Monday, December 17, 2001
[ PREP BASKETBALL ]
Mainland, local For 18 years the Iolani boys basketball team has played the role of hospitable island hosts for some of the nation's top teams.
teams play
hoops at Iolani
The 9 Hawaii teams in this year's
Classic hope to become the first from
the islands to win the tournamentBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThis week, the Raiders hope to upset their mainland guests as they shoot for their first Iolani Classic championship.
"I feel we have a good enough team to compete with the teams coming in," Iolani coach Dr. Mark Mugiishi said. "It's not just a foregone conclusion that they're going to win.
"I just hope we can win a few games, and we can try to win our own tournament for once."
The Iolani Classic tips off tomorrow with seven mainland teams and nine Hawaii squads vying for the title of the state's premier preseason high school basketball tournament and one of the best in the country.
No Hawaii team has ever won the tournament championship.
The tournament, founded in 1983, will feature five days of wall-to-wall basketball at Iolani's gym.
The action starts with Damien taking on Wilson (Florence, SC) at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow. The host Raiders play Cathedral Prep (Erie, Penn.) at 5 p.m. Punahou takes on defending tournament champion Northwestern (Miami, Fla.) at 6:30. The opening day ends with Mililani taking on last year's runner-up, Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md).
The first-round continues Wednesday with four more games. Farrington plays Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.) at 3:30 p.m. Defending state champion Kalaheo faces Kealakehe at 5 in the only opening-round matchup of Hawaii teams. Aiea meets Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) at 6:30 and Roosevelt faces Fairfax (Los Angeles) at 8.
The tournament splits into championship bracket and consolation bracket play starting Thursday. Eight games are scheduled for each of the Classic's final three days. Play tips off at 9:30 a.m. each day, with the last game set for 8 p.m..
Slam dunk contests will be held following Thursday and Friday's games.
While the mainland teams feature big names and big bodies, the local teams are hoping to prove they can play with the nation's best.
"They're definitely looking forward to it," Mugiishi said of his players. "We have a lot of hoop junkies on this team and they've heard of a lot of these guys."
Iolani posted the highest finish among Hawaii teams last year by coming in fifth in the tournament. The Raiders return the nucleus of the squad that finished second in the state last season, and Mugiishi calls this year's team the most talented group he has coached.
"We're getting better and better," Mugiishi said. "As long as we're fundamentally sound we'll be a very good team."
The Raiders are led by 6-foot guard Derrick Low, a first-team All-State selection last year as a freshman, and 6-foot-6 forward Bobby Nash.
Nash was a preseason honorable mention by Street and Smith magazine and will anchor the post along with senior center Tyler McCready.
Northwestern returns to defend the title it won a year ago when the Bulls beat Montrose Christian 50-48 in overtime in the championship game. Northwestern, which finished third in Florida last season, graduated 10 players off last year's team and brings in a squad of four seniors and 10 juniors.
Montrose Christian, coached by high school legend Stu Vetter, also features a young team of just two seniors, eight juniors, a sophomore and three freshmen. Still, the Mustangs are ranked 14th in the USA Today preseason poll.
One of the Mustangs' young stars is freshman Ryan Scott, son of former Georgia Tech and NBA standout Dennis Scott. The elder Scott played for Vetter at Flint Hill Prep (Va.) and was a fan favorite in three Iolani Classic appearances.
West Coast power Fairfax enters the tournament as another favorite for the title. The Lions are coming off an 86-84 loss to Los Angeles-rival Westchester, the nation's top-ranked team according to USA Today.
Fairfax is led by 6-foot-8 forward Evan Burns, who has already signed with UCLA, 6-foot junior point guard Kevin Bell and 6-foot-5 senior swingman Jahsha Bluntt.
Clovis West should also contend for the championship, led by 6-foot-5 guard Nick Debban, who scored 41 points against Garces High on Dec. 7.
Wilson posted a 22-2 mark last season and finished the season as the top-ranked team in South Carolina. The Tigers have just two seniors on their roster, but feature a rising star in 6-foot-10 center Major Wingate, one of the nation's top juniors.
Garfield is one of the most experienced teams in the tournament with nine seniors returning to a squad that went 27-2 last season.
Along with Iolani, Kalaheo leads the Hawaii contingent in the tournament.
The Mustangs are led by 6-foot-3 guard D.C. Daniels and 6-foot-6 forward Ikaika Alama-Francis. Kalaheo added another weapon this season in Castle transfer Michael Gayle, who has already proven valuable for his outside shooting. Mililani guard Rashaun Broadus and Punahou forward Ryan Zabriskie are other local players to watch.
Mugiishi said tournament organizers try to mix state championship contenders, a neighbor island team and teams that haven't played in the tournament in a while in selecting the event's local representatives.
"We just think it's such a valuable experience we want to give as many teams a chance to play in it as possible," he said.
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