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Mules Have Depth, Need Defense

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Leilehua’s Cory Morgan tries to maintain
possession of the ball. Photo by Nathalie
Walker, staff photographer.

Should the Leilehua High School basketball team find that its best offense is its defense, that will be just fine with Mules coach Keith Spencer. The veteran coach has been on the defensive since Day One of the 2006-07 season.

“If we can buckle down there (defensively), the kids will realize they can have a lot of fun out there this year,” said Spencer. “At this point, our defense is ahead of our offense, and that’s usually the case with any team (early in the pre-season). We’re trying to get them to really buy in (to our defense) right now. Because we’re so athletic, we can create a lot of offense from that (defense).”

Three key returnees - point guard Dustin Pau’u, guard/forward Josh Brooks and center Villiami Haunga - form the nucleus for the Mules as they prepare for their upcoming battles in the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Red Conference. All three were key contributors a year ago when the Mules went 7-3 and made the quarter-finals of the OIA Tournament. Under Spencer, the Mules have never known a losing season and have twice made the semifinals of the OIA’s post-season, including a runner-up finish in 2003. To hear Spencer tell it, those teams have nothing on his current team in the area of athleticism.

“I’m expecting their leadership and experience (to pay off),” said Spencer, who is in his 11th season as Leilehua’s head coach.“Dustin has good vision in the open court. If he needs to, he can also put up points. He’s matured, and he understands his role. We’re excited to see what he does this year. Dustin and Josh can both stroke it from the outside.”

At 6-foot-4 inches, Brooks figures to be one of the taller back court players in the state.

“He created a lot of problems for people last year, going up against kids who were 5-10. He does a really good job of going to the basket. He had a lot of put-backs,” said Spencer.

Size can also be found in Haunga, a stellar football player this fall under Nolan Tokuda. He is 6-5 and can play in the middle.

“He’s an excellent athlete who utilizes his strengths,“the coach said. “He rebounds very well, and he can pass well for a big guy. He plays within himself.”

Spencer is also expecting 6-2 junior small forward Art Laurel to be an impact player for the Mules.“He played a lot last year, too,” Spencer said.

Elsewhere, inexperience and youth define the Leilehua roster. With that in mind, Spencer’s search for cohesiveness has extended beyond the basketball court.

“We’ve tried to have some outings and do some off-the-court things that help with team bonding,” he said. “We’re trying to convince the newcomers to buy in (to the system) and understand that even though we’re athletic, we still need to play together and play as a team. The emphasis is on jelling as team. Only four of our six returnees played quality minutes, but they all know we have the potential to be successful.”

Leilehua’s overall balance could be its strong suit by the time of the Mules’ regular-season opener Jan. 2 at Radford High School.

“Depth-wise, we haven’t been this deep in past years. Our post play will be our strength, and we can mix it up.We can slow it down and go big. Or we can go with a smaller lineup and pick up the tempo. Because of our size, a lot of teams will probably go zone against us to see if we can make shots. We have a lot of kids with a nice jump shot around the key hole.”

Parity has been ever-present in the OIA in recent years, and Spencer is expecting more of the same this year. The league divided its members between Divisions I and II this off-season, with the Mules slated to compete in Division I. Leilehua will meet each conference opponent twice this season.

“With the home and home format, Division I should be really interesting this year,” added Spencer, who played on Iolani’s first state championship team in 1983. “It will be the wacky west. Radford is always tough, and Campbell did really well last year. Kapolei is always competitive, too, so it will be tough.”

Leilehua continues its pre-season schedule this weekend when the Mules take part in the James Alegre Tournament at Radford High School. Leilehua will play games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Pairings for the tournament were unavailable.