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New Twists On Athletic Kailua Team

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Chauncy Makainai attempts a shot
while being blocked by Ryan Naluai.
Photo by Nathalie Walker

Familiar faces may fill out the current Kailua roster, but if all goes according to plan, the Surfrider basketball team will have a different look this winter.

“We’re a little bit quicker, and we have a little bit more basketball experience with this group,” said Kailua coach Tim Harrison. “That’s the difference. We’re more of an up-tempo team now. We like (to apply) full-court pressure. That’s how we get to an up-tempo game.”

Kailua returns all five starters from last season when the Surfriders narrowly missed the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s post-season. A loss to Roosevelt at the buzzer in the regular-season finale sealed that team’s fate. But to hear Harrison tell it, the loss left his team with a sense of urgency over some unfinished business this season.

“We led most of that game (against Roosevelt),“said Harrison, whose team finished 5-6 in 2006. “We had been in the playoffs the year before, so these kids have seen the ups and downs here. They want to go out (as seniors) having had a playoff season.

“We’ve had a lot of fun coaching this group,” he added. “They work very hard.”

One new twist involves a shift in the Surfrider back-court. Last year’s point guard Billy Oden has moved to the off-guard spot, with Zach Akamine stepping in to play the point. Together, the pair complement each other nicely, according to their coach.

Akamine has been “instant-offense” for the Surfriders this pre-season in leading them to a 3-1 record. He scored 29 points in a win over Maryknoll recently.

“Scoring is his strength,” Harrison said of Akamine, the football team’s quarterback in the fall. “He’s a team leader - somebody who’s been stepping up for us.”

Oden, who is only a junior, is “a shooter” and is likely to draw the assignment of guarding the opposition’s best back-court scoring threat. “He’s very physical - he was the middle linebacker on the football team - and he’s a good defender when he’s not in foul trouble,” Harrison said.“He’s still getting into basketball shape, so he’s not as quick as he would normally be.”

Also returning to the starting lineup are 6-foot-5 center Ryan Naluai and forwards Tim Maganay and Sam Trueman.

“Tim is probably our best all-around player,” Harrison said. “He’s outstanding, defensively - very quick. He’s the leader on our press (defense). He makes his presence felt.”

Despite his considerable size, Naluai is perhaps the most versatile of the Surfriders, making him ideally suited to Harrison’s motion offense.

“He can play anywhere from the three (spot) to the five spot, depending on who we have in the game,“Harrison said.“Rebounding and defense are Sam’s strengths, and he’s getting better with his offensive skills, which is the area he needs to work on.”

Harrison stopped just short of calling his team the most skilled of the groups he’s coached in his previous six seasons at Kailua, but he cited their overall athleticism as the reason the Surfriders will emphasize a faster pace this year.

“They’re very athletic, and I like the way they play together. With so many football players on the team, they’ve already spent a full season together, so it’s a close-knit group. We’re very ‘together’ for this time of the year.”

Harrison was hoping Kailua’s cohesiveness would increase over the weekend when they competed in the St. Anthony’s Pre-Season Tournament on Maui. At 3 p.m. Wednesday, the Surfriders begin play in the Moanalua Holiday Tournament against Word of Life. A win would possibly set up a second-round match-up Thursday with Kahuku, whom the Surfriders will meet twice as part of the new round-robin format in the OIA’s Division I regular season.

Having been designated as Division I, the Surfriders will be grouped with traditional powers Kalaheo, Kahuku and Kaimuki, in addition to Castle, Moanalua and Roosevelt.

“Every game will be tough,” Harrison said. “There are no weak teams in the league. Every night out you have to be prepared to give yourself a chance to win.”

Kailua opens its regular season Jan. 4 at Castle.