CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kyle Pape made just one recruiting trip and that was to Golden, Colo., where he eventually decided he was going to school at the Colorado School of Mines.
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Pape finds his place
The Iolani grad has settled in as the top scorer for the Colorado School of Mines
KYLE PAPE knew continuing his basketball career on the mainland would be a step forward for him.
The 6-foot-2 shooting guard received interest from Santa Clara, Portland, Seattle, Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona College, Claremont, Harvard and Holy Cross.
The East Coast schools were too far away and he ended up making only one recruiting trip. It was to the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., last April.
"The other schools put together some (financial aid) packages, but none of them were a full ride," said Pape, who was an Interscholastic League of Honolulu All-Star his last two years at Iolani.
Pape says the Mines package covers everything but room and board.
"I liked the Colorado weather, the environment and was able to talk to some of the teachers," Pape said. "The community here is very similar to Iolani. Everyone is welcoming. I felt like I was at home here."
Mines coach Pryor Orser was impressed with Pape, and the Orediggers had lost their shooting guard to graduation.
"We saw Kyle on tape and saw his transcripts and the rest is history," Orser said. "I think what happened is some of the other schools did not have engineering and Kyle is a very dedicated student."
Mines is located in a valley at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and Pape remembers experiencing a lack of oxygen when he ran a couple of sprints on his recruiting trip.
"I was hunched over. Your lungs don't get enough oxygen. It was the same when fall practice started. It took about a month for me to get used to it," Pape said.
THAT DID NOT DETER Pape at all. He knew that there was an opening at the shooting guard position because Stephen Bahl, who led the team in scoring last year and was a third-team Division II All-American, is gone.
Pape wanted to play right away and felt he could contribute. The transition to college ball was easier because the Orediggers run basically the same offense Pape was used to at Iolani.
"The only difference is we have a post player here. At Iolani it was like we had five guards on the floor," said Pape, who plays 90 percent of the time at the No. 2 spot, but switches to the point when Travis Test is getting a breather.
"Kyle showed in preseason that he was one of the more talented players we had. He can really break people down off the dribble," Orser said.
"His 3-ball needs to be better. We want him to come off the double screen and shoot instead of putting the ball on the floor. Early on, he was only getting 10 shots a game. We want him to get 20 shots a game. The team relies on him to score."
PAPE ADMITTED HE was a little nervous the first two games. He scored just 25 points in his first four outings.
He found his range from the field in the Orediggers' first game in December, scoring a team-high 19 points. Over the next nine games through Jan. 7, Pape was the Orediggers' leading scorer and had a streak of five consecutive games of 20 points or more.
"I taught myself at Iolani to not let pressure get to me. On the court I forget about everything else in my life. I have tunnel vision about basketball," Pape said.
"I did feel some pressure the first couple games, but I got used to it. The team has been very supportive. My teammates told me they need me to score."
A pulled left groin muscle slowed Pape the next two games although two of his three field goals last Friday came in overtime as Mines beat Metro State 69-65 to end the Roadrunners' 47-game home winning streak in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game.
PAPE LED THE Orediggers Saturday night with 21 points in a road loss to Regis.
"Kyle has really fit in well," said Orser. "He has the confidence to shoot."
When Pape has a bad game, he will look at the film, check the statistics, figure out where he can improve, then forget the game.
He says his strengths are his quickness and stamina.
Pape has started 16 of 17 games and is averaging 30 minutes of court time per game.
He leads the Orediggers with a 14.2 scoring average, ninth best in the conference, and is tops in free-throw percentage (61-for-79, .772) and is second in assists with 48 and steals with 16.
Citing math and science as his two strongest subjects at Iolani, Pape is leaning toward civil engineering.
"I want to get a degree where hard work will pay off," Pape said. "The academics are tough here, but I feel I have a head start because of Iolani. I want to represent Hawaii and Iolani well. It's a pride thing."
BY THE NUMBERS
Statistics for Kyle Pape, as of Monday:
|
TOTAL |
3-POINTERS |
REBOUNDS |
OPPONENT |
FG-FGA |
PCT |
FG-FGA |
PCT |
FT-FTA |
PCT |
OFF |
DEF |
TOT |
A |
TO |
BLK |
ST. |
PTS. |
AVG |
Nebraska-Omaha |
3 10 |
.300 |
1 3 |
.333 |
0 0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7.0 |
Pittsburg State |
2 6 |
.333 |
0 2 |
.000 |
0 2 |
.000 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
5.5 |
Saint Martin's |
0 3 |
.000 |
0 2 |
.000 |
0 0 |
.000 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.7 |
Western Washington |
3 11 |
.273 |
1 2 |
.500 |
0 1 |
.000 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
4.5 |
Bethany Lutheran |
7 12 |
.583 |
3 7 |
.429 |
2 2 |
1.00 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
19 |
7.4 |
Gwynedd Mercy |
5 11 |
.455 |
1 5 |
.200 |
3 3 |
1.00 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
8.5 |
Mesa State |
3 11 |
.273 |
2 6 |
.333 |
3 4 |
.750 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
11 |
8.9 |
Western State |
2 7 |
.286 |
0 3 |
.000 |
1 1 |
1.00 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
8.4 |
Fort Lewis |
5 9 |
.556 |
0 0 |
.000 |
3 4 |
.750 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
8.9 |
Adams State |
9 17 |
.529 |
2 6 |
.333 |
4 7 |
.571 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
24 |
10.4 |
University of Mary |
6 14 |
.429 |
2 4 |
.500 |
9 9 |
1.00 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
23 |
11.5 |
North Dakota |
8 20 |
.400 |
2 9 |
.222 |
11 15 |
.733 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
29 |
13.0 |
New Mexico Highlands |
7 20 |
.350 |
3 11 |
.273 |
5 6 |
.833 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
22 |
13.7 |
Colorado-Colorado Springs |
6 14 |
.429 |
1 4 |
.250 |
7 9 |
.778 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
20 |
14.1 |
Colorado State-Pueblo |
4 15 |
.267 |
2 5 |
.400 |
2 2 |
1.00 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
14.0 |
Metro State |
3 8 |
.375 |
0 2 |
.000 |
4 4 |
1.00 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
13.8 |
Regis |
6 17 |
.353 |
2 11 |
.182 |
7 10 |
.700 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
21 |
14.2 |
Totals |
79 205 |
.385 |
22 82 |
.268 |
61 79 |
.772 |
8 |
44 |
52 |
48 |
37 |
2 |
16 |
241 |
14.2 |
Source: Colorado School of Mines