Bulldogs Work To Peak At Right Time In OIA Basketball

Wednesday - February 04, 2009
By Jack Danilewicz
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While most of their contemporaries are tapering off in conditioning these days, the Kaimuki boys basketball team is moving in the other direction. No practice is too demanding for the Bulldogs right now with the stretch run of the 2008-09 season about to hit the area.

“I like to try to work on techniques and plays in the beginning - then we start our conditioning (later),” said Kaimuki head coach Kelly Grant.“For me, I want to be peaking at the right time. It’s been a good formula. We’ve been successful with it. Teams that get on runs late in the season win championships, and when you lose some games early, the kids stay hungry.”


 

As far as playing their best basketball at the right time, the Bulldogs set the standard after entering the OIA’s tournament as a mere fourth seed in 2007 en route to winning both the OIA championship and the school’s first state title since 1993. Grant’s current team would seem ideally suited to make a spirited post-season run itself. Kaimuki entered the weekend in second place in the Red East with a 5-2 record, and recently regained the services of highly regarded senior Jason Nutter, a transfer from Roosevelt who had been ruled academically ineligible for much of the regular season’s first round.

“He’s a bright kid who wasn’t taking care of his business,” Grant said of Nutter, who made his debut in a 67-41 win over Kaiser Jan. 16. “He was so excited to be back on the floor. This kid lives for basketball, and he has a great all-around game. He only had five points, but his presence on the floor made a big difference.”

To say the Bulldogs are a different team with Nutter would be a great understatement, given his flexibility. “He’s by far our best 3-point shooter, and he can play anywhere from the one to the four (positions),” Grant said. “He definitely has the skills to play at the next level. He can help some (college) program.”

For the present, Kaimuki’s season is the priority. They are in the midst of a key four-game stretch that began with games last week versus Kalaheo (a 57-43 Kaimuki win) and Red East-leader Kahuku (to be played last Saturday). This week, Kaimuki visits Moanalua Wednesday before returning home to play McKinley Friday. The game with Moanalua will mark the third between the schools, who played in a preseason tournament game. The teams split both games, each winning by three points. Both games figure big in the Bulldogs’ regular season and positioning for the upcoming OIA playoffs.

As Kaimuki defeated McKinley 48-37 on Jan. 22 and escaped 56-53 at home versus Moanalua only a couple of days later, they are expecting tough games from each. Grant talked of the amount of adjustments the coaching staffs of each school implement to specifically prepare for each of their opponents.


“(Moanalua coach) Greg (Tacon) runs a lot of formations and variations of his offense - we’re similar in that,” Grant said. “Bob (Morikuni) throws some wrinkles in as well. He came out with five big men against us last time, and we weren’t able to get any second-chance shots in the first half.”

The addition of Nutter adds to an already solid lineup for Kaimuki, which also boasts veterans Ryan Kakitani (10 points per game), David Taulung (15 ppg) and Desmond Tautofi (12 ppg).

“They’ve been fairly consistent.” Following Friday’s McKinley game, Kaimuki will play Kaiser (Feb. 11, away) and Farrington (Feb. 13, home) to close out the season. The OIA playoffs begin the following week.

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