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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
There’s more to Iolani
than superstar Derrick LowYOU have, no doubt, heard of Derrick Low, the Iolani senior being hailed as one of the best high school basketball players ever to come out of Hawaii.
"I think when he goes to Washington State he will help turn that program around into a national power," his coach, Mark Mugiishi, said.
So it's no surprise that Low and Mugiishi and the rest of the Raiders are seeded No. 1 this week to win their third consecutive Hawaii High School Athletic Association state championship. Why not? They've got the state's best player.
But he's not the only reason they might win it all again.
Take center James Street, a National Merit Scholar who is playing his first varsity basketball as a senior. You've never heard of him. I'd never heard of him. He's an All-American water polo player.
Unfortunately, that's not always a good thing.
"If any of you have ever coached a land sport, you know that whenever the swimmers come out for your team you just go, 'Oh my God, please go somewhere else,' " Mugiishi said. "Because they can't jump and they can't run. They do everything wrong, because the muscles that are strong in them are flexor muscles. And what you need to be able to play basketball are strong extensor muscles." (He really is a doctor.) "So they do everything wrong, and they are too slow, and everything."
And then Mugiishi summed it up: "But he was tall."
So Street stayed. And he was slow. And he couldn't jump and he couldn't run. He wasn't a basketball player. He didn't seem to have any visible athletic skill. But there was one thing.
"Whether he knew what he was doing or not, he did it hard," Mugiishi said.
Street explained: "This would be a good year to go for it."
So he played harder than anyone and stayed later than anyone. He was in the gym, by himself, long after the basketball players had gone wherever it is talented basketball players go when practice is pau. Street was still there. And the coaches noticed this, they liked it. Maybe, just maybe ...
"We kind of kept him around for a while," Mugiishi said.
And by the time the season opener rolled around, Street was starting.
"Because he could actually rebound," Mugiishi said. "He could defend the interior better than anybody we have. He would front, he would take offensive charges. He would battle for every loose ball that was in the paint. And that was actually what we needed."
Every team needs it, even ones with Derrick Low. Street had found his niche.
But don't misunderstand. That didn't mean he was good. Street admits it. He knows. When the water polo team gets together for a pick-up basketball game it's a laugh riot.
"We actually made up what we would call 'James Rules,' " Mugiishi said. "Which were that James would be in the game and he would start. But no one was allowed to pass him the ball."
(Ah ... the "Simpson Rules.")
They weren't kidding. He never touched it, not even as part of the offense, not even for a second, just to give it back. He only got his hands on it while fighting for rebounds, or to scoop it up loose in a scramble on the floor. No passes. Never.
He took charges instead. He'd set an extra pick. Without complaint he did this.
"I really wanted to be part of a team and contribute when I could," he said.
And after practice, he shot free throws. He asked assistant coaches to throw him the ball, just so he would know how to catch it, just in case. So he'd be ready. So he could.
And Iolani kept on winning. An Interscholastic League of Honolulu title, 14-0 now in regular-season play.
"We actually throw him the ball (now)," Mugiishi said.
Street has become one of the reasons Iolani is favored to win its third straight state title. And so is Sean Carney, the Eddie Hamada One Team award winner who had Street's role last season, only to step aside to do it off the bench. And Jon Yasuda, the ILH cross country champ who averages more hustle points per minute than anyone.
These guys are the unknowns who make teams go. They're a big reason Iolani is favored to win it all again. Players you've never heard of often are.
Oh, yeah, there's one more. Some guy. Derrick somebody.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
