Wet floor the culprit in ankle injury to Konawaena’s Carvalho

The ankle injury suffered by Konawaena basketball standout Kekoa Carvalho isn't unusual in itself. The way he got hurt, however, should send warning signals to coaches everywhere.

The louvers atop Konawaena's gym allows circulation, but a week ago, mist was blown into the gym by gusts. The Wildcats mopped and swept the floor, but the chemical used in the sweeper seemed to magnify the slickness. Carvalho slipped on the floor, and is now out for possibly a month if X-rays reveal a fracture.

Former Kalani coach Richard Miyasaka, a master of floor maintenance, suggests something unusual.

"The moisture on the floor problem might be solved by floor fans. The Hilo Hawaiian Hotel uses them on their lobby floor and it works like a charm. I see them used in many hotel bathrooms, they look like those blowers that the ground maintenance people use," he said.

Bailey gets two offers

Kama Bailey doesn't consider himself a highly-recruited player, even after returning two kicks for touchdowns during the recent HUB Goodwill Senior Bowl.

"Not really. I'm just glad I got a win," he said after returning kickoffs of 94 and 96 yards to help the West defeat the East. Navy and Hawaii are among those on board the Bailey ship so far with offers. The senior running back broke the Hawaii prep single-season rushing mark, but his team fell short of the state tournament. Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II champion Iolani went on to capture the D-II state crown.

One of his Monarchs teammates, Christian Vasconcellos, has already committed to Hawaii. The 6-foot-2 defensive back returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown in the HUB game.

Boys of spring?

Count Waipahu coach Abe Villanueva among those who would not mind seeing the boys basketball season switch to the spring. Currently, with the girls playing hoops in the winter for the first time, conditions are extremely crowded at nearly every gym statewide.

"It's hectic. There's talk about moving the JV season to spring," the Marauders coach said. "Sometimes we practice right after school. Sometimes from 5 to 7 (p.m.). We rotate the practice schedule. If we moved the boys to spring, I wouldn't mind."

He added one more point.

"(Media) coverage-wise, they'd all get more if we did that," Villanueva said.

Buffanblu in new territory

The Punahou girls face national power Archbishop Carroll today in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix.

"They are ranked in the top 25 in USA Today, so it should be a battle for us," coach Mike Taylor said. "If we get by them, we'll play Long Beach Poly on Thursday."

Disciplined disciples

Punahou's Janelle Nomura made the Iolani Classic all-tourney team, but her mind was on tourney champion Redondo Union.

"They're really disciplined. You don't see that down here. They know how to break the press, when to pass," the Star-Bulletin All-State guard said. "Every time we committed to (Atonye Nyingifa), she would find the open man."

Shuffling in place

Todd Rickard laments the turn of events that left Lahainaluna idle last week.

"Originally, we were supposed to play (an MIL game), but the schedule was pushed back one week," the Lady Lunas coach said. "If I knew it would change, I would've come (to the Iolani Classic girls basketball tournament).

Hilo made the trip and won three games in two days against Oahu teams.

"We saw Hilo on the Big Island," he said. "Iolani's tough, Jamie (Smith) is a keeper for them."