Monday, December 21, 1998
Covering all
the options
The Wahine's BJ Itoman
By Al Chase
has taken advantage of every
opportunity to be the best
Star-BulletinBJ Itoman has never lacked for options during her 21 years.
As a youngster growing up in Manoa she had the option to play several sports for the Manoa Athletic Club. She played everything offered.
These choices continued at Iolani School. She lettered in soccer and cross country as well as being a four-year starter for the basketball team.
Each excursion up court for the Hawaii Wahine basketball team she has to decipher, then pick apart opposing defenses with a multitude of options the Wahine coaching staff concocts.After graduation next May, her future endeavors may revolve around three options she currently finds interesting.
"My first option is to play pro ball," Itoman said. "If not, then one thing I'm considering is becoming a pilot. My brother (Ryan) is a pilot. Once, when I visited him in Samoa, I got to see what it was like. He's in training with the national guard now. People at the national guard have asked me if I'm interested, but I can't do that until I get my degree.
"Another option would be in the physical exercise field, but I not sure yet what area specifically, but I know that interests me."
The 5-foot-5 senior point guard is majoring in exercise science and with a minor in math.
The Wahine captain is four short of breaking the school record for career assists (407). She will finish in the top five for career steals and 3-point field goals made.
However, statistics are merely the end result for this goal-orientated daughter of Carole and Jeffrey Itoman.
"I was taught that scoring points and getting assists are all positive things, but if you execute and do the things you practice then all the points and assists are the result of what you do," Itoman said. "You don't think about winning, because that's the outcome if you do what your supposed to do."
Since she started her UH career, the Wahine have compiled a 74-21 record for a .779 winning percentage. If UH reaches the 20-victory plateau this season, that would be four consecutive campaigns above that lofty mark for Itoman, the only senior on the team.
"I definitely want to have good year, a memorable year and I want it to be a successful year for the team," she said.
The team is hers to run. Taking control is a point guard requirement. Itoman is at the top of the list according to Vince Goo, who has been blessed with some exceptional talent at point guard in his 12 seasons as head coach.
"She's at the top in basketball. She's also at the top when you combine citizenship and academics," Goo said. "Everything she does is the result of hard work.
"She's a team player, best we've ever had. When you look at her career stats, she excels in steals and assists. But a lot of stats that don't show (in the box score) win ballgames -- like harassing the other point guards, the ratio of assists to turnovers, that's what wins ballgames. She's very inspirational."
Itoman admitted experiencing a little extra pressure early in the season, being the lone senior, the captain and losing one of the Wahine 'go-to' players -- Kylie Page -- go down with an injury.
"I kept telling myself to just play my game and relax. I want to let the game come to me," Itoman said.
Relaxing hasn't always been easy for Itoman. Her parents instilled the concept of always doing her best no matter what the task. That has resulted in academic honors as well as athletic achievements.
She has made the Dean's List and the athletic department honor roll every semester at UH, compiling a cumulative 3.75 grade point average. Itoman earned All-Western Athletic Conference all-academic status the past two years. If the Big West Conference didn't have a rule against freshman qualifying, she would have had all-academic status her freshman season.
"If there is something out there to get, she will get it. She's done it all," said assistant coach Serenda Valdez.
Striving for perfection became a passion and, at times, a hindrance. Goo talked about Itoman always trying to play the perfect game in her early days at UH before realizing that doesn't happen often.
"People are human and make mistakes and when I finally realized that I could relax a little," she said. "I learned one of the most important things is that it doesn't matter if you make a mistake, but you have to learn from it and make yourself better, cutting down on the times you make that mistake. It's the same with academics. It's just the way I was brought up."
Although soccer and basketball battled for No. 1 on her sport participation list, the hard court won out after she suffered an ACL to her left knee after her freshman year at Iolani.
With time to reflect during recuperation, Itoman knew basketball was the sport. Her goal was to play it well enough to continue at a higher level after high school.
"My parents don't remember me saying this, but three of us (Ryan and older brother Erick) went to Iolani and college and paying all that tuition was a lot," Itoman said. "I remember telling them you don't have to worry about me because I'm going to get a D1 scholarship. I always knew it was going to be basketball.
"Setting goals is extremely important. It gives you direction and keeps you focused," Itoman added. "If you have no goals then there is no reason for what you're are doing. Pretty much in all aspects of my life I set goals."
Itoman considered the University of San Francisco, the Air Force Academy, Columbia and other Ivy League schools, but chose to stay home.
"This was definitely an excellent opportunity for me. Of all the teams, I knew that this team would be very successful," she said. "I knew I would go to college and play basketball and I always knew I would go away. That was the expected thing (being from Iolani). I wanted to get the experience. I think it's an excellent goal for college. The only reason why I stayed here was the basketball."
That decision made Goo a happy coach.
Through nine games this season, Itoman is averaging 12 points per game (first time in double figures), has 47 assists, just 24 turnovers and 27 rebounds. She has yet to lose the ball bringing it up court this season.
With first-place votes in parentheses AP Top 25
Record Pts Pvs 1. Connecticut (37) 8-0 997 1 2. Tennessee (3) 8-1 962 2 3. Purdue 7-1 919 3 4. Georgia 10-0 847 5 5. Louisiana Tech 8-2 831 4 6. North Carolina 13-1 784 7 7. Notre Dame 8-1 762 6 8. UCLA 7-2 712 8 9. Colorado St. 12-0 675 9 10. Texas Tech 7-1 636 10 11. Clemson 10-0 535 14 12. Penn St. 7-1 499 12 13. Old Dominion 6-2 465 15 14. Alabama 8-2 451 11 15. Rutgers 8-2 416 16 16. Duke 8-4 388 17 17. Virginia Tech 8-0 353 19 18. Iowa St. 7-1 343 18 19. Nebraska 10-1 299 20 20. Florida 9-3 237 13 21. G. Washington 6-2 202 21 22. Kansas 9-3 172 23 23. Virginia 5-2 167 22 24. Memphis 8-1 110 24 25. Santa Clara 8-1 80 25Others receiving votes: SW Missouri St. 25, Illinois 20, Michigan 17, Marquette 16, Fla. International 11, Oregon St. 11, UC Santa Barbara 9, Arizona 8, Mississippi St. 7, Tulane 7, DePaul 6, LSU 6, Hawaii 3, Oregon 3, Utah 3, Arkansas 2, Indiana 2, Baylor 1, Stephen F. Austin 1.
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