Campbell vs. Mililani Showdown Will Play Out On OC16
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usIf Wyatt Tau has his way, a lot more than basketball ability will be on display Thursday night when his Campbell team hosts Mililani in a game that will be televised statewide on OC16.
“We want to showcase our (positive collective) attitude this year - these are good kids,” said Tau, who is in his first year as head coach at Campbell after three highly successful seasons in the same position at Aiea.“We’ve been looking forward to that game.”
Discipline has been the prevailing theme at Campbell this preseason, scheme-wise and otherwise, according to the coach. Thursday’s game looms big for another reason, as Campbell and Mililani are both being mentioned among the favorites in the OIA Red West race this winter.
“The key for us, not just for this week, is to stay disciplined,“said Tau, whose team went 9-4 in games over the last month.“We blew a lot of double-digit leads in our preseason because we were undisciplined.We have to always be able to play the same way against everybody and stay disciplined.”
Thursday’s game will mark the first basketball game in the school’s proud history to be televised from the Campbell campus. The Sabers, who began their OIA season on Saturday versus Kapolei, were to play in an equally big game Tuesday at Aiea. It will be Tau’s first game back at the school he led to a pair of OIA Division II titles in 2006 and 2007. He returned to Campbell,his alma mater,over the summer.
“It will be awkward,” Tau admitted.“I wouldn’t have left Aiea for any other job - only Campbell. I loved it there at Aiea, and I loved those kids, but I had always wanted to come back home.”
Tau also had formed a close relationship with Aiea athletic director Blake Moritsugu, making his decision to leave even harder, he said.
“He was very supportive and told me it was an opportunity, and if I could get it, to take it,“Tau said.“It’s hard not to want to work for him. He’s just a good guy and a real good athletic director over there.”
Despite coaching at Aiea the last three seasons,Na Ali’i were still a bit of a mystery to Tau last week, as he was still focused on Kapolei. Mililani is less a mystery, as Campbell defeated the Trojans 58-44 in the third-place game of last month’s Pete Smith Pre-Season Tournament at Kalaheo.
While wins and losses were not the entire focus of Campbell’s preseason, Tau came away pleased with his team.“I think it tested a lot of our guys.We wanted to develop our depth and see who would step up.”
On that note, Tau called 6-foot-2 post player Christian Storment “our biggest surprise. Last year, he averaged four or five points a game, but he’s been averaging 15 a game in preseason, and he’d probably be averaging a double-double if we had kept track of rebounds.
“In our tournament,against Hanalani, Damien and Nanakuli, he averaged about 17 (ppg).Damien was very big - two 6-5 kids and a couple who are 6-4 and 6-3 kids - and he stepped up against the big guys.”
Tau also has been pleased with the progression of Kristian Manual at the point guard spot. He was an off-guard last season. “Although he’s at the point now,he’s been relentless in shooting the ball. I didn’t realize how well he could shoot.His assists also are up from last year,and he’s playing more ‘team’ ball now.”
Campbell also returns veterans in Mason Mau and Clayton Darity from last season, when the team made a fifth consecutive appearance at the Division I state tournament.
While the rest of the Red West will play games Saturday, the Sabers will have an open date. Campbell’s next game following the televised match-up with Mililani will be Jan. 12, at Leilehua.
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