Off the court, Bobbie Awa sticks to the basic, down-home recipe that has always worked in 15 years of coaching basketball.

Keep it fun. Repeat the drills. Play sound defense.

Awa, the coach at Konawaena, is one of the few coaches who also know how to organize parents to give their players every opportunity to improve - the Wildcats played in off-island tournaments twice this month. Match those elements together and the results have been eye-popping for a school with just over 700 students: two Division I girls basketball state crowns since 2004 and a long run as an elite program in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation.

On the court, Awa has always adapted. In the early years of Konawaena's dynasty, nieces Jessica Hanato and Jazzmin Awa-Williams came to campus ready after years of honing their skills with the Kona Stingrays basketball club coached by Awa and husband Donald.

The arrival of freshmen Lia Galdeira and Dawnyelle Awa, the coach's daughter, heralds a new era for the Wildcats. Coaches and media voted Konawaena to a No. 4 ranking in the Star-Bulletin Girls Basketball Preseason Top 10.

On paper: The Wildcats are 8-2 in nonconference play, including wins over Baldwin, Marist (Ga.) and host Lahainaluna last weekend in a tournament.

Star-Bulletin All-State/Fab 15 forward Mana Hopkins graduated and now plays at HPU, but honorable-mention selection Kara Hanato-Smith returns to steady the ship.

“;Kara is a great leader, but she can't do it by herself,”; Awa said.

Help will come from the bench now that the roster size (nine players last season) has increased to 12. Anuhea Wall, a 5-8 sophomore, played well in the Lahainaluna tourney, and sophomore guard Thea Hanato-Smith, Kara's sister, is also improving.

“;Anu was a great sixth man off the bench. This year, I'm hoping she becomes one of my starters,”; Awa said.

Quick Misilosa U'ulopa and Kim Brown give the 'Cats depth underneath, and guard Makayla Awa is a backcourt reserve.

Last year's squad went 19-6 (11-3 league) and stands to improve even in the tough BIIF. Galdeira was named to the all-tourney team at the 'Iolani Classic, where the Wildcats defeated the host Raiders (ranked No. 8) and lost to defending state champion Punahou.

The skinny: Galdeira and Awa, both 5-foot-7, may be the best freshman duo to arrive at any school since the Kuehu twins went to Punahou for the 2004-05 season. Awa is a floor leader and ballhandler; Galdeira has handles, but puts her hops and explosiveness to work in the frontcourt.

With Galdeira at the 3 or 4, Kona gets mismatches on both ends. Kona brought Galdeira and Wall to the perimeter against Lahainaluna's talented posts and attacked with success. On the other side, though, they had to contend with the taller Lunas on the low post.

The quick 'Cats stick with a man-to-man defense.

“;We're going to try and work on our press. We've got more bodies this year,”; Awa said.

With athleticism and ballhandlers at almost every position, Awa has more options than most teams. Playing in a new BIIF scheduling format will help. The league has followed the MIL's lead; Division I teams will play only within their classification.

X factor: The freshmen, Galdeira and Awa, are best buddies, but not exactly clones of a previous era.

“;They're very young and very immature. They have the drive and they can play, but they're not focused,”; Awa said.

“;They're happy-go-lucky and don't know when to separate business-is-business from playing around. When Jazz and Jess got to the program, they were really focused. They were hard all the time and had their fun after practice.”;