By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Wahine coach Vince Goo say BJ Itoman might be
the best guard to ever play for Hawaii.
A basketball coach stands in front of the locker room chalkboard, writing down the number "21." She turns to her team and says, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to stop her."
Many teams have tried, but few have managed to contain the University of Hawaii's No. 21. Sophomore guard Blythe Jean "BJ" Itoman is a home-crowd favorite and an opponent's nightmare.
"The crowd likes her because of how hard she plays," said Hawaii coach Vince Goo, whose 13-4 team takes on San Jose State tonight. "She's the No. 1 enemy for opposing players and the least liked by opposing coaches because of all the problems she causes defensively."
Actually, opposing coaches love Itoman - all 65 inches of her - but would rather have her playing for them. After San Diego State lost its first Western Athletic Conference game of the season Saturday to Hawaii, SDSU coach Beth Burns attributed the defeat to Itoman's ability to neutralize with her quickness what the Aztecs needed to do to win.
"A lot of our offense comes off turnovers and we couldn't create those turnovers against her," said Burns. "The things we are comfortable with got taken away."
Itoman was at her elusive best, playing keep-away from the Aztecs while dribbling out the clock in the second half. In the final 39 seconds of the
54-44 victory, the Iolani School product sank three game-icing free throws.
It was a situation similar to two last March in the Big West Tournament. Itoman's seven free throws in the final 80 seconds of the semifinal lifted the Wahine into the championship game.
A day later, she scored the final four points against Pacific in a victory that sent the Wahine to the NCAA Tournament.
"I was joking with her during practice that she doesn't even know what it's like to be fouled on a layup, she's so quick," said Wahine center Kendis Leeburg. "It's so much fun to watch her make steals early in a game and then beat a 1-on-3 situation back for a layup. It's wonderful for me because I know all I have to do is get down the court quick enough and she'll find me with a pass.
"BJ is everything. She's got the heart of a bear and a lion. She works so hard. She's sweet, smart and so inspirational."
Itoman is smart. Very smart. The exercise
science major had sophomore standing last spring after transferring 21 college credits from Iolani, and finished with a 3.88 GPA for the year.
When the Wahine's midmorning flight to Los Angeles was canceled two weeks ago, the team rebooked for the afternoon. Itoman unpacked her heavy carry-on book bag and went to class.
"She's such an intelligent player, very much a student of the game," Goo said. "She can't wait to borrow the game film, take it home and watch it to dissect her game. She continually tries to improve herself and learn.
"I felt when she decided to stay home and play for us, we would have a great four years. She's probably one of the top recruits we've ever had. We've had some very good guards, too, but if she's not already the best we've had, she will be."
Itoman already is inspiring the next generation of Wahine wannabes, particularly the menehune-size ones. She's one of the most sought-after players during postgame pizza parties with the Junior Booster Club.
"I like her because she's so good and fun to watch," said Breanna Carson, a 4-foot-4 Aikahi Elementary fifth-grader and a guard on her park league team. "I want to play like her."
It's a mutual admiration society for Itoman, who began playing basketball at age 9.
"It's so inspirational to see the little kids, waiting after the games to talk to us," Itoman said. "It's amazing to see how many kids are coming to the games. Against UNLV (Jan. 11), we had our most attendence (1,452) and it was so neat to look out in the stands, turn around 360 degrees and see people filling up the entire lower section."
Itoman leads the Wahine in free-throw percentage (.836) and assists, and is seventh in the WAC in steals. Her personal goal is to become more of a 3-point threat; she was 1 of 19 last year and is 7 of 27 this season.
"I want to get my offense going a little better," said Itoman, who shot 800 3-pointers daily during the off-season. "I knew I needed to have a 3-point shot to draw the other team's defense out. I know I can hit it and, even though I'm not shooting it too much in a game, I'm not afraid to shoot it."
And she's confident of her dribbling skills. A perfectionist, Itoman was not happy with the number of turnovers she had against the Aztecs last Saturday but she enjoyed running away from the San Diego State defense.
"It's been a while since I've felt that much confidence," Itoman said. "I knew with their type of defense, I had to be prepared for the pressure, be prepared to handle the ball and take control. I had a lot of fun."