Agreed that Punahou will be the team to beat. After next week they will be #1 for the rest of the season.

Damien has no place at 1. But It’s okay for preseason. Just because they are 8-0 it doesn’t mean they should be #1. On top of their easy D2 regular season they played easy teams in their preseason like Waialua, Castle, Radford. When they played against SFS the NG brothers was in foul trouble before the half. They played Kalaheo without Smith and one of the Pardini brothers. They played Punahou without Makaula and they played their entire bench through out the game vs Damien played only 6-7 players. Punahou starting freshman guard Peyton M is a true PG better basketball IQ then Hayden. He passes, attacks and can shoot. In time the Refs will not fall for Haydens flopping fouls. Watched him play for Allstars this past year and he’s not a team player his dad is an assistant coach and is okay with his son not passing the ball to be the leading scorer and be a battle for position between him and Jydon who battles each other in outside leagues. Jake on the other hand is unstoppable at the rim IF their PG’s give him the ball. After this week Damien should be 8-9 for the rest of the season because of their easy schedule in D2.

Maryknoll and Kahuku been quiet but By the end of next week all ranking will change and I honestly cannot wait to see the rankings. But Punahou will be #1 if they meet up with Damien in the SFS tournament I’m sure the coach will make sure he earns that #1 spot with no mercy.

Excited for the rest of preseason games as it gets closer to regular season.

Love the game and I too attend many games for the last 20 plus years.

Thanks Mr Honda for your articles but maybe add a little more detail.

Haha, no that’s for you to add. More discussion is good 😉

Great stuff! Keep it rollin’!
I was trying to place Thompson. I knew I’d seen him somewhere before, didn’t make the connection to MPI. I just knew when I saw MPI someone was missing, couldn’t remember the name.
I like the way he can score in the paint, and still bang a 3. Kalaheo’s offense is much more consistent when Thompson is involved.

Damien- looks very good this season. The young backcourt is playing great. Holtz is playing great right now too. What a difference a couple years can make.

Punahou- once again looks to be the team to beat. Don’t let the loss to Damien fool you. Puns played without Makaula for most of this preseason. With him Punahou is the deepest and most talented in state.

St Francis- very underrated team. Kameron Ng is the best scorer in state. In his absence his brother kordell Ng will need to carry the load. Tough, gritty team.

Kailua- great scorer in Everett Torres kahapea. Great athlete in Hopson. Good supporting cast. Should be top in OIA east.

Kamehameha- good start this season. Fairly young team with only 4 srs. Christmas Togiai and Paliku kamaka need to handle the bulk of scoring. The loss of Braden Defries hurts them. He was a key returnee before a torn ACL sidelined him for the season.

Kalaheo- mostly perimeter team this year. Good backcourt with the pardini brothers and Kanoa smith. The addition of mid pac transfer Bobby Thompson will definitely help. Should be contender for OIA title.

Moanalua- started off a little slow this year. One of the better backcourts with Geramy Robinson and Isaiah Sugiura. Mccraven is one of best bigs in state this year. Lack of depth might be a problem.

Maryknoll- tough , talented team. 2 all state caliber players in makoto kamata and Marcus Tobin will lead them to contend in ILH. Pretty deep bench this yr.

Iolani- a sleeper team this year. Good returnees in Bumanglag, Kawika Lee and FranFelix. Good depth as well. New uptempo, pressing style should help them. I liked the fast pace I saw from them.

That’s just some obvious things I saw in the first 2 weeks of season. I go to almost all the preseason tourneys and have been for the last 20+ yrs.