Kalei Adams Takes The Helm
By Jack Danilewicz
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS | Share
Del.icio.us
|
Less than a year ago, then-freshman guard Kalei Adams was still working her way into the Pearl City lineup. Now she’s added a new responsibility - that of Coach on the Floor.
“She’s only a sophomore, so she’s still learning to be a leader, but she’s taken on the brunt of our scoring,” said Pearl City girls basketball coach Mike Morton. “She’s the one who has really stood out. Right now, she just has to be patient and wait for the others to catch up because a lot of them were on the junior varsity last year when she was playing varsity.”
Only an injured knee has slowed the 5-5 Adams to date.
“She was a little sore after the Kailua game the other day, so if we have to sit her down to make sure she’s rested, we will,” Morton added. “She won’t tell me when she’s hurting. She’s a tough kid who is playing probably at only about 75 percent.”
As in recent years, defense has carried the Chargers during a pre-season slate that has seen them win five of their first seven games heading into last weekend. Only twice have the Chargers yielded more than 30 points in a contest, one of them a double-overtime setback to Saint Francis last month.
“We’re learning on defense - it’s just taking some time for them to understand what we want,” Morton said.“We had a real good game with Kailua, which was running the flex. We defended it well, but we were behind, and we had to pressure a bit more and go for some steals. We’re more behind on offense. We’re putting a little bit more in each week, and they’re getting it slowly.”
While Adams’ presence may be most visible on the fast break, her defensive skills haven’t been lost on her coach, who likens her game to that of former Charger and current Saint Francis (PA) College standout Cristi Ayers, who graduated from Pearl City in 2003.
“She leads the team in steals, and she had five against Kailua, which has really good guards,” Morton said. “We’re trying to mold her - she anticipates really well. The one year under her belt at the varsity level really helped her. It’s a combination of both her getting better and becoming more mature. She understands a little bit more.
“Kailua ran a good man-to-man against her, and she had a lot on her shoulders and still scored over half of our points. She gets up and down really good, and she’s hard to stop one-on-one.”
Should Adams fulfill her pre-season potential, it could pay dividends for a Charger team that would like to be balanced. Morton expects to receive solid play on the block from senior Patricia Langi and sophomore Markeshia Manning.
“Patricia is one of the keys,” said Morton, whose team will visit McKinley at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and host Kaimuki Saturday in pre-season action. “She’s had a great pre-season. She tore it up in our tournament. She and Markeshia are both anchors inside.”
The highlight of Pearl City’s pre-season so far was a 36-26 win over Campbell. The Chargers have also defeated Waipahu, La Pietra, Waianae and Castle, while losing to Kailua and Saint Francis. Pearl City opens its regular season Dec. 18 at Nanakuli.
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS
Most Recent Comment(s):
