Kahuku’s Wily picks
Alcorn State
Kahuku's Latoya Wily said yesterday that she has accepted a full-ride scholarship to play basketball for Alcorn State in Mississippi.
Wily, a 6-foot forward, led the Red Raiders to two state-tournament runner-up finishes the past two years.
"It's very exciting," Wily said. "It's going to be a really great learning experience in a very different environment than Hawaii. I talked to coach (Shirley) Walker, who saw my tapes and called and asked me to come there. She told my dad I would be able to see playing time, but I'm not going to dwell on that. I'm going to work hard to make sure it happens."
Wily drew interest from several other Division I schools, including Jacksonville State and New Mexico State. Miami also contacted Wily, but had nothing to offer.
"My parents and I feel really good about Alcorn State," she said. "New Mexico State wanted me to go to a junior college first, but I didn't want to do that."
The Braves play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
"I look at this as another challenge," said Wily, who is a two-time Star-Bulletin All-State first-team pick. "I'll be able to further my education and do something I love to do."
Wily will probably switch from center to forward, but she doesn't rule out playing the pivot.
Kahuku guard Karla Tailele, Wily's first cousin, also received an offer to play for the Braves, according to Wily. But Tailele didn't accept the offer, in which she wouldn't have been eligible for a scholarship until the 2005-06 school year.
Tailele may opt for a junior college in Kansas.
Surfing delayed: Oahu Interscholastic Association principals voted at a recent meeting to not add surfing as a competitive sport for the 2004-05 school year.
League members prefer waiting to see what findings come out of a committee being formed by the Department of Education, according to Kapolei athletic director Elden Esmeralda.
The committee will look at possible solutions to the many problems facing the implementation of competitive surfing in Hawaii, including liability issues, practice and event sites, coaching qualifications, formats and guidelines.
The Board of Education decided at a May meeting to allow Hawaii schools to become the first state in the nation to allow surfing as an official sport. Surfing is already offered at some schools, but it's only on the club level.
Just how far Hawaii's leagues want to go with adopting a competitive schedule remains to be seen. None of the five leagues have foreseeable plans to add it.
"As far as the liability issue goes, my concern is that we can't take over a whole beach," Esmeralda said. "What happens if one of the competitors' boards hits another surfer that's also out there in the water but not part of the contest. Whose liability is that?"
Esmeralda wonders if coaches will have to be certified to perform CPR or be required to have other lifeguard skills.
"We really want to have surfing here, because it's a part of the culture and lifestyle," Kahuku athletic director Joe Whitford said. "But you need to establish guidelines. What about practice sites? You can't just go kick other people off the beach."
Owls have new hoops coach: Mid-Pacific has hired Kevin O'Connell to succeed Bill Wheeler as boys basketball coach, according to athletic director Bill Villa.
O'Connell was a full-time assistant for Washington University in St. Louis since 1992 before taking over the MPI post. He also played for Washington University and ranks among the school's all-time top 10 in assists and 3-pointers.
Wheeler will continue to serve as MPI's director of student activities.
The Owls went 8-9 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular season and playoffs last winter.
Lancers coach steps down: Sacred Hearts girls basketball coach Glenn Higuchi has resigned for personal reasons, according to athletic director Wade Okamura.
Higuchi spent one year at the varsity level for the Lancers after coaching the junior varsity team for a year.
Okamura doesn't know if Sacred Hearts will hire from within the school or search for a candidate from outside.
The Lancers went 3-9 in the ILH last season.
Hardy to play college hoops: Pearl City's Michael Hardy is off to play basketball for North Idaho College, a JC in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.
Hardy, a 6-foot-3 wing, completed his career with the Chargers last winter before graduating from Pearl City this spring.