Kalaheo Hosts Pete Smith Classic
By Jack Danilewicz
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When the official starting date for boys prep basketball was moved back to Dec. 1, two weeks of the preseason were lost,reducing the non-conference slate for schools to a sprint rather than a marathon.
The good news for Kalaheo and head coach Chico Furtado is that a veteran team returns with no less than seven players who saw significant minutes back in the fold.
“It really won’t affect us much as far as practice time, although we did have to move the Pete Smith Classic back, and we lost a couple of teams that usually come,” he said.
As in past years, the preseason slate, which begins with the Pete Smith Classic Dec. 11, 12 and 13, will be ultra-competitive. The Mustangs also will play in the Punahou preseason tournament and the Merv Lopes Classic. Its OIA Red East opener is Jan.2 at Kaimuki.The preseason used to cover six weeks but must now be completed within four. Another benefit is that all but one of Kalaheo’s key returnees concentrated on basketball in the fall as opposed to playing another sport -a rarity at a school known for its multi-sport athletes.
Furtado will use the preseason to develop the depth of his team as well as some fine-tuning of his schemes. Early on, the team will count on its front-line performers to carry them deep into the fourth quarter and beyond. One thing they won’t be lacking for is size, with a potential starting lineup that could have four players over 6 feet tall.
“We’re not very deep, but they’re all pretty athletic, and they jump well,“said Furtado,whose team went undefeated (10-0) to win the OIA Red East crown last year en route to a 14-3 overall record.“We’ll still get out and run, but we’ll need to be smart about when we do and be able to run some half-court offense. Defensively, we have to take a different approach with our pressure defense than we’d like to because of our lack of depth. We’ll play mostly a half-court defense and maybe even some more zone than in the past.”
Leading the way among the returnees is senior guard Richard Preza Haynes, who is penciled in at the point following a solid junior season and ensuing summer. Last season,his defensive prowess earned him the task of covering the opposition’s top backcourt player, a role that’s not likely to change this year.
“Defensively, he’s quick,“Furtado said, “and he’s really matured. He plays more under control now, and he’s quick as a jet. Offensively, he can hit the perimeter jump shot and he can dribble-penetrate. He didn’t have to score last year because we had Cheynne (Lishman) and Taylor (Jay), but he will have to this year.”
Junior Aaron Fernandez will likely open the season at the off-guard spot with Shawn Hipa projected to play at No. 3. At 6-foot-4, Fernandez figures to create matchup problems versus everyone he plays against. Hipa also has good size at 6-1.
“Aaron came into his own this summer,confidence-wise.He shoots the deep ball well, and he’s attacking the basket more. We’re looking forward to him replacing Cheynne, scoring-wise.
“Shawn is a good kid. He plays hard, and he jumps well. He just needs more court experience.We’re hoping he can give us some good minutes.”
In the post, they will rely on seniors Christian Kepa, Matt Gasparine and Carlos Craig.All played significant minutes as juniors.
“Christian has soft hands, and he has the ability to do some things around the bucket. The question with him is whether he can get up and down to the best of his ability and be the player he can be. Matt is athletic, and he has a nose for the ball. His work ethic is great. Carlos does a lot of little things.Defensively, he’s our best guy at sitting on charges.”
Furtado also expects up-and-coming junior Kevin Leong, who was the starting point guard for the JV last season, to be an impact player. “He’ll be a spot guy, but a primary ball-handler. Once he gets up to speed with the quickness of varsity-level basketball, he’ll be fine.”
When the team begins practice Monday, it will have 10 days to prepare for the Pete Smith Pre-Season Tournament,where it will play Pearl City, Mililani and Punahou II. Starting times for the tournament, which also features Castle and Kamehameha II, weren’t set at press time.
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