Rams' Lane leaves after 1 last state trip

WEEKS before the state tournament, he could have used it as a tool to motivate his team.

Instead, Radford girls basketball coach David Lane preferred to stay quiet. After seven seasons and a third straight appearance in the state tourney, Lane stepped down from the helm.

His teams went 71-10 in Oahu Interscholastic Association play despite juggling rosters from season to season. Radford's high turnover rate -- military families often stay for only a couple of years -- did nothing to alter Lane's standards.

"I think my staff and players did a helluva job this season," said Lane, who was a fiery general early in his career. In recent years, he was far more composed. This year's team, he said at mid-season, was very mature and responsible.

He'd like to turn a good group of players over to a new coach. Another factor is a health issue -- a panic disorder that was diagnosed in 2005.

"My staff and team really pulled through for me," Lane said. "It wasn't until the OIA semifinal game and the state tournament that I could actually coach a game symptom-free. I have a really good doctor who changed my medication. Everything else in between was pretty brutal. That was a sign that it was time to step down for sure and regroup."

Lane isn't afraid to be blunt about his condition.

"I'm pretty open about it because I know a lot of people suffer from this and don't realize it," he said. "I want people to know that help is available and it works. I'm living proof. See your doctor."

This year's Rams, charged up by freshman Ta Nitra Byrd, won their first game at the state tourney against Maui before losing to Iolani in the quarterfinals. Radford finished ninth in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.

"Four of our five regular starters play other sports, including Ta Nitra, who was basically cheerleading from summer to the time tryouts began," Lane said. "For a team that basically concentrates on basketball in season, they went far. They showed a lot of heart and intensity."

They got a lot of those traits, clearly, from their general.

HARDIN BOUNCES BACK:

A week of heartbreak was hard to endure, but Brandon Hardin was all smiles at the end of the Island Movers/HHSAA State Track and Field Championships.

Hardin earned six medals, including a gold in the 100-meter dash and two silvers.

Just one week earlier, he was stripped of victories in several events after inadvertently breaking an Interscholastic League of Honolulu rule that prohibits participation in more than four events.

"It doesn't really bother me now. It's the past. It's an unfortunate rule, really tough at the time," he said. "I'm supposed to get reinstated of all my (ILH) medals."

The reason for that, he said, is that the ILH referred to the national rule book, which actually permits up to six events per athlete.

Hardin, recruited by the University of Hawaii as a cornerback, chose Oregon State. He's beefed up to 192 but looks more like 210 or 215.

"That's what everyone says. I think I got 6 percent body fat when we tested in P.E. I wouldn't mind putting on some fat, but I can't," he said.

Hardin bench presses 225 pounds 12 times and looks like a linebacker.

"Oregon State doesn't expect me to be any certain weight. They know I'm 17 and I'm probably (going to) redshirt," Hardin said.

Multi-event champions at the state meet were: Reece Alnas, Kamehameha-Hawaii, long jump and high jump; D'Andre Benjamin, Mililani, 110 and 300 hurdles; Zach Coronas, Punahou, 400 and 200 run; Sarah Nicolaisen, Ka'u, 100- and 300-meter hurdles, and Britney Stephens, Mililani, 100 and 200 dash.

SOUR END FOR DRAGONS:

Honokaa surprised foes and opposing fans alike with a third-place finish at the girls basketball state tourney. Keisha Kanekoa's scoring and passing rampage, not to mention rebounding prowess, gave University of Hawaii fans a glimpse of the very near future.

The Dragons' stay on Oahu was tempered, however, when items belonging to coach Shawna Lau Kong and players Jamaika Lorenzo and Jessika Lorenzo were stolen from their rental car on Saturday at Ala Moana Shopping Center.

Clothing was stolen, as well as Jamaika Lorenzo's iPod. Lau Kong remained resilient, though.

"All my dirty laundry is gone," she quipped.

The Dragons proved to be as steady as their coach this season through ups and downs. "We were starting to get worried. We reached a plateau at the middle," Lau Kong said.

A loss to Hilo late in the year proved to be a wake-up call. "After that, I started to realize that when our backs are to the wall, that's when they get things done," she said.

Honokaa, which defeated Moanalua, Roosevelt and Iolani at the state tourney, finished at No. 3 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.