Kalaheo Girls Playing All Summer

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Kalaheo High School girls basketball coach Jac Thomas. Photo by Nathalie Walker, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Should the Kalaheo girls basketball team return to the high-rent district next winter, it will look back on its ambitious off-season program as a huge contributing factor.

In addition to taking part in their own summer league, the team also will play in Kaimuki’s summer program. The bulk of the roster also forms the nucleus of the Kailua Stars Club team, which also plays in two leagues. Throw in some practice sessions and weight training and conditioning, and the Lady Mustangs are on an off-season slate akin to a college program.

The heavy schedule should come as no surprise in basketball circles, given the late start that second-year coach Jac Thomas had in taking over last November.Without an off-season under his leadership, the team struggled to a 1-10 record, and was shifted from Division I to Division II for next season.

“What was hard was that I was hired two weeks before the season started,“said Thomas, who succeeded Ryan Hogue. “I had been an assistant the year before, but I didn’t have a say in things. I was just there to help. We’re playing a lot more basketball in the off-season with the club leagues and summer leagues, and we’re doing a lot of work with weight training.

“An area we needed to work on was conditioning, so we’ve been working harder on that. We’re very positive about this team’s outlook. They’re really upset about the transition (to DII) and look forward to (proving they are DI caliber).”

The good news is that they return nearly their entire lineup. Only Hoku Malama-Custer completed her eligibility.

“We lacked the leadership to lead the younger kids last season,” said Thomas, who played for the late Pete Smith in the late ‘80s,“but we have a core of kids back, and our chemistry has improved a lot. They’ve learned to set aside their friendship when on the court and to play the game.You can’t run just on talent - that won’t get us very far. You have to be a leader to the younger players, and you have to leave the drama at the door when you step onto the court. They’ve matured a lot, and I’m proud of them for that.”

Amid the returnees are four starters - seniors-to-be Nicole Cobb and Caira Pires, as well as juniors-to-be Kaua Cale and the coach’s daughter Kourtni Thomas. Thomas also is high on 5-11 senior Sisi Panapa, who joined the team this off-season and is projected to play in the post.

“Her size and hustle are just what the team needed,” Thomas said of Panapa. “She has a lot of muscle, but she’s raw, having only played one year of competitive basketball. I’m doing a lot of off-season workouts with her, and she’s playing a lot of games to catch up.”

To a large degree, the team’s catalyst is Kourtni Thomas, who had a solid sophomore campaign until a mid-season knee injury forced her off the schedule.

“Her ball-handling is her strength,” Jac Thomas said of his daughter. “We had a hard time when she got hurt.”

Kourtni was recently picked to play for Hawaii-Select, the Windward-based traveling all-star team coached by current Kalaheo boys coach and longtime girls head coach Chico Furtado. Hawaii-Select goes to Las Vegas next month for the Main Event National Basketball Tournament. (Furtado led Kalaheo to five straight OIA titles while coaching the girls.)

Also on Kalaheo’s summer roster Latasia Franklin,Tiffany Harada, Kamele Perry, Brandy R. Sanson, Rachel Kahlbaum, Hii Olson, Angela Wozniak and up-and-coming sophomores Mele Adams and Jody Smith. Smith is the younger sister of last year’s ILH Co-Player of the Year, Jamie Smith (Iolani).

Having founded Kailua Stars, Thomas finds the club program to be a significant source of talent for Kalaheo. The junior varsity finished second in the OIA last winter.

Kalaheo was to return to action this week, hosting games at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday versus Campbell and 8:30 p.m. Thursday opposite Kahuku as part of Kalaheo’s summer league.