CLOSING THE BOOK: Roosevelt's OIA title year in D-II

Closing the Book: Roosevelt (13-8, 6-5 OIA East)

> vs. Top 10: 2-5 (.286)

> Top 10 wins: KAIS, HPA

> Top 10 losses: WAIK, KAIL, MOA, KAH, KOH

> Non-Top 10 losses: BAL, KOH

> Home: 6-2

> Away: 3-3

> Neutral: 3-2

> Playoffs: 1-0

> HHSAA D-II: 2-1

This was a season on the brink of greatness for the Roosevelt Rough Riders.

A 6-5 mark in the OIA East. A run to the league’s Division II title. Wins over MIL champion Seabury and BIIF champion Hawaii Prep to reach the state final against Kohala. 

One play here, another there, and maybe it’s Roosevelt that wins its first basketball state championship. Kohala prevailed, 51-48, and with leading scorer Drake Watanabe heading back to Punahou this fall, and the program moving up to D-I next season, the challenge is very clear. 

Steve Hathaway is confident. After all, the 2019-20 Rough Riders were among the youngest varsity teams in the state. When the preseason began, he didn’t have enough players to form a starting five. More than half of the team was still playing football. 

“We still didn’t know what we’re going to have. That tournament (at Kailua), we’d only had three practices because that was the first week I got the football kids out. Get out there, just play defense. Up to that point, I’d practiced with only four players,” he said. 

By Dec. 7, Roosevelt was 2-2 with wins over Honokaa and Campbell, and losses to Baldwin and Waiakea. The loss to Waiakea, a contender for the BIIF title, was close, 63-62. From there, no games for two weeks, and Roosevelt downed Pearl City, 69-50. One week before the regular season, but Hathaway still didn’t feel comfortable. 

“One game in three weeks. We got our practices in, and even into the Kalani game, we didn’t have everything in. It was tough to compress everything into two weeks. This is least amount of stuff I had in. Let the team go, a lot of motion offense, keep things simple,” he said. 

Roosevelt won at Kalani’s gym, 67-56, but its youth showed in consecutive losses to OIA East powerhouses Kailua (63-55), Moanalua (63-43) and Kahuku (69-55). 

“The Kailua game, we had the lead in the fourth quarter. I’ll bet we had 40 turnovers, but we stayed right with them. I think it was 38,” Hathaway said. “We ran a lot the next practice. Even at Kahuku, we were in it in the fourth quarter, a two-point game with 2 minutes to go and we missed three straight layups. We missed 10 to 12 layups in that game. I think the big kid (Oscar Cheng) had a lot to do with it.”

They bounced back with wins over Farrington (60-51) and Anuenue (78-31) before falling to another D-I title contender, Kalaheo (68-52). Roosevelt kept momentum going with wins over Kaimuki, Castle and another title contender, Kaiser, 63-53. That bumped Roosevelt into top-seed territory for the upcoming D-II playoffs. 

“The Kaiser game, we built that up as a huge game. You win this game, you lock up the No. 1 seed and we prepared big time. We knew what they were going to do for the most part,” Hathaway said. “Then I got sick and missed that game, so (assistant coaches) Kenny (Lindsay) and Brandon (Mitchell) did an outstanding job.” 

Hathaway stayed home, but had a bird’s eye view.

“My wife (Tara) went to the game and was FaceTiming, and Kenny made all the right calls. The boys played hard. It was a close game at halftime, 19-all or something and Drake caught fire,” he said. 

Roosevelt lost at McKinley in the regular-season finale, but had the East’s top seed locked anyway. Hathaway returned and the youth brigade marched to a 61-54 overtime win over Kaimuki in the playoffs, then played at McKinley in the OIA D-II final. Roosevelt took the title, 43-41, in a defensive struggle. 

“We celebrated, but at that point, they knew we could win the state title. They were pumped for it. We got some film on Seabury. I had film on HPA, so we prepared for those teams. We knew how good the (Mason) Johnson kid was, playing them in the years before and watching the film, so we played great against them,” Hathaway said. 

Watanabe, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, guarded Johnson. Sometimes it was 6-foot-4 Kaulana Koki as Roosevelt won going away, 58-35. 

“What we did a great job with is we made him shoot jump shots all night. He was firing a lot of 3s, especially after they got down. When we went to our zone, they didn’t adjust much in the second half. We were sagging because they were sending a cutter into the key from the opposite side. It kind of shocked us,” Hathaway said. 

In the semifinal round, Roosevelt emerged with a 41-37 win. 

“HPA. They’re tough. I knew they had the two shooters, and a kid who can leap. He did a tomahawk Charles Barkley dunk. I said, we gotta keep them off the glass and we did. Drake had 13 rebounds, Koki probably had eight to 10, and Kamu (Kaaihue), my freshman, was banging his butt off,” he said. 

Kaaihue had missed his first five shots, but his coach leaned on him with the balance of the game in Roosevelt’s hands. 

“He was having the worst shooting game of his life, so late in the game, we went up one with 20 seconds to go. I think Koki fouled out and I ran a play for Kamu to set a screen. His head was hanging and I told him in the time out, this ball’s coming to you because nobody’s expecting it,” Hathaway said. “He kind of bobbled the ball and made it, and that kind of sealed it for us. (HPA) went down and missed, and we made a free throw. I was so proud of that kid. It doesn’t matter what happens in the game, it’s how you finish.”

The D-II state final was a whirlwind, a rugby match disguised as a basketball game as officials allowed full contact both ways. Kohala held on for a 51-48 win and its first state crown. It could have been Roosevelt’s, but a plethora of missed layups, rushed shots and a missed 3 in the final seconds ended a fine season by the Rough Riders. The very young Riders. 

“I take my hat off to Kohala. They played a great game. I felt like we didn’t play our best game. They did a great job on Drake, that was the key. We were getting hit, they weren’t calling it, and I told my guys you can’t focus on getting hit. It was one of those games, if we play 10 games, maybe we win eight. But that night, they beat us,” Hathaway said. 

“That O’shen (Cazimero) kid did a great job. They boxed us out well. We had a huge advantage inside but we didn’t get the ball outside. We settled on outside shots instead of pounding the ball inside. Even the last shot, when Drake shot the 3. He had 10 feet of space so he could’ve drove or got closer, we were only down one. But all year long he’s shot that. We’re at the line with our best free-throw shooter and down one, we miss two free throws. To me, Drake has been the best scorer in the state all season. It just wasn’t our night. Kohala was a class act. They deserved to win the game,” he said. 

Coach Hathaway chats about his players and the future. 

This season was ________. 

Hathaway: “It was a joy, a roller coaster of emotions. It was the first time Roosevelt ever was in the state championship. I saw a quote by Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), if you determine your success by whether you win a championship, a lot of teams fail. I can’t say that I’m disappointed in the season. I’m so proud of what this team did. Coming into the season, Logan Quinlan had some minutes the year before as a backup, but we didn’t have any returnees with a lot of experience. It was an entire new team.”

This season was the movie ________. 

Hathaway: “The Bad News Bears. We got to the ship, get our best player up to bat. Drake Watanabe plays Kelly Lee, and we come up short. And our coach likes to drink.” 

Review: Starters and key rotation/role players: Strengths, improvements (since 2018-19 season) and things to improve on this offseason.

What or who surprised you most? 

Drake Watanabe, 20 ppg, 9 rpg, 5-10, So.

Hathaway: “That’s the thing most people don’t recognize. He boxes out well and he attacks the rebound well. That’s one thing that we really stressed because we’re always small. His season high was 17 rebounds in one game. That’s the one thing that impressed me most. He attacked the hoop, not just settling. I knew he could hit the 3, but I told him you can get 10 points a night on that 15-, 17-foot jumper. I think he shot 43 parent from 3, which is outstanding for high school, but that didn’t define his game. I wish we could have him for two more years, but I get it. You want that Punahou education.” 

Kayman Lewis, 8 ppg, 5-9, Fr. 

Hathaway: “He’s got one of the purest shots out of a freshman. His form is just perfect. The kid can shoot the ball. It was a huge jump going from club ball to varsity as a freshman, but once he got into the game he was fine. With Kayman, we’ll work on attacking more. He settles for jump shots. He has the potential to be as good as Drake. The year of varsity really helps you to prepare. He has the talent to be one of the best players in the state as a senior. As nice as (former Roosevelt player) Micah (Visoria) could shoot it, Kayman’s form is better and I think he could become as good a shooter as Micah was. Kayman’s going to get stronger and faster. He plays football, he’s going to get it. He held his own. He was fine all year.” 

Logan Quinlan, 8 ppg, 5-7, Jr. 

Hathaway: “Logan was the point guard early in the season and forced stuff way too much, but once he calmed down, he started making the right decisions. He settled down and once he started attacking the rim, he finishes well. For a little guy, he gets up. At the end of practice, he’s always trying to dunk. I know he focuses mostly on football, but next year, I want him to shoot more, put some meat on. He’s skinny, but he’s strong. He’s fearless. That’s one thing I love about that kid.” 

Kaulana Koki, 6 ppg, 6-4, Sr. 

Hathaway: “Kaulana stepped up this year. Last year, he was timid, but this year, he stepped up. With our team, I usually say take charges because we’re not very big, but this year, I told him to knock everything into the crowd. Then he took a lot of charges. He had games where he had four charges. In other games, he had five or six blocks. In the HPA game, he altered shots. He jumps well. He worked on his spin move in the post. He worked hard this year. I was very proud of him. I’m going to miss him. I wish he’d done this last year.” 

Kody Seguancia, 5-8, So. 

Hathaway: “Kody’s another kid, when we had tryouts, he’s the only kid that wasn’t afraid of Drake. He went after Drake. Once games came around, it was new to him, varsity basketball, but in the second half of the season, he started stepping up. I remember one practice, (JV) Coach Kaipo said to him, ‘You ever going to step up in a game?’ I told him, he’s not trying to put you down. The next game, Kody scored 17 points. Kaipo wants you to be your best. For him to come back and coach JV, he wants to see guys do well. He cramped up in the OIA championship, but he came back and hit some key shots. He can shoot the 3, attacks well, can handle the ball. I think him and Kayman will pick up the slack next year for Drake. He texts me, watches game film, works on what he can to get better. He was one of my captains as a sophomore because he works so hard.” 

Kamu Kaaihue, 6-1, Fr.

Hathaway: “Kamu reminds me of a young Kaipo Pale. The same motor. Lot of work to do, but he has a lot of motor and drive. If he grows, he could become a similar type of player. He goes hard and strong hands. I’ve seen him just rip rebounds. He beats himself up. I tell him you’ve got to sometimes let it go when the ball doesn’t go in. I see that kid getting 15 rebounds a game as a senior. He’s like a Dennis Rodman. And he loves working on his jump hook, his jump shot. This group is going to grow together. I think he’s going to grow more. His sister is 6-1 and his dad’s taller. I think he plays linebacker on the football team. They brought him up to the varsity for the playoffs. He’s very respectful and he loves to dance. Once he came out of his shell, he does a perfect impression of Pork Chop from ’Stomp the Yard.’ “ 

Jason Hur, 5-8, Sr.

Hathaway: “I love Jason. Last year, he was on the bench and didn’t play much because of all the guys I had. This year, he didn’t come out for work in summer, and he had a certain role. He accepted it, and in the playoffs, he stopped people, grabbed rebounds attacked the rim. He had some nice moves coming off screens and not settling for jumpers. I know he wanted to play more. I get it, he’s a senior, but he did what was asked of him. He had a huge block in the McKinley game. If he doesn’t make that block, we probably lose the game. He never gave me any attitude. I will always help that kid out.”

What were the most adverse challenges? 

Hathaway: “Getting the team to come together. None of them played together before. I had a kid coming in from Punahou. Three freshmen. No experienced returnees. And get them together in a short time because of how long football season was. There were a lot of nights of four players against four coaches. Even at the end of the season, we had only nine. I brought up a freshman to practice with us.” 

What was the peak? What was the low? 

Hathaway: “Our peak and low were in the championship game. Seeing former players, former assistants, admins and friends. Even one of the Honokaa assistants, Lane Guzman, was there. I could’ve done better. We all could’ve done better. Not one person cost us the game. We all lost. We expected to win and Kohala did a great job. That was the peak and the low all in one night.” 

What will you miss about this group? 

Hathaway: “I’m going to miss the individual leaving, Drake, Hur and Koki. They brought a lot to the team. They really battle, but I’m also excited to see the guys who are going to step up. I’m going to miss those three guys.” 

What are you anticipating for offseason and next season? 

Hathaway: “I’m hearing summer league might be cancelled. 

"For us, a lot of our kids play football. Kody and Will might be the only ones not playing football. I’m looking forward to seeing how the guys use this time at home to get in better shape. I think they’re disappointed with how the season ended, and I hope all of them are hungry and working. I want them to stay safe and get in the best shape they can. We’re moving up to D-I next year, but I think our team will step up. We have some players on the JV who could make a difference. 

“KJ Davis (junior) and Kainalu Davis (freshman) will help us. Kainalu is more athletic in basketball, but KJ is blue collar, not afraid of anybody, will run through a wall. KJ tore his ACL in football. He was their starting middle linebacker. 

“Jayden (Gaopoa-Montgomery) tore his meniscus in football, and he had surgery, wasn’t cleared until we were three weeks into basketball. He hurt his ankle on the other leg. I would’ve left him on JV but we had injuries on varsity. His first practice he dunked twice in traffic. We haven’t had that in awhile. He’s strong, athletic. He’s got a decent-looking shot. I’m looking forward to watching him grow. 

“Will Akama’s a blue-collar kid. He’s just got to get out and play more in the offseason, but now this (lockdown) is hurting everyone. He’s good with the fundamentals, just gotta play in structure.

“All the top teams lost a lot. Moanalua, Kalaheo and Kahuku lost a lot of seniors. It’s not like we’re jumping into a loaded East. It’ll still be tough. Everybody’s in the same boat. Even losing Drake, we’re fine. With him, we’d be in great shape. Kayman, Kody, Kamu and Logan, four potential starters returning. We’re young and they’re going to grow together. As much as I hate losing what we lost, I love what we have coming back.”