.
The juniors are Iolani's Trevyn Tulonghari and Roosevelt's Kaipo Pale and the sophomore is St. Joseph's Thomas Fairman. But for each to continue to improve, it's going to take a lot of hard work and focusing on basketball skills that will help them improve. All three have the potential to play at the NCAA Division II level if they get better, and maybe one or two, at a lower level D-I program.
Of course, Tulonghari and Pale are also promising football players with college potential and to see how far they go as basketball or football players will be determined by how much they develop in the next year. There's no doubt that at the high school level next year, they will be two-sport stars and then most likely have to choose one sport over the other in college.
Tulonghari is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, more of a shooting guard or 3 at the prep level. In college he would have to play 2 or at least handle the ball a lot more effectively than he does at Iolani. He is a gifted athlete with excellent quickness. He plays smart and extremely hard.
To get better, he's got to improve his ballhandling skills, his body balance off the dribble and his pull-up jumper. He also needs to work off the ball and learn how to be more effective once he catches it. At the college level, he won't be able to shoot set shots from the perimeter, so it's important to improve on the outside jumper.
Trevyn has the talent and through good muscle-memory practice in his skill development, he will keep improving. He also seems to have a great attitude and wants to get better. He loves to compete.
Kaipo Pale is 6-foot-3, 180-plus pounds. He played more inside this past season in leading Roosevelt to the OIA D-II title. He is an excellent athlete with a good upside. He got by a lot on his physical talent this past year to go along with promising basketball skills. He's also a hard-nosed player who loves to compete, a dominant rebounder.
But Kaipo needs to improve his all-around ballhandling skills, his perimeter footwork and free-throw shooting as well as his mid-range jumper, especially off the break.
Since he would most likely play at 3 in college, he'll have to be able to not only handle the ball better against defensive pressure, but he'll have to be able to attack off the dribble, stop and either score or pass off to an open teammate.
Kaipo seems to have a great work ethic and wants to be good. If he can improve his all-around skills and move to the perimeter next year in Roosevelt's offensive sets, it could help him become a successful college player.
Thomas Fairman is 6-foot-5, 195-plus pounds, size 15 shoe and still growing. He didn't play a lot as a youngster but started getting into the game the past two years, and he's one of the most improved players in the state. He's an extremely hard worker and has a great upside; also a straight A student.
He is a dominant defensive rebounder and smart shotblocker. He can control a game with his rebounding and defense. His inside post technique is still developing as well as his mid-range jumper. But he is working on his all-around skills and surprisingly has 3-point range, albeit a set shot.
But he must develop his perimeter jumper and mid-range attack off the dribble. He wants to be good and that's a large part of the battle. If he continues to make big strides over the next two years, he'll have a chance to play in college at some level. If he decides to go the academic route and not play hoops, he'll have a lot of schools offering academic scholarships.
Thomas' older brother, Alex, attended the University of Southern California on a full-ride academic scholarship. He graduated USC in four years.
Tulonghari, Pale and Fairman -- three promising young players with lots of potential. Good luck to each and for fans around the state, it'll be fun watching them play next year.