Shelly Fey stepped down as the Punahou girls basketball team's head coach last year, but her successor isn't letting her walk away from coaching completely. Stocked Punahou opens
ILH with new coachBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comMike Taylor took over as head coach after assisting Fey last year, and remains in close contact with his former boss.
"Her office is close by on the walk out from the locker room, so I'll pop my head in and she's always there to offer her help," Taylor said. "I'll e-mail her and she's always there during the offseason. ... I've always just tried to keep my ears open and listen and she's been great in helping with the transition.
"But I always see her with her kids and she's got a big smile on her face, and sometimes I envy her and wish I could switch places for a couple of afternoons."
While Fey enjoys life away from the gym, Taylor is preparing to lead Punahou into its Interscholastic League of Honolulu season opener at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Sacred Hearts.
In other ILH action this week, St. Francis makes its Division-I debut at 6 p.m. Friday against Kamehameha in the first game of a doubleheader at Punahou. The Buffanblu face Maryknoll at 7:30.
Also on Friday, Sacred Hearts hosts University at 6:30 p.m. and Iolani hosts Mid-Pacific at 7:30.
Punahou emerged as an early favorite for the league title after going 9-0 in preseason with wins over Kalani, Kalaheo and Kamehameha.
Fey left the cupboard nicely stocked for Taylor as the Buffanblu return three starters in guards Elyse Umeda and Rachel Kane, and forward Becky Hogue.
Taylor said the team will depend on the veterans to fill the void left by the graduation of all-state guard Milia Macfarlane.
"You can't replace a Milia," Taylor said. "She was dominant on the court and very vocal off of it. It's a shared effort by all 14."
Taylor said Hogue has improved her outside shot to complement her solid post game. Her presence should also open opportunities for the rest of the team.
"She has been double- and triple-teamed a lot this preseason, so it's a matter of our guards just being ready to shoot."
Like Punahou, Iolani must replace an all-state guard in its quest to return to the state tournament.
With Monica Tokoro now playing college ball at Cal State-Los Angeles, where she earned all-conference honors as a freshman, senior guard Trisha Nishimoto is picking up the scoring and leadership duties for the Raiders.
"Trisha has to take over that spot, so everybody's adjusting," Iolani coach Glenn Takara said. "In our last tournament (at Hawaii Preparatory Academy) they started getting their own identity and getting used to not having Monica there."
Nishimoto, a 5-foot-5 guard, averaged 16 points and three assists per game last year for Iolani, which posted a 7-1 preseason record. The Raiders will also look to senior forward Fabriann Gin for points and leadership.
Kamehameha went 7-2 in preseason, and will look to junior Megan Ching to carry much of the scoring load.
Ching earned third-team all-state honors last year and Kamehameha coach Clay Cockett said she will play "wherever we need her on the floor."
Senior forward Ashley Ruff provides athleticism in the paint, and Lehua Wood will start in the backcourt. Cockett said the other two positions will be filled by committee.
"They all understand we're not where we want to be and each one of our girls understands what they need to do individually so we can be successful (as a team)," Cockett said. "That's what we're striving for from practice to practice."
Taylor, Takara and Cockett all point to Maryknoll as another possible contender. The Spartans are led by the senior combination of Shannon Riley and Michelle Baduria.
Mid-Pacific also features a strong inside-outside threat with Caroline Beddow in the post and Shannon Nishi at guard.
St. Francis moves up to Division I after winning four Division II championships.
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