Basketball Knights Catching On To Motion Defense
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usIn the ultra-competitive Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East Conference, every basketball game is akin to a “must win” for a team hoping to play deep into February. But taking care of business at home plainly sets the tone for a season, to hear Castle coach Rocky Fraticelli tell it.
“We have to defend our home turf and see what happens after that,” said Fraticelli, whose team hosts Kaimuki Thursday and Roosevelt Saturday in a pair of key encounters. “With four of our first five at home, we have to take advantage of our schedule.”
The Knights had a stellar start to their regular season last Wednesday when they pulled away from Kailua in the fourth quarter for a work-manlike 46-25 victory. In addition to holding Kailua to only 18 points through three quarters, nary a single Surfrider could crack double figures in that game against an assertive Castle defense.
“I was impressed with the way we played, defensively,” said Fraticelli. “We played our match-up zone the way it is supposed to be played and, hopefully, we can continue that this week. We told our kids before the game, basically, that preseason was over and now we’re starting the season that counts.We need to learn from our mistakes and move on. Considering the preseason we had, it was nice to get off to a good start.”
In its first two league games against Kailua and Kahuku, the Knights’ opponent last Thursday night, Castle faced two of the better centers in Kenny Ellis of the Surfriders and the Red Raiders’ Willie Ching.
“We had some upperclassmen who didn’t play well in the pre-season do very well (against Kailua). Layne (Kihara) and Malani Lum played very well, and so did Vernon (Mitchell). Even though he didn’t score, he held Ellis to only three points, and we’ll take that.”
On Thursday, the Knights face another tough assignment in Kaimuki center Desmond Tautofi. A 6-foot-2 junior, he is one of few holdovers from the Bulldogs’ OIA and state title team from a year ago. The Knights also are aware of Kaimuki’s up-and-coming point guard, David Taulang.
“We saw him at the Moanalua tournament, and he’s pretty agile,” Fraticelli said. “He’s also left-handed, which could make it interesting. They kind of came together at Moanalua, so it will be a challenge for us. We’ll have to play good defense and secure rebounds like we did against Kailua.We were able to hold them to one shot.
“Their point guard (Taulang) is a good ball player - he makes their team go - so we’ll have to try to neutralize him. We’ve talked to the kids about how our offense can come from our defense.”
With that in mind on the offensive end, the Knights had strong games against Kailua from Isaiah Tilton (9) and Nick Tuamoheloa (10), in addition to 13 from Kihara. “Our half-court game has been getting better the last few weeks,” Fraticelli said. “The kids are responding to the motion offense we’re running. They like the freedom it gives them. The area we’ve been struggling a little with is conversion. With a small team, that becomes a concern, although we had some nice fast breaks against Kailua, and we also did well with our half-court game.”
The Knights are in the midst of a stretch that will see them play four games in seven days. Following Saturday’s game against Roosevelt, Castle visits Kalaheo in a key game next Monday.
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