A few extra tidbits and notes on two of yesterday’s games: No. 1 Maryknoll’s 15-13 (no typo) win over No. 4 ‘Iolani (boys) and Kaimuki’s playoff upset of No. 4 Roosevelt (girls).
A lot of fans, including folks who rarely attend a high school game, had plenty to say on talk radio this morning. Scott Robbs gave me a call and we chatted on air. I just had two points to make: 1) It was a superb game plan by ‘Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto. Instead of losing by 18 points like the Raiders did the first time around, they were in position to win the game at the buzzer, and 2) It takes two to tango.
Neutral fans might be stunned by what ‘Iolani did, but a coach has to deal with reality, and Shimamoto had seen his team struggle through a horrid shooting slump recently. He did what he thought was best. I think of it in a baseball analogy: if you’re facing a lineup of incredible fastball hitters, why not put a knuckleballer on the mound?
Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant was willing to sit back and let ‘Iolani hold the ball for minutes at a time primarily because Spartan forward Josh Burnett was in foul trouble early. Here’s an oddly interesting bit.
Grant remembered another 15-13 game when he was an assistant at Pearl City years ago. He was on the winning side of that game, too.
“That’s just high school basketball. I just feel sorry for the fans,” he said.
Maryknoll had not scored less than 57 points in its last six games.
Here’s more on the Kaimuki-Roosevelt battle, one of the most dramatic games I’ve seen this season.
Canny Aikau had steals on each of those Roosevelt giveaways. Princess Lauvao hit two foul shots for a 47-44 lead with 6 seconds to go.
“I was scared,” Lauvao said.
Devyn Kauhi brought the ball over halfcourt and stopped at the top of the key for a potential game-tying shot, but Aikau timed it perfectly and stripped the ball away, and time ran out on Roosevelt.
“We got a lot of steals, and then we gave them right back,” Roosevelt coach Hinano Higa said. “Kaimuki capitalized on it and got momentum. We’ve got to get that next one to continue our season.”
Kaimuki missed its first nine tries from 3-point range before Pologa hit the first of her four treys in the second quarter. The Bulldogs finished 6-for-21 from deep and shot 35 percent overall from the field (17-for-49).
Kauhi, a 5-foot-9 junior, added seven boards and three blocks. Wong had a team-high nine rebounds with eight points for Roosevelt, which outrebounded Kaimuki 32-28. The Rough Riders also turned the ball over 27 times, including seven in the final quarter.
Roosevelt shot 33 percent from the field (16-for-48), including 1-for-10 from the arc. The Rough Riders were 11-for-18 at the foul line. Kaimuki was 7-for-11.
Kaimuki had 20 giveaways, including just four in the fourth quarter.
Paul Honda, Star-Advertiser
So, with people saying that it’s a disservice to the players to have them stall because they aren’t allowed to use the skills they have been taught, what if ‘Iolani was winning by 30 points? If the third string was in, they should be allowed to press and keep attacking the basket because those are the skills that they are taught in practice. Shouldn’t they be allowed to use those skills that they practice? I know they wouldn’t do that, but if they did, I’m sure it would’ve caused an uproar as well because they would be called classless. People would’ve been saying they should’ve pulled off the press and stop trying to score so quickly because they’re running up the score.