NOW that MJ has left town, maybe we can get down to some serious entertainment. Prep basketball never ceases to entertain
Well, heck, yes, I'm talking about prep basketball.
I mean, I want to know if Edmanuel DeFreitas of Nanakuli is going to be Oahu's own king of pop once again on the prep courts. From 3-point range, he had no peer last year.
And I wonder if junior guard Ramsey Williams, who absolutely wowed the Blaisdell crowd last March with his ballhandling skills in leading underdog Moanalua to the state title, will get even better.
Over at University High, there's one mean inside guy named Elijah Neverdon, whose surname is indicative of the kind of effort he puts out in the low post. Even the mainland opponents he faced in the Iolani Classic were surprised at his tenacity.
Give me a plank to watch Kalaheo's intriguing backcourt tandem of Steve Hess and Ikaika Furtado.
On one side, there's Hess, the cool veteran with his slick maneuverability and long-range shot. The kid is smooth.
On the other side is Furtado, whose defiant "bring-it-on" expression as he moves the ball upcourt embodies the determination of the defending Oahu Interscholastic Association champions. The 5-foot-7 senior plays defense and hits the floor for loose balls with the kind of ferocity that gives little guys a good name in this game.
AND talk about determination, I never take my eyes off St. Louis.
Small, quick, relentless, and always well-conditioned, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions love to run their foes into the hardwood. And it's no wonder. Anyone who's ever played for Darryl Gabriel or watched him coach will tell you that the man with the Nicholas Cage voice conveys high-voltage intensity from the sidelines. Just isn't possible to let up for a guy like that.
At Iolani, the surgeon general of Hawaii prep basketball, Dr. Mark Mugiishi, might have the prescription for his second state title.
With aggressive 6-6 low post man Shawn Christensen, 6-4 sharp-shooting brother Derek, and a surprisingly sharp backcourt of Akoni Ah Yat (yes, there's yet another Ah Yat at large in the prep ranks) and Kirk Uejio, the Raiders could make a deep incision in the ILH race.
And, hey, don't even talk to me about Punahou.
It wasn't enough that one of the state's best all-around athletes, Scott Wong (he of the volleyball MVP award), was moving back into the low post for the Buffanblu. He's combining his talents with an already very effective 6-5 sophomore forward named Brandon Brooks, who might stun some people.
Furthermore, Punahou's senior backcourt tandem of Will Kim and Keleko Stietzel could be hard to contain.
HAWAII prep basketball is a pretty entertaining product.
It's below mainland caliber, but it registers on the Richter Scale for spontaneity and scrappiness.
You can't comfortably predict the outcome of a league race or state tournament.
And you have to like the fact that no team has repeated as state champ since 1987-88 (University High, under two different head coaches, Bobby Au and Gabriel).
I know who the probables are in 1997, but I always hope for an improbable to burn the script.
It could be the plodding, oversized lug who morphs into Robert "Tractor" Traylor in the final moments of the big game, the frail, timid freshman of 5-3 stature who's suddenly possessed by the spirit of Jacque Vaughn, or the colorless coach who begins to breathe fire at the critical juncture to rally his team from a 15-point deficit.
The beauty of local prep hoops is that miracles do happen.