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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Low’s show moving
away after tonightOUTSIDE, it rained like it might never stop. The streets of Honolulu were flowing with various Danubes and Niles and Euphrates and Ganges and Tigrises and Mighty Mos. The gray was so overwhelming, the weather so bad, you couldn't even see the tilapia in the pools that surround the Blaisdell.
But they came.
The Blaisdell's lower bowl was full. Mostly because it was the state basketball tournament, and everyone had come to support their teams as everyone always does.
But there was something else going on, too. Everyone was watching eagerly. Waiting for something special, for a moment they could keep with them, for a story they could tell.
Last night was my last chance.
Tonight is yours.
Iolani senior Derrick Low plays his final high school game.
HE CAN DO it quietly, the way Savo did in 2002. He's so much better he can concentrate on making others better, he doesn't need to take over a game to control it. He doesn't need to stand out to be great. Iolani has a fine assortment of players, and Low can be quite content taking full advantage of that fact.
And so he can go long stretches without sparkling, if you haven't got a basketball junkie's appreciative eye. He'll give out crisp passes. He'll play manic defense (he comes up on the double team like a crazy person who just happens to have great footwork). He'll rebound and run the team and push the pace faster than any sane opponent would like; and set tough picks, and lead.
"He always looks like he needs a glass of water," colleague Nick Abramo puts it.
Yes. That's it exactly.
And then, just when he's lulled you a little, there it is.
The behind-the-back pass.
The 3 in your face.
The escape he shouldn't have been able to make, the "oh, yeah!" pass.
Stuff even sportswriters can't help but see.
Twelve points, six rebounds, seven assists. And this is leaving early, and hanging in the background.
"He's the real deal," Mililani guard Aaron Kanno said, definitively.
Kanno, who faced the brunt of Low's defense, would know.
"I think I did all right against him," Kanno said, and he did.
And then the rest of those guys make a few plays -- Iolani does have some horses. Ryan Hirata hits a jumper from the scorer's table, and the next thing you know Iolani has run a good Mililani team right out of the gym, 71-45.
And now it's another state final. The last game for a guy who seems like he's been playing high school ball forever.
"The more I think about it," Low said, "the more sad I get."
The last time putting on that red and white uniform. The last time taking the floor. The last time with these guys.
He's off to Washington State now. He talks about looking forward to another four years.
But that's different, and we know it. Tonight is our last chance.
His too.
"I'm kind of a laid-back guy," he said. "I won't tell you I'm excited. But when the time comes, I will be."
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
