He was Mr. Poise. He was Mr. Clutch. He was Mr. Explosion.In short, Moanalua High's Ramsey Williams was Mr. Basketball.
The 5-foot-11 junior from Salt Lake with the flashy dribble, the slippery fake, the unstoppable drive, and the deadly 3-point shot, led the Menehunes to an undefeated regular season in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division and then to a second straight state championship.
The most exciting thing about Williams is that he hasn't reached his full potential and he has another prep season to play.
With more meat on his slender 145-pound frame, the jump shot will get stronger and the drive will be more intimidating. Colleges will be showing interest.
Williams averaged 16 points per game through the Western Division season and had 20 3-pointers in 10 games.
Through four games in the recent Hawaii High School Athletic Association Basketball Tournament, Williams averaged 21.7 points per game and had 14 3-pointers. He sank 11 of those treys in the last two games.
At the free throw line, Williams was every coach's dream. He made 19 of 21 in the tournament, including his last 16 in a row.
In a thrilling double-overtime semifinal state tournament victory over Kalaheo, Williams scored 34 points, making six 3-pointers.
He emerged as a player to be taken seriously as a sophomore in the 1996 state tournament. His superb ball control and slick passing were key factors in Moanalua's successful four-game run to the state title last year.
Moanalua head coach Eddie Maruyama calls Williams the best ballhandler he's ever coached.
"He has terrific hands and he's a slashing penetrator," Maruyama said.
Williams' father, Charles, played behind the University of Hawaii's legendary "Fab Five." Ramsey's older brother, Charles, played for the 1996 state champion Menehunes team.
The 5-8 junior guard controlled the tempo of games with his disciplined ball handling and crisp passing and often wowed crowds with his courageous pursuit of loose balls.
In the state tournament semifinals, he flew across the scorer's table trying to grab a deflected pass.
Midway through the fourth quarter in the state final against Moanalua, he had the Blaisdell Arena crowd gasping when he chased another ball out of bounds. He cleared the press table and landed between spectators on another table adjacent to the aisle. Uejio finally fell to the floor but picked himself up and returned to the court.
The dynamo with the shaved head had a big game against Hilo in the state semifinals, scoring 15 points and grabbing five steals.
Playing with a sprained knee, Uejio displayed his special brand of determination in a 24-22 win against Punahou on Jan. 24 when he launched an off-balance 12-foot game-winner with one second left on the clock.
Confidence was his middle name.
Steve Hess, a 5-11 guard with a dangerous outside shot and deft maneuverability, helped the Mustangs to four straight OIA championships in his career.
"Successful people are guys who take risks," said Kalaheo coach Pete Smith, "and Steve's a guy willing to take risks."
Hess nailed critical 3-pointers in the semifinals and finals of the OIA playoffs.
With two minutes left in the semi against Kaiser, Kalaheo had a shaky two-point lead when Hess put the game in hand with a trey. He killed a dangerous second-half rally by Waipahu in the final with a 3-pointer that ignited a 10-0 Kalaheo run.
"You've gotta shoot it, you can't think twice," Hess said.
"During the season, teams tried a box-and-one and triangle-and-two on Steve," said Smith. "He learned that he had to get his shots other ways. He had to let the game come to him instead of forcing things."
Hess averaged 11 points per game in the
nine-game OIA Eastern Division season. He had
13 3-pointers.
Wong averaged 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds (he had a high of 15), 2 steals, 1.3 assists and 1.2 blocks over the 12-game Interscholastic League of Honolulu season.
"We were isolating him on the perimeter where the centers would have to guard him, and he would hit 3-pointers," Punahou head coach Alan Lum said.
"He was our go-to guy and got the majority of our points," Lum said.
As the season progressed, Wong made more impact with slam dunks. He had three off inbound lobs in a game against Kamehameha.
"Scott was very versatile," Lum said. "He ran the floor well and was an outstanding shot blocker who also had an unreal touch from the outside."
Lum said Wong's volleyball background, which has won him several Division I scholarship offers, helped him as a basketball player. "He had really good timing for blocking shots," he said.
But Wong could also move out to take an offensive player off the dribble.
Derek Christensen's aggressive attitude on offense propelled the league champion Raiders to 14 straight wins, from the start of the regular season through the state semifinals .
He led the league in scoring with a 15.9 points per game average, and in 3-pointers with 18. Christensen averaged 6 rebounds.
A victory this year against 1996 league champion St. Louis typified Christensen's value to his team during the regular season. In that game, he put down 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made four steals.
In Iolani's state semifinal win against Hilo, he scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
In the 58-57 state title game loss to the Menehunes, Christensen scored 20 points and made two blocks.
The 1996 and 1997 state basketball titles are Moanalua's first two ever.
G Ramsey Williams, Moanalua Jr.