Na Ali’i Seniors Working Toward Post-season Title
By Jack Danilewicz
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For the senior members of the Aiea boys basketball team, the 2008 season has been all about the chance to finish some unfinished business.
“We came up short last year in the state tournament, and that’s given us an extra push this season,” said senior point guard James Buchanan. “We (seniors) definitely talk about it. There’s also an unspoken bond between us. We have to go out there and prove it this year.”
Added Josh Chung: “This is our last year, and we want to make a name for ourselves. Aiea’s never done this (win a state title in boys’ basketball).”
There can be no doubt that the defending OIA Division II champion Na Ali’i, who entered last weekend still undefeated in league play, figure to be one of the favorites in next month’s Hawaiian Airlines Division II State Basketball Tournament, barring a late-season collapse. In a sense, Na Ali’i have been on guard against a letdown since last February when they were seemingly eliminated from the OIA Tournament and a state tournament berth in a 62-60 first-round loss to Thompson Academy. A few days later, Thompson forfeited that game to Aiea, which went on to win the OIA en route to a fourth-place finish at the state tournament. Na Ali’i had entered its game with Thompson with a 10-1 record only to see its season end, albeit if only temporarily.
“We have to go and play one game at a time and not get too cocky, stay focused and keep the intensity up,” Buchanan said, recalling the loss to Thompson.
Asked if Aiea had expected an easy time of it in that now infamous game with the Sharks, he said, “As a team, I think we did.”
“That was key for us,” said fellow senior and White Conference Player of the Year candidate Obie Woods. “It taught us a life lesson - not to take anything for granted - and to feel blessed to have everything you have. As a team, we’re more tough-minded now.”
Buchanan is one of the team’s acknowledged leaders, along with Chung, Woods, Daniel Liilii and Jarred McKee. Seniors all, the group enters the home stretch of their regular-season schedule in the coming days. There isn’t much Na Ali’i's veterans haven’t seen during their time in the program. As freshmen on the junior varsity, they struggled through a one-win season.
“Between freshman and sophomore years, we became more mature,” McKee said. “We needed to play more games together.”
“We were still trying to find our bond,” Buchanan added.
“We had to get the system down, too. Coach (Wyatt Tau) is a good communicator. He’s easy to understand, and we still have fun.”
Na Ali’i rebounded big the following year to win the OIA’s junior varsity championship under Tau. With his promotion to varsity head coach in the fall of 2006, it meant the current Na Ali’i senior class will have played all four years under the same coaching staff.
“It worked for us,” McKee said of Tau’s becoming the varsity coach. “We got to have the same system and the same coach for four years.”
Entering last Saturday’s game with Anuenue, Aiea had won 21 of its last 24 games dating back to the beginning of the 2007 regular season. Although Na Ali’i has posted big numbers throughout their run, the best offense may be its defense, in the players’ view.
“We can score - we’re all good shooters,” Liilii said.“Our defense sets it all up. We’ve been practicing harder. Coach has cracked down on us this year.”
Liilii and his teammates also credit their bond off the court as a big boost to their play.
“We trust each other more,” he said.
“Since our sophomore year,” Chung added, “we’ve had a lot of sleepovers. We’re all close. We have Madden Tournaments, we play Xbox, Wii (system), cards ... “
“When it’s time to play,” McKee said, “we’re serious, although we walk a fine line sometimes.”
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