Kahuku Hoopsters Await Football Peers To Launch Season
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usAs the old saying goes, it’s the journey, not the destination.
Kahuku boys basketball coach Nathan James’ approach has always been true to that concept. His win-loss record over the past two years has been exemplary by all standards, but it’s “the teaching of life skills, and the lessons they learn along the way” through basketball that drives him daily as the Red Raiders’ coach.
Kahuku’s recent success is all the more impressive given the late start the Red Raiders basketball team invariably experiences in a community where state championships in football are commonplace. (In 2004, the Red Raiders led the entire nation with nine players signing Division I football scholarships.) Kahuku’s football season doesn’t normally end until December.
“People usually like to play us early when we haven’t had a lot of time together,” James mused. “We know we’re usually going to be behind by three or four weeks, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I always tell the kids, (football players who also play basketball) ‘I’ll see you after you win the state championship.’”
Like most Red Raider coaches, James is all for Kahuku students playing multiple sports. The quality of kids his program has attracted through the years more than compensates for the lost practice time his team usually has as a group, to hear him tell it. In 2005, Kahuku won its first Oahu Interscholastic Association basketball title since 1968 and followed up that riveting run by advancing all the way to the State Championship game that February, where they were defeated by Iolani (now in the midst of a string of five consecutive titles). Last season, the Red Raiders were the OIA runner-up to Kaimuki and went on to a fourth-place finish at the state tournament.
“It (Kahuku’s basketball success) is a testament to the families of the players and the community,” said James, who played on Waipahu’s OIA championship teams in 1979 and ‘80. “We’ve never had any (off-the-court) problems here. It’s been a nice run and an enjoyable time for us all. It’s been nice to see the kids reap the benefits of their hard work.”
Late last week, James had only five players going through the Red Raider basketball team’s daily workouts. (“Five on none,” he joked.) He had only two a year ago this time while he waited to fill out his roster. With that in mind, Kahuku won’t play its first pre-season game until Dec. 7, when they take part in the Radford Tournament, which will guarantee them three encounters. The Red Raiders host Mililani Dec. 12, with North Torrance High School (Calif.) set to visit Kahuku for a game Dec. 26. The Red Raiders will also participate in a tournament at Moanalua just before the New Year, giving them nine pre-season games in preparation for their regular-season opener at home Jan. 2 against Castle.
Among the team’s on-court challenges this season will be to overcome the loss of last year’s OIA East Player of the Year Junior Ale, who is attending nearby Brigham Young University-Hawaii on a basketball scholarship.
Kahuku will have to compensate for more than Ale’s considerable offensive output, according to James.
“We’ll miss the intangible things that people don’t always see - the way he led,” he said. “But the athletes we do have will step up. They’re not proven in game situations, but they have faith in the system. We’re always blessed with fine young men and exceptional athletes here.”
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