GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kalaheo 6-foot-7 center Sam Wilhoite says Iolani is not unbeatable. The Mustangs are seeded fourth in the state tourney.
After Kalaheo's Sam Wilhoite finished warming up for last Saturday's Oahu Interscholastic Association championship game, Daniel Tautofi of rival Kaimuki ran by and shook his hand. Wilhoite hopes
to put on a showBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.com"He told me to go out there and get some dunks," the 6-foot-7 Wilhoite said. "It didn't happen, but I guess he wanted to see a show."
There were no dunks for Wilhoite that night, but he did get a pile of rebounds and 18 points in the Mustangs' victory over Leilehua.
With a continuously developing supporting cast, Wilhoite has been the nucleus in the center of Kalaheo's molecule.
"Sam has grown a lot this year as a player," Mustangs coach Pete Smith said. "Early in the season he was getting double-teamed and was forcing things. Now he's giving up the ball better and finding open guys. When his teammates are knocking down shots, it makes it tougher to double down on him. He finally realized that and it made us a better team."
For the record, Wilhoite dunked in a game against Kaiser, but dunking isn't his focus.
Right now, he's thinking about the 11-3 Mustangs' appearance in the state tournament. On Thursday, they play the winner of tomorrow's Waiakea vs. Kamehameha game.
"We're in a great position," Wilhoite said, "a position that I always knew we could be in, but we had a lot of doubters."
Wilhoite was referring to his team's selection as the state's third seed, despite suffering three regular-season losses.
It wouldn't have happened without a last-second semifinal win over Kaimuki, the squad Tautofi carried to third place in the league.
"That was the highlight of the season, (Zane Cabral's) shot at Kaimuki. The next day, every couple of minutes, I'd think about that shot and start cracking up. I never thought I'd be in a game like that."
The Bulldogs led the whole way until Cabral hit a 3-pointer from 25 feet at the buzzer.
Smith thinks Wilhoite has the potential to play for a mid-major in college.
"It all depends on if he grows and what kind of position he ends up playing," Smith said. "In the past, we let some of our big guys step out and shoot from the perimeter. We don't ask Sam to do that, but he has the ability to hit 15- to 17-footers. He can definitely play at the Division II level.
"He's done everything we've asked of him -- dominating the boards and protecting the bucket."
Wilhoite wears his hair in an Afro, which he jokingly said gives him another two inches of height.
"Last year, the Afro was even longer and I was up to 6-11, but I cut it over the summer and it's growing back," he laughed.
Wilhoite thinks this year's young Mustangs, who have been overachievers thus far, may be a lot stronger next year. He also looks forward to college days.
"I'll be trying to improve a lot in every area," he said. "I'm always thinking about the future. I'm still a little under 200 pounds, so I want to bulk up, too."
Wilhoite got to know and play with Iolani's dynamic Derrick Low and Bobby Nash over the summer.
"They're cool and they're just like guys on any team," he said. "Just because they go to a private school doesn't mean that they're different from guys at public schools. They (the Raiders) are a real great team. Some people say they play at a (higher) level, but they've faulted a couple of times this year. The states are more competitive than league play and anything can happen. They're not as invincible as a lot of people think."
Wilhoite has been playing basketball since he was 6.
"My mom signed me up for everything," he said. "I tried soccer, baseball, basketball and football and it wasn't until I was 8 or 9 when I started playing basketball year-round. That's when the rest of the sports started to drop one by one."
Hawaii School Web Sites
