CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Kyle Pape's basketball IQ gave him an edge at Iolani and in the voting for the Star-Bulletin's Mr. Basketball award.

The smart choice

Iolani guard/forward Kyle Pape
is the unanimous pick as the
Star-Bulletin’s Mr. Basketball

CORRECTION Thursday, May 26, 2005 » Kamehameha guard Rykin Enos, an honorable-mention selection to the Star-Bulletin's Fab 15 boys basketball team, is a sophomore. A story April 17 on Page B2 incorrectly listed him as a junior. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

Kyle Pape's basketball IQ is off the chart.

Even as an Iolani underclassman, Pape was sought after by the best. On a senior-laden team, three-time state player of the year Derrick Low sometimes turned to Pape for feedback.

When Pape became a senior, the spotlight turned his way. He knew better than to dwell on the attention. Instead of launching shots with abandon, he worked within the system, even passing up shots so that his teammates would gain confidence during the regular season.

By the state tournament, however, Pape knew it was time. After averaging 15.6 points per game to earn Interscholastic League of Honolulu Player of the Year honors, Pape exploded. The 6-foot-1 senior averaged 31 points per game at the state tournament, shooting 50 percent from the field and an old-school 92 percent at the free-throw line.

Iolani captured its fourth consecutive state championship because of Pape's mind. The Star-Bulletin basketball panel honored the versatile swingman as Hawaii's Mr. Basketball 2005.

Pape was a unanimous selection by the panel of 14 coaches and media members. He also led the all-defensive team voting. Punahou guard Jeremiah Ostrowski was a clear second in the Fab 15 voting.

"He proved it on the biggest stage," Kauai coach Brandon Fujita said of Pape. "Head and shoulders above them all."

Pape's own coach agreed with that assessment.

"He's just a phenomenal player, always one of the smartest to play on the court," Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi said. "As his physical maturity rose with his basketball IQ, he was destined to be a great player. In intermediate school, he was really small, so the growth spurt really helped. When we saw him as a sophomore, we knew he would help."

Pape's father, John, was a varsity coach in Ohio long before coming to Hawaii. That might explain a lot of Kyle's brainpower.

"Though he was one of the younger players, he was one of the few Derrick would listen to," Mugiishi recalled.

Punahou coach Greg Tacon saw more than his share of Pape's heroics.

"He might have been more valuable to his team than D-Low," he said. "The rebounding, leadership ... he was the total package."

Pape took the honor in stride.

"It doesn't matter to me as much as winning a championship," Pape said. "We worked hard all the way."

Though Iolani went unbeaten in league play (14-0) and 29-2 overall, losing only two games to mainland teams. A key point in the season, Pape noted, came in a miraculous 44-43 comeback win over Punahou on Feb. 10. Iolani trailed by five points with less than a minute left.

"Coming back that way, it was a big confidence boost for our team. It's never over until it's over," said Pape, who hit the winning basket that night.

Pape signed a letter of intent on Thursday to play for Colorado School of Mines.

The 6-foot-1 guard turned down partial scholarship offers from Santa Clara and Portland. Santa Clara plays in the highly competitive West Coast Conference. Colorado School of Mines is a Division II institution but has a strong engineering department.

"I feel excited, but relaxed. It was an easy decision," Pape said. "I think God wanted it that way."

His recent trip to the school included a snowstorm that grounded airlines for a day.

"I made a lot of new friends. The team has a lot of nice guys and we ran some games. And the coaches are excellent," he said.

The Orediggers' head coach is Pryor Orser.

Colorado School of Mines, located in Golden, Colo., gave Pape a tuition waiver. "The cost of the school is about $25,000 to $30,000 a year," Pape said. "But I only have to pay for room and board."

That cost comes out to $3,000 per year, which is minute compared to the total amount.

"I'm just happy I saved my parents a lot of money," he said. "They're proud that I could go to school and play basketball."

Mugiishi, in his 15th year at the helm, was voted the Star-Bulletin Coach of the Year. Kahuku's Nathan James, Baldwin's Wayne Gushiken and Kalaheo's Chico Furtado also merited votes from the panel.

James guided Kahuku to its first Oahu Interscholastic Association title since 1968 and was runner-up in the COY voting. Mugiishi was a near-unanimous selection.

"He lost eight seniors, including the best Hawaii prep player ever, and leads his team to another state championship," Tacon said. "Baldwin had a great showing in the state tournament. They were the most disciplined team I saw all year. Kalaheo looked like it would not win a game in December, but they had a remarkable turnaround."

Fab 15 voting

Panelists were the same media and coaches who voted in the Star-Bulletin's Top 10 poll during the season. The All-Defensive Team points were: five for a No. 1 vote, four for No. 2, and so on. Coach of the Year points were: three for a No. 1 vote, 2 for a No. 2 and 1 for a No. 3.

Honorable Mention

Rank Player	School	Ht.	Pos.	Yr.	Votes
Clinton Parks	Kahuku	5-10	G	Jr.	38
Cody Tesoro	Baldwin	5-8	G	Sr.	31
Spencer McLachlin	Punahou	6-5	F/C	So.	25
Mark Sealy	Campbell	6-2	F	Sr.	24
Kerstan Ho	Roosevelt	6-3	G/F	Jr.	20
Tyler Tsukazaki	Maryknoll	5-9	G	Jr.	16
Ioane Spencer	Kealakehe	6-5	F/C	Sr.	12
Kawika Shoji	Iolani	6-3	F	Jr.	12
Kevin Unga	Kahuku	6-0	F	Jr.	12
Ernie Vidinha	Pearl City	6-4	C	Sr.	11
James Bannister	Campbell	6-3	F/C	Sr.	10
David Johnson	University	6-0	F	Sr.	9
Shane Hayden	Kahuku	5-10	G	Sr.	7
Wayne West	Moanalua	5-11	G	Jr.	6
Jordan Cabreros	Waiakea	6-0	F	Sr.	5
John Powley	St. Anthony	6-2	G/F	Sr.	5
Chris Tumaneng	Kalaheo	5-9	G	Jr.	4
Rykin Enos	Kamehameha	5-9	G	Jr.	3
Jon Torres	Kaimuki	6-2	F/C	Sr.	3
Matt Ching	Kaiser	6-0	F	Sr.	2
Chris Gorman	Waiakea	6-2	F/C	Sr.	2
Jeremy Manuel	Kauai	5-6	G	Sr.	2
Kamalu Miller	Kamehameha	6-4	C	Sr.	2
Kellen Hastie	Mid-Pacific	5-10	F	Sr.	1
Stanley Malamala	Lahainaluna	6-2	F	Sr.	1
Junior Faliuga	Waianae	6-1	F/C	Jr.	1

Coach of the Year

Mark Mugiishi	Iolani	36
Nathan James	Kahuku	17
Wayne Gushiken	Baldwin	13
Chico Furtado	Kalaheo	8
Sol Batoon	Campbell	2
Greg Tacon	Punahou	1

All-Defensive Team Voting

Kyle Pape	Iolani	23
Vinny Nip	Iolani	19
Cody Tesoro	Baldwin	8
Max Watson	Konawaena	8
Ikaika Hardie	Kamehameha	7
David Moore	Kalaheo	7

---

The Fab 15

Voting was based on a point system similar to weekly poll rankings. A No. 1 vote was worth 15 points, No. 2 worth 14, and so on.

Kyle Pape
Iolani senior
6-1, G/F
Received 210 votes

Jeremiah Ostrowski
Punahou sophomore
5-7, G
Received 189 votes

Trenson Himalaya
Baldwin senior
6-0, F
Received 133 votes

Okesene Ale Jr
Kahuku junior
6-1, G
Received 124 votes

Vinny Nip
Iolani junior
5-8, G
Received 115 votes

Jack Miller:
Saint Louis senior
6-2, G
Received 101 votes

Tristan Bailey
Campbell senior
6-2, F
Received 93 votes

Vaafuti Tavana
Kauai senior
6-8, C
Received 73 votes

Aukai Wong:
Hilo senior
6-2, G/F
Received 62 votes

Xiro Naovalath
Waianae senior
5-8, G
Received 60 votes

T.J. Akina
Konawaena senior
6-1, G/F
Received 57 votes

Cody Nakamura
Baldwin senior
6-1, F
Received 55 votes

Devin Unga
Kahuku junior
6-0, F
Received 45 votes

Ikaika Hardie
Kamehameha senior
5-7, G
Received 42 votes

David Moore
Kalaheo senior
5-10, G/F
Received 41 votes