Closing the Book: No. 6 Kalaheo (21-11, 10-1 OIA)
> vs. Top 10: 8-10 (.444)
> Top 10 wins: ARR, ROY, STL, LEI, PUN, SANG, KAIL, MOA
> Top 10 losses: DMS, TRI, HES, MS, MPI, ELT, KAH, MOA, LEI, MS
> Non-Top 10 losses: None
> Home: 10-3
> Away: 7-2
> Neutral: 4-6
> Playoffs: 1-2
> HHSAA: 0-1
Adversity made a better team of the Kalaheo Mustangs.
It took an overtime win by eventual back-to-back state champion Maryknoll to extinguish Kalaheo. The timing, the heartbreak and the bonds within the Mustangs’ program will not be forgotten.
Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant points to the 49-41 overtime win over Kalaheo in the opening round of the state tournament as the tightest of the Spartans’ four wins that week. Kalaheo had the lead for most of the second half, and could have ended Maryknoll’s repeat dream if not for a missed 3-point shot at the end of regulation. If Luke Pardini's 28-footer hits, Kalaheo moves into the quarterfinal with incredible momentum and Maryknoll's quest for that back-to-back run ends.
It wasn't meant to be.
“It was a season that ended too soon,” Kalaheo coach Rob Pardini said.
Kalaheo made the most of it despite a key injury to starter Bobby Thompson during the OIA playoffs. It took time for the Mustangs to adjust without the reliable, skilled 6-foot-4 senior. Losses to eventual OIA champion Moanalua, and then Leilehua in the third-place game followed Thompson’s wrist injury. That turned the first-place team in the OIA East (10-1) into a fourth-place team in the OIA.
That led to the matchup with Maryknoll, the defending state champion and ILH runner-up. At Maryknoll. Kalaheo turned the momentum around and rebuilt its chemistry without Thompson. Against just about any other opponent, the Mustangs played well enough in that opening round to win.
“No doubt. It came at the wrong time there, when you lose him in the first round of the OIAs, then you’re up against Moanalua. Then Maryknoll,” Pardini said. “What we were doing up to that point, Bobby was such a big piece on both ends of the court. It is what it is. It’s pretty difficult to bounce quickly. It takes time to fill the spot. We had guys to replace him, but it’s by committee, not one individual.”
Despite the heartbreaking finish, it was a season of success for the most part. Kalaheo has a formidable group of returnees and new players up from junior varsity for next season. Coach Pardini chatted about the past, present and future.
Coach Pardini chatted about his team on Tuesday.
This season was ________.
Pardini: “Unfortunate. It was unfortunate that Bobby got hurt. Unfortunate that we ran into strong season-ending teams like Moanalua and Maryknoll. When you finish 10-1 and first place in the OIA (East), you could assume that you’re on your way. It’s not a negative in any way."
This season was the movie ________.
Pardini:
Review: Starters and key rotation/role players:
Kanoa Smith, 6-1, Sr., 12 ppg, voted No. 11 All-State Fab 15
Pardini’s notes:
Performs best under pressure
Solid 1/2 (combo) guard
Has all the skills
Good defender
High b-ball IQ
Three-year varsity starter
Pardini: “He’s a reflection of family there with the Smith legacy. He’s a super respectful kid, very humble, very quiet. He knows exactly what to do at all times. He’s a kid that I never, ever had a doubt that he would either respond or do what we asked him to do at any given point.”
Luke Pardini, 6-1, Sr., 11 ppg, voted All-State honorable mention
Pardini’s notes:
Our most complete player
Great deep perimeter shooter, passer NS rebounder for PG
Led us in totals for all three stats from preseason to state tourney
Highest b-ball IQ in state
Thrives under pressure
Often drew double teams and face guards from opponents
Guarded toughest opponent scorer
*returnee
Pardini: “We overlook as coaches when we have a point guard who can do everything. He could have been a pure 2 all season and had very high numbers, but we wanted the ball in his hands because he made the best decisions with the ball, and a very underrated passer. Kelly tried to face guard him in the state tournament game. That gave Kanoa position, but Kelly wasn’t concerned about Kanoa, he was concerned about Luke. He knew if Luke went off, we probably wouldn’t win. He had a major hand issue from a car accident in the preseason and basically played through it. He’s super, physically tough kid. He’s played through a lot of issues the last two seasons. That’s a goal for the off-season to get stronger and bigger.”
Bobby Thompson, 6-4, Sr., 11 ppg in OIA, voted All-State honorable mention
Very skilled
Extremely hard working/focused
Most coachable
Has great motor
Pardini: “There’s nothing negative with Bobby. He’s an interesting kid. When he’s on the floor, all the coaches would tell you from start to finish at practice, he’s our hardest working kid. He does exactly what you ask him to do. He would run through a wall for you. An amazing player to have as a coach.”
Andrew Jones, 6-6, Jr., 9 ppg, voted All-State honorable mention
Pardini’s notes:
Old school back to basket post
“Jack Sikma” up/under moves
Relentless mentality on glass
*returnee
Pardini: “The reason I call him Jack, we had our Pete Smith Classic and Gib Arnold’s tournament. We had some really good talent. Three of those tournaments made their state finals. Gib was watching our game and he said after the game, who’s the Jack Sikma kid. That was hilarious. He was on fire with his up and under, off balance, just a great parallel. Andrew was very raw when he showed up. He fit in really well with the boys. He’s probably one of the very few kids, when it was game time, he’s a very focused kids and loves to compete. He’ll just grind as a kind of undersized, he’s got length but he’s undersized compared to other bigs like Sage at 7 feet. Most bigs at this level don’t work that hard. He’s loves to mix it up. Great offensive rebounder. Got a real knack for getting on the glass. He was a great add for us. All the boys loved working with him.”
Ryan Owens, 6-5, Jr., 6 ppg
Pardini’s notes:
Defense the post well
Rim protector
Rebounder
Ability to bring the ball up vs. full court man pressure
Pardini: “He is a deceptive shot blocker and rim protector. He’s not overly tall, and because he’s thin, he looks long, but he’s not really long either. It’s really interesting. The measurables, we do that with the boys, measure their height and wing span and sometimes, vert, but he’s not measurably long. He’s one of those who’s still growing and coming into his body. He has really good timing. He makes plays defensively, gets himself in foul trouble a little bit throughout his career. The other thing, he is an exceptional passer and has really, really good vision. He has a really good feel for the game and he knows where the ball needs to be. The execution part will no doubt get better as he plays with bigger, stronger, faster kids if he gets that opportunity. He’s got a long ways to go and he knows what to work on. At times he’s extremely impressive.”
Anthony Caswell, 6-3, Sr.
Pardini: “AC, we call him. AC is a role player. He was rolling last season and in the offseason. He improved tremendously from junior to senior year. He gained a lot of confidence coming out of volleyball last year. He definitely increased his vert through volleyball. Great kid. I loved having him. An all-in kid. Loved the atmosphere, being part of the team.”
Pono Browne, 6-1, Jr.
Pardini: “Pono was in and out of the starting lineup all season depending on who was healthy. Sometimes it was Pono. Sometimes it was Owens. It got him a lot of exposure. He didn’t have a lot of experience, but we wanted him as a junior getting time. He’s a spot-up shooter, when Luke and Kanoa were driving and drawing doubles, he was the guy who finds space and knocks down some shots. He’s a good shooter. He’s got some athletic ability and I think he’s going to grow. We’d like to see him play more interior next season. He’ll be a guy who will do a lot for us in his senior year. He was kind of the 3, a wing guy. Next year he’ll be more of a stretch guy, in and out. He does have some strength and size, just has to learn how to use it. He likes to mix it up. It was a great experience for him as a junior. He got exactly what he needed from it. He’ll be asked to do a lot next year, which is great.”
Did the rotation change?
Pardini: “Not really. When Bobby was injured, that was definitely the different lineup change there.”
What or who surprised you most?
Pardini: “Probably Andrew Jones. He had some really key games for us. Came up clutch and came up strong in the middle for us. I’m looking forward to that consistency next season.”
What were the most adverse challenges?
Pardini: “No, we didn’t really have that. It was just that event when Bob got hurt.”
What was the peak? What was the low?
Pardini: “We had a really good preseason. We beat Arroyo Grande and Royal. Arroyo is extremely good. They’re a powerhouse in the Division I and II level in CIF. The Moanalua game at home during the regular season that was on TV, that was a good momentum win for us. The three overtime losses, obviously. Damien (in preseason), we had a last shot, just like Maryknoll. Could’ve been foul. We had a lead most of the game, then lost in overtime. The Kahuku game, we also had last possession and had them beat most of the game. And Maryknoll. I wouldn’t call them lows. The Kahuku one definitely took the air out of us, but I told the boys, you never know until the end of regular season, you hope those make you stronger. I definitely think the Damien and Maryknoll games made us stronger.
What will you miss about this group?
Pardini: “They’ve been together for years. They all came in together four years, the senior class. It’s a unique group. Bobby came in as a junior. They’re very coachable. They’re a fun group to be around. I think the biggest thing with a team like this is you never want to stop seeing players and teams grow, so when it finally ends, there’s more there to watch and learn and continue to grow with. Unfortunately, we stopped short with the Maryknoll game. I’ll miss being around this group. Their focus, their coachability, their attention to detail, making the best of every situation, just a really solid group of boys. And a lot of them are coming back.”
What are you anticipating for offseason and next season?
Pardini: “We have a huge number of sophomores coming up. It’ll be interesting to see who gets better this offseason to make the team. We had a nice JV team. Aaron Fernandez was my coach and did a good job. We’ve got some talent there. I was looking forward to working with them starting now. There’s so many players with great potential.
“Unfortunately, we’re locked out (due to COVID-19 lockdown). Can’t get in the gym or the weight room. I like to get them in the spring and summer on the beach. We do beach workouts in addition to weight training. Our weight room is a small one in the gym, and there’s a larger one down by the football field. Ours is functional and works very well. They’re working out and doing what they can.
“The offseason for us usually involves a trip. Typically, St. Mary’s runs a team camp. Two sessions in June and we usually attend one of them. Most of the schools are CIF schools, very good schools in that area. We stay in the dorms for a weekend. We get there on a Thursday. It’s a great event. It’s awesome. The kids love it. We get to stay in the dorms, eat the food, they get to experience the dorm life, the college life.
“This year we were invited to a very large event in Arizona. It’s sponsored by Section 7. We’re the only Hawaii team that was invited. 200 high school teams from the Western US. There’ll be 400 to 500 college coaches there. Because of the NCAA situation, they can only watch kids in certain venues. They did it for the first time last year and it was a hit. They had over 400 coaches.
“This year, we’ll go from St. Mary’s to Arizona. A 10-day trip. Luke’s on an Adidas Gauntlet circuit with a team out of California. Three Top 50 kids are on his team. Unfortunately, April has an event (Adidas, EYBL Nike) run by Demetrius Porter of Fresno State, my alma mater. The May event will be a live event for college coaches. Hopefully, knock on wood, we’ll be good by then.
Summer leagues
Pardini: “We had a really good preseason. We beat Arroyo Grande and Royal. Arroyo is extremely good. They’re a powerhouse in the Division I and II level in CIF. The Moanalua game at home during the regular season that was on TV, that was a good momentum win for us. The three overtime losses, obviously. Damien (in preseason), we had a last shot, just like Maryknoll. Could’ve been foul. We had a lead most of the game, then lost in overtime. The Kahuku game, we also had last possession and had them beat most of the game. And Maryknoll. I wouldn’t call them lows. The Kahuku one definitely took the air out of us, but I told the boys, you never know until the end of regular season, you hope those make you stronger. I definitely think the Damien and Maryknoll games made us stronger.
What will you miss about this group?
Pardini: “They’ve been together for years. They all came in together four years, the senior class. It’s a unique group. Bobby came in as a junior. They’re very coachable. They’re a fun group to be around. I think the biggest thing with a team like this is you never want to stop seeing players and teams grow, so when it finally ends, there’s more there to watch and learn and continue to grow with. Unfortunately, we stopped short with the Maryknoll game. I’ll miss being around this group. Their focus, their coachability, their attention to detail, making the best of every situation, just a really solid group of boys. And a lot of them are coming back.”
What are you anticipating for offseason and next season?
Pardini: “We have a huge number of sophomores coming up. It’ll be interesting to see who gets better this offseason to make the team. We had a nice JV team. Aaron Fernandez was my coach and did a good job. We’ve got some talent there. I was looking forward to working with them starting now. There’s so many players with great potential.
“Unfortunately, we’re locked out (due to COVID-19 lockdown). Can’t get in the gym or the weight room. I like to get them in the spring and summer on the beach. We do beach workouts in addition to weight training. Our weight room is a small one in the gym, and there’s a larger one down by the football field. Ours is functional and works very well. They’re working out and doing what they can.
“The offseason for us usually involves a trip. Typically, St. Mary’s runs a team camp. Two sessions in June and we usually attend one of them. Most of the schools are CIF schools, very good schools in that area. We stay in the dorms for a weekend. We get there on a Thursday. It’s a great event. It’s awesome. The kids love it. We get to stay in the dorms, eat the food, they get to experience the dorm life, the college life.
“This year we were invited to a very large event in Arizona. It’s sponsored by Section 7. We’re the only Hawaii team that was invited. 200 high school teams from the Western US. There’ll be 400 to 500 college coaches there. Because of the NCAA situation, they can only watch kids in certain venues. They did it for the first time last year and it was a hit. They had over 400 coaches.
“This year, we’ll go from St. Mary’s to Arizona. A 10-day trip. Luke’s on an Adidas Gauntlet circuit with a team out of California. Three Top 50 kids are on his team. Unfortunately, April has an event (Adidas, EYBL Nike) run by Demetrius Porter of Fresno State, my alma mater. The May event will be a live event for college coaches. Hopefully, knock on wood, we’ll be good by then.
Summer leagues
"I heard from Ryan Hirata (of ‘Iolani) it’s all subject to (the pandemic). There’s no answer yet if ‘Iolani’s going to run it. We usually do just the ‘Iolani. We’ll do spring and fall leagues. Spring is cancelled. Hopefully by fall we’ll be able to get in something."
Has anyone asked for the key to the gym?
Pardini: “I’ve had a lot of kids request opening the gym over the years. Probably like Harry Wallace, Andrew Carney, Kekai Smith. Those come to mind from the recent past. They always wanted to get in there.
“Kupaa Harrison, Caleb Gilmore, Josh Ko, it’s awesome to have them around. They’ll text and ask. Kupaa is a high-IQ kid, really solid. He’s still working out and probably can play somewhere if and when the COVID-19 thing clears up. Caleb played at UH-Hilo, too.
"Kupaa and Kekai played at Orange Coast one year. Co-player of the year and went to the state finals.
“Captain Whitlock, when he’s around. He might get an offer at SDSU. He was at Saddleback, where Tes went. They have a nice program. He had back to back great seasons. He’s on the radar of a lot of D-I programs. Even UH was interested at one point.”
Has anyone asked for the key to the gym?
Pardini: “I’ve had a lot of kids request opening the gym over the years. Probably like Harry Wallace, Andrew Carney, Kekai Smith. Those come to mind from the recent past. They always wanted to get in there.
“Kupaa Harrison, Caleb Gilmore, Josh Ko, it’s awesome to have them around. They’ll text and ask. Kupaa is a high-IQ kid, really solid. He’s still working out and probably can play somewhere if and when the COVID-19 thing clears up. Caleb played at UH-Hilo, too.
"Kupaa and Kekai played at Orange Coast one year. Co-player of the year and went to the state finals.
“Captain Whitlock, when he’s around. He might get an offer at SDSU. He was at Saddleback, where Tes went. They have a nice program. He had back to back great seasons. He’s on the radar of a lot of D-I programs. Even UH was interested at one point.”
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