Moanalua’s
By Pat Bigold
improbable dream
comes true again
Star-BulletinIf anyone wanted to know where Ramsey Williams was yesterday, they didn't have to look any further than the Salt Lake Recreation Center. Where else would Williams go the day after leading Moanalua to a second straight state high school basketball championship?
The Menehunes, unseeded like last year, defeated top-seeded Iolani, 58-57, on Saturday night at the Blaisdell Arena to complete one of the toughest four-game marches to the state crown in the 41-year history of the tournament. They are the first team to win back-to-back state crowns since University High did it in 1987-88.
Sophomore Bryson Kamakura scored the winning basket on a putback of his own missed shot with 8.9 seconds left, and then the Menehunes gritted their teeth through the final 3.4 seconds as Iolani's Christensen brothers - Derek and Shawn - both hit the rim in attempts to score the game-winner at point-blank range.
But the sum of Moanalua's success was in the performance of its "gym rat," Williams, a 5-foot-11 junior who seems beyond his years in court maturity.
He was an easy selection as the Star-Bulletin's MVP of the Hawaiian Air/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Tournament. Williams finished with a 21.7 points per game average, 14 3-pointers and was 19-for-21 from the free-throw line.
He shyly took in the accolades for his performance over the weekend, but he was still anxious for his gym fix after a good night's sleep.
How long did he play yesterday? "All day," Williams responded quickly. For him, that's no different from any other weekend or vacation day, and it shows in his game skills.
Williams wowed state tournament crowds last year with the way he broke the press and set up plays. But last week, he had spectators' mouths agape at the way he responded under pressure and took control of games.
He scored a game-high 21 points against Iolani. But, even more amazing, he drained five demoralizing 3-pointers to answer Iolani rally attempts.
Double-teamed, he could find the open man. That's what he did Friday night when he passed to Ron Jones, who popped in an 18-foot game-winner at the second overtime buzzer to defeat previously unbeaten second-seeded Kalaheo, 57-55.
In that semifinal win, Williams cut loose for 34 points, including six 3-pointers.
That followed by one night his coldest shooting performance of the tournament. He had scored only seven points (though he grabbed the most important defensive rebound of the game to secure the win) in a 46-45 quarterfinal victory over No. 3 seed Baldwin on Thursday.
It bothered him but Williams didn't sulk about it. He refused to sleep before fixing the problem.
"He went out with a teammate, Ken Kesaji, to some outdoor court under the lights after the game to work on his shot," said Moanalua head coach Eddie Maruyama. "You know how late that is."
Against an exceptional first-round opponent, Punahou, on Wednesday at McCabe Gym, Williams scored 25 points as the Menehunes rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit.
Maruyama said he can't wait to coach Williams next season.
"He hasn't even developed his body yet," he said. "When he does, he'll get stronger and he'll get more jump on his jump shot."
Maruyama credits assistant coach Sonny Shimamoto for sculpting Williams' raw talent.
"Coach Shimamoto works with him on his fundamentals and on the mental part of his game," Maruyama said.
"He's really growing up to be a man," said Shimamoto. "He's got a lot of class, a really a nice kid."
The 35-year-old Maruyama became the first head coach to be at the helm of back-to-back state championship teams since Walter Wong did it for St. Louis between 1966 and 1968.
Moanalua assistant coach Larry Frank played on Wong's 1967 and 1968 teams. "Now we have to go for three in a row," said Frank.
Standing on the court after the game holding his 2-year-old son, Drew, with his wife, Tami, nearby, Maruyama marvelled at how his team could survive a minefield bracket two years in a row.
"We were third in the OIA playoffs last year, too, and we had to come back against Seabury Hall in the first round, and then face the top three seeds - just like this year," he said.
Moanalua has a future.
When Kamakura scored the winning basket, there were three other underclassmen out there on the floor with him: Williams, sophomore Rickey Marshall-Greene and junior Brian Rosado-Galindo.
Star-Bulletin
All-Tournament Team:MVP: Ramsey Williams, Moanalua
G-Ramsey Williams, Moanalua
G-Kirk Uejio, Iolani
G-Steve Hess, Kalaheo
F-Brian Rosado-Galindo, Moanalua
F-Derek Christensen, Iolani
