Big Island Tournament, A Chance For Sabers To Bond

Wednesday - December 13, 2006
By Jack Danilewicz
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Demetrius Nealy, Michael McDonald, Jay Nahial, Joseph Atimua, Walter Daniels, Patrick Ward, Terence Tafai, Jayden Delizo, Mike Makinano, Pita Feleunga, Danny Mau and Davetta Gholson (kneeling). Photo courtesy of James Campbell High School.
Demetrius Nealy, Michael McDonald, Jay Nahial, Joseph
Atimua, Walter Daniels, Patrick Ward, Terence Tafai, Jayden
Delizo, Mike Makinano, Pita Feleunga, Danny Mau and
Davetta Gholson (kneeling). Photo courtesy of James
Campbell High School.

For all the collective athletic ability on the Campbell basketball team, head coach Bobby Samson would be the last to underestimate the importance of developing team unity.

Indeed, with that in mind, the veteran coach and his Sabers will be looking to do more than win a few games this weekend when they travel to Hilo to take part in the Big Island Candies Pre-Season Tournament.

“We’ll be staying at Volcanoes National Park,where it will be dark and cold and the boys will only have themselves,“laughed Samson. “That should really help with team bonding. Right now, our cohesiveness is noteworthy. The boys have developed a chemistry that is really nice.”


Campbell is bidding for a school-best third consecutive state tournament appearance this winter so, in a sense, the Sabers are already in the regular-season mode, although their season opener won’t take place until Jan. 2 (at home versus Kapolei). The Sabers were the Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up two years ago and made a second consecutive Final Four appearance in the league last year. But even without their recent success, expectations would be high for Campbell. Nothing less than another post-season appearance will suffice this year, to hear Samson tell it.

“I’d be disappointed if we didn’t get there (to the state tournament),” said Samson, who is also the girls varsity basketball coach at Maryknoll School.“It’s definitely the goal.”

Early-season optimism centers around the return of point guard Michael McDonald, off guard Jayden Delizo and forward Mike Makinano. The Sabers received an added boost during the off-season when 6-2 sophomore Patrick Ward relocated to the area from the basketball-tradition-rich state of Virginia.

“I think our ability to push the ball is going to surprise a lot of people this year,” Samson said. “That’s an area where we are far ahead of where we were at this time last year. Last year, we were a half-court team. This year, we’re letting it fly.We’ll play an uptempo game.”

Makinano burst on the Oahu Interscholastic Association scene like a meteor last year when he established himself as one of the state’s top performers.

“He’s the purest scorer in the OIA, a natural offensive player,” Samson said of Makanino. “He had 49 in a summer league game. His range is phenomenal - he can hit from anywhere on the court.”

Campbell figures to have one of the bigger back courts in the state with McDonald at 6-1 and Delizo standing at 6-0. Seniors both, the pair are long on athletic ability, according to Samson.

“Michael can finish on the (fast)break, and he’s providing some good leadership,” he said. “Jayden has great leaping ability and tremendous speed. He’ll be a defensive stopper this year.”

Ward may be the most versatile player on the Campbell roster, meanwhile.

“He’s quite an asset at 6-2,” Samson said of Ward. “He can play inside or outside. He’s young, and he’s still growing. I think he’ll top off at 6-4 or 6-5.”


Elsewhere on the Campbell roster, youth will be the prevailing theme.

“(Overall) We’re a little inexperienced as far as varsity-level competition, but with our pre-season schedule, the kids will mature fast,“Samson said.“They’ll do a lot of growing.”

On the heels of the Hilo trip, the Sabers will return to the Island to take part in the Iolani Classic as well as the Moanalua Holiday Tournament.Once they settle into OIA play, Samson sees a balanced race in the West. The league separated into two divisions during the off-season with the Sabers set to compete in Division I. Under the new format, Campbell will play each West opponent twice - once at home and once on the road.

“We’ll have to work hard for everything,“Samson said.“Every game will come down to one or two possessions. Mililani and Leilehua have a lot of people back. Radford is always well-coached with Kai Enos (at the helm).You have Kapolei with their athletes and Pearl City, too. The West will be very, very tough.”

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