Grant: ILH-OIA gap is shrinking

As strong as the Interscholastic League of Honolulu is this season, there is danger below the mountain peak.

ILH teams often square off against Oahu Interscholastic Association squads early in the state tournament, sometimes as early as the opening round. That's where teams like Kaimuki are often seeded.

Granted, Kahuku's grip atop the OIA East (8-0) isn't necessarily permanent. The fifth-ranked Red Raiders secured their first win over a ranked team on Friday, outlasting Kaimuki 61-52 with an outpouring of free throws down the stretch.

The Bulldogs (6-2 OIA East), who remained at No. 10, are at an interesting vantage point. Their early-season losses include one to No. 7 Maryknoll. But Kaimuki coach Kelly Grant believes the league is progressing quickly, that the gap between the OIA and ILH isn't as large as it may have been a month ago.

Grant was impressed with Kahuku's versatile leader, Okesene Ale Jr. The 6-foot-1 senior scored 33 against Kaimuki and leads the OIA East with a 24.5-points-per-game average.

"We rotated four guys on him and tried to tire him out," said Grant, who was a sharpshooter at Maryknoll and Hawaii Pacific in the 1980s. "He got tired in the third, but he caught his wind in the fourth."

Ale, considered by many to be the best player in the state, hopes to play at BYU.

"He's a Division I player. He can play at BYU," Grant said.

Unranked Moanalua, a team with plenty of offensive firepower, has turned up the intensity on defense. The casual, half-court defense that was foul-prone in nonconference play is ancient history.

"Their offense is predicated off the press. They trap big-time. Once you get into the halfcourt set, they can't guard anybody, but Dan Hale's approach is to press," Grant said of the Menehunes and their coach.

Moanalua is actually ahead of Kaimuki in the standings at 7-1, thanks in part to long-range gunner Wayne West.

"He has improved 500 percent. Last year, we denied him the ball and he didn't score on us. But now he knows how to move without the ball," Grant said of West, who hit four of his team's 12 treys in a 65-62 loss to the Bulldogs last week.

West scored 20 points that night and followed that with 26 in a win over Castle, adding five more 3-pointers.

Unanimous No. 1: The Kamehameha Warriors continued their unbeaten trek through the ILH and collected all 23 first-place votes in today's Star-Bulletin Top 10. Five of the teams are from the ILH, including Maryknoll, which rose two spots after another narrow loss to Punahou.