Keeping Score
WHEN Jimmy Yagi looks at a basketball, he sees the world. And he doesn't need an interpreter. Basketball has taken
Yagi around the worldBasketball speaks a universal language. The game has taken the former Hawaii-Hilo men's basketball coach around the globe, with clinics in Europe, Asia and seemingly everywhere in between.
Retirement has meant passing drills and a passport. His contract with Adidas has translated into a trip to Tokyo with NBA players Kobe Bryant and John Starks, a camp in England for the best 15- and 16-year-olds Europe has to offer, even a chance to rub shooting shoulders with a player off the Soviet basketball team that handed the U.S. the controversial defeat at the 1972 Olympics.
Last week, the 64-year-old Yagi took time for a youth camp at Hawaii Baptist Academy. Next month, he's off to Switzerland.
"I've been doing camps ever since I retired from Hilo," said Yagi, who ended his 18-year stint with the Vulcans in 1985. "I've helped out with the Vulcan camp every year and started one in Kona 12 years ago. We added Kauai six years ago, Maui five years and now Oahu for the past two years.
"The thing I love most about retirement is I'm still coaching. And the best part of coaching is teaching the game."
Yagi and his all-volunteer staff had the attention of some 110 youngsters at the HBA gym. The staff stresses fundamentals, teamwork and shot selection - trademarks of Yagi's Hilo teams that were ranked in the NAIA Top 20 every season from 1976-80.
"We try to teach the whole game, not just parts of it," he said. "And we try to keep it affordable. We don't want to rip off the kids. The staff doesn't get paid except for expenses. We work hard and we teach them basketball."
He has also instilled loyalty and a sense of giving back to the community. One of his longtime staffers is Bill O'Rear, a former Vulcan player and sports editor of the Hilo Tribune, who takes vacation time to help out at Yagi's camps.
"Bill is like my son," said Yagi. "He's one of the best kids we've every had. He's given back to the community in so many ways.
"I'm proud of the kids who played for me. A lot of them still live in Hawaii and are involved in basketball. I've been blessed."
YAGI officially retired from the family's meat-packing business in Hilo on Feb. 18, 1998. That was the day he turned 63 and could return to coaching full-time, without the hassles of recruiting and paperwork.
"I slowed down a long time ago," Yagi said, "but I've kept up the same pace. I still play on the (UHH) faculty team and it keeps me in shape. I'm probably the oldest player in the league.
"I have keys to the (UHH) gym. It was the best thing they could have done for me when I retired. My philosophy is if I keep wearing short pants all my life, I will stay young."
At 5-foot-6, Yagi is short in stature but stands tall on the court. He said that the NBA has had tremendous influence on the young players in Europe
"They try to emulate the NBA players, which is not necessarily the best thing at the high school level," Yagi said. "My Hilo teams were known for taking quality shots. We averaged 50 percent from the floor my entire time there and that's hard to do. I think I found a niche coaching here and in Europe because I try to counter the trend of individual play, teach fundamentals and footwork."
And the language of basketball.
Cindy Luis is a Star-Bulletin sportswriter.
Her column appears weekly.