Castle Aims For Quick, Scrappy Play
By Jack Danilewicz
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Castle head boys basketball coach Rocky Fraticelli has been quick to remind his upperclassmen that their eligibility clocks are ticking. With seven seniors back in the fold, the veteran coach is hoping his team will have a built-in sense of urgency throughout its upcoming regular season.
“We’ve put it upon them that this is a senior-dominated team, and we’re looking for positive results,” said Fraticelli, who begins his 18th season at Castle and 25th overall in the Oahu Interscholastic Association. “These players have experience - they just need to get out there and show it.We may be one of the shortest teams in the OIA,but we’re more together than in past years, and they’re a very coach-able group.”
The Knights, who took a 2-2 pre-season record into last weekend, figure to be more defensive-minded this season. With only two players stretching beyond 6 feet in their current starting lineup, Castle will likely emphasize its quickness, according to Fraticelli.
“We’ll need to be a good defensive team and a good rebounding team,“he said.“That’s a big part of it - and we’re going to need to score. As a perimeter-based team, we’ll have to take good shots. We lost 31 of the 51 points per game that we averaged a year ago through graduation.
“We’re also bringing back the matchup zone (on defense) with a few different wrinkles. It’s kind of new to some of our players, but they’re learning. Because of our size, we’ll need to do some pressing. We’ve seen signs of being a scrap-py team, and we’ll need to play that kind of game.”
Back to lend senior leadership for the Knights are Bronson Kekahuna, Shayne Carvalho, Lane Kihara, Vernon Mitchell, Malani Lum and Marcus Ofoia, while up-and-coming junior Nickolas Tuamoheloa enters his second year on the varsity.
Kekahuna is a four-year varsity player and brings steadiness to the back court.A point guard in the past, he’s moving into the off guard spot this season.
“We’re experimenting with him there - we’re hoping we can get more scoring from him,” said Fraticelli, whose team opens its regular season at home against Kailua Jan. 2.
Kihara plays both guard positions and had a solid off-season, according to his coach. “He’s really stepped up and taken charge. He’s one of our three captains. He was a coach’s pick by me and (assistant coach) David (Parker).
“Malani and Vernon are our other two captains, selected by the players. They’ll all need to take on more of a leadership role.We’ll need scoring from Vernon, and he’s capable. We’ll also need scoring from Malani.”
Tuamoheloa, a 5-9 guard, averaged 7.0 points per game as a sophomore and could see more touches this year if all goes according to plan
“Hopefully, he can average in double figures,” Fraticelli said.
In the post, Carvalho will provide an inside presence at center. “He understands his role - he plays good defense and grabs rebounds. Most of his scoring will come off of put-backs.”
Fraticelli also is high on juniors Kevin Aipia, Michael Santos and Isaiah Tilton. Aipia is a 5-foot-11 forward, while Santos and Tilton are guards, who played JV last winter.
“They’ll all be key players for us, and Kevin has been starting (in pre-season games),” he said.
The Knights, who were to play Kaiser and University High over the weekend, continue their preseason Dec. 26-29 when they take part in the Moanalua Tournament. Their first-round opponent will be Mid-Pacific on Dec. 26. Game times for Castle’s other two encounters will be determined by the outcome of the game with Mid-Pac.
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