Na Ali’i Practice, Play Hard
By Jack Danilewicz
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As the OIA defending Division II champion, Aiea’s basketball team knew it would get every opponent’s best effort this season. That realization has ensured they would never waver in their preparation.
“The kids are working harder now than ever,“said Aiea boys coach Wyatt Tau, whose team took a 3-0 record into last weekend.“We’re practicing two-and-a-half to three hours a day.We keep telling the kids that our job is to do what we do every day and then show up for games. Games are won in practice.”
To date, Na Ali’i have fared well in that regard. With the 3-0 start, which included wins over Kalani (84-59), Farrington (48-44) and Waialua (73-32),Aiea now has won 16 of its last 17 games against its DII opponents, dating to last year.
Even so, they haven’t been at full strength as of late with several players taking trips over the long winter break. Tau hoped to have the full use of his roster late last week with all 16 expected to dress for the 6:30 p.m.Wednesday game at McKinley.
“We’re still trying to gel,“he said. “We have to get everyone used to playing with each other again. By next week, we should be ready.”
Aiea’s fast start was all but expected, as Na Ali’i returned eight lettermen from last year’s OIA title team. Among the impact players who are back is point guard James Buchanan.A standout wide receiver on coach Wendell Say’s football team, he has been the catalyst for Na Ali’i, Tau said.
“He’s been a big plus for us. Last year, we didn’t ask him to score, and he’s been doing real good with that, averaging eight to 10 points a game.”
Also back: seniors Obie Woods and Josh Chung. Woods, a First Team All-League pick last year, is one of Hawaii’s top players, averaging 16 points per game in 2007.
“He can play all five spots,“marveled Tau. “He can penetrate, and he’s a good shooter. He’s probably our best post player, too.
“Josh is a pure shooter,” he added of Chung, who scored in double figures in two of Aiea’s first three games.“If you leave him alone, he can stick it (in).”
On the block, Tau also praised Zack Hanneman, a 6-foot-1 junior, who started on JV last season.
“He’s been our biggest surprise,“Tau said of Hanneman, who scored a game-high 16 points in Aiea’s 73-32 win over Waialua last week. “He’s taken a lot of the load off our shooting guards. He’s picked up his game, and we tried to get him the ball a lot in the pre-season.”
Against McKinley, Hanneman’s inside presence could be vital in neutralizing the Tigers, who will have a decided height advantage.Already, Aiea should have an edge with its deep, interchangeable back court.
“They have a lot of big kids, so we’ll have to pressure the ball and push the tempo. Our advantage is their disadvantage. Hopefully, we can take away some of those entry passes (into the low post). They’re even bigger than they were last year, and I thought they were big last year.”
Aiea’s depth also has paid huge dividends so far this season.“I utilize my whole bench - all 16 kids - and our second team has contributed a lot this year.We’re blessed to have two good groups. Usually we have three or four people in double figures. We’ll take that, and hopefully we can keep improving.”
With the tougher portion of its schedule still to come,cutting down on self-imposed miscues has been a priority.“We’re still not there yet. We can get a lot better. We’re still making a lot of mistakes we shouldn’t be making - mental mistakes, turnovers ... If we can correct that, we should be a tough team to stop.”
On the heels of the McKinley game, Aiea will host Anuenue at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
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