Closing the Book: No. 7 Leilehua (19-8, 10-0 OIA West)
> vs. Top 10: 4-7 (.364)
> Top 10 wins: MPI, STL, KAIS, KLH
> Top 10 losses: DMS, KLH, PUN, MPI, STL, KAH, KS
> Non-Top 10 losses: BAL
> Home: 7-0
> Away: 6-1
> Neutral: 6-7
> Playoffs: 2-1
> HHSAA: 1-2
It’s not too far of a stretch, but the young Leilehua Mules have a lot of similarities to one of the state’s powerhouses.
Leilehua is young, tall, long and relentless defensively. That fits the same mold as last year’s Kamehameha squad, which had a losing record in ILH play, but returned nearly its entire roster and won the ILH before falling in the state final.
The Mules had unselfish, tough-nosed play on the hardwood, flourishing with a fullcourt press. They were a perfect 7-0 at home and went unbeaten in the OIA West. Their relative youth showed in the playoffs and state tourney as Coach Chad Townsend and staff withstood the flashes of brilliance and mental errors that come with a team this young.
Leilehua lost to Kahuku, 59-58, in the OIA semifinals, then finished third after a 63-50 win over Kalaheo. In the state tourney, they traveled to the Big Island and routed Waiakea, 82-53. Two days later, the Mules lost to No. 1 seed Kamehameha, 72-43. The season ended with a 73-54 consolation loss to Baldwin.
The future, however, remains bright for the green and gold. Coach Townsend chatted about the journey.
This season was ________.
Townsend: “Thrilling. The span where we had three games in a row all decided by one point each. The whole season was very fast, just uptempo. Right after regular season, playoff started, then right into states. It was fast.”
This season was the movie ________.
Townsend: “Fast and the Furious. I just watched it.”
Review: Starters and key rotation/role players:
Landyn Jumawan, 15 ppg, voted No. 15 All-State Fab 15. 6-1, So.
Townsend: “He’s a very good off-ball defender, definitely. Great at reading the passing lanes, a very smart player. He was also a very good outside shooter, mid-range, and taking the ball to the bucket. Our best decision maker with the ball. He is just fearless for a sophomore. In a tight bind, there would be pressure on him to get a bucket and he would come through. We’d like him to work on gaining speed, strength and some quickness in the offseason, basically hit the weight room. He’s been lifting with his dad (assistant coach Josh Jumawan) in the garage.”
Davon Neuman, 11 ppg, 6-2, Sr.
Townsend: “He was kind of our jack-of-all-trades. He didn’t really blow your mind with a certain set of skills. He was just well-rounded. He was the main guy on our press most of the time, the guy guarding the inbounder. Offensively, he crashes the offensive boards real well. Also, his mid-range opens a lot for us. He has a lot of speed and quickness for others to guard. He’s a stat filler for our team.”
Logan Lassell, 10 ppg in OIA, 6-1, Jr.
Townsend: “He’s kind of like the Microwave for us like Vinnie Johnson. When he gets in a game, we expect instant offense. He’s a very good catch-and-shoot shooter for us, very good with the 3 ball. He got way better at driving and using his size and strength, taking it to the hoop. I’d like to see him improve on that in the offseason. He’s another one I’d like to see him improve on his speed and quickness.”
Bernard Tobias Jr., 7 ppg, 5-7, Jr.
Townsend: “He’s another one who is a good decision maker with the ball, a knock-down 3-point shooter. When he plays with confidence, he’s very tough to guard. He’s so tough to guard off the initial pick-and-roll. A lot of high school guys don’t do this, but he can hit that 3 off the pick. High percentage shooter, crafty at coming off the pick and roll. Very smart.”
Aviel Palmer, 5 ppg, 6-3, Jr.
Townsend: “Aviel’s real raw. We actually cut him ninth-grade year from our JV. We run a ton at our practices and tryouts because of the style we play, and he didn’t want to do the running. He would sit out. His legs would give out. His back was sore. But something woke him up. After that season, he came to all our workouts, got some strength and by the next year, he was the center for our JV team that won the title. The points per game don’t reflect how big he is for our team, protecting the rim. His timing has stepped up against some of the better center we played. Good at grabbing rebounds, blocking shots, and when you ask him, he’ll go inside and do the dirty work for us. He runs the floor well for a big guy.”
Jordan Ke-A, 5-7, Sr.
Townsend: “Jordan made one of the biggest sacrifices on the team. When he played for us ninth grade, JV, he was one of our leading scorer. Very dangerous with the ball in his hands, maybe the best handles in the state. He’s so quick and he really sacrificed for the good of the team. He’s one of our best on-ball defenders and he and Tremayne Vincent took it upon themselves to guard the other team’s best offensive scorers full court. They poured a lot of their energy into defense. Offensively, he facilitated more, a lot of drive and kick. He got our guys a lot of open looks. He’s one of the guys who get lost in the shuffle because you don’t see the scoring, but his effect on the game is huge. You’re going to get minutes as long as you do your role. We needed that from him and we didn’t have to ask him. He played his butt off on defense and ran the offense.
“RJ Olivas and Tremayne Vincent, they’re two guys like Jordan. They don’t open your eyes wide by scoring a lot, but they’re main cogs. We’re really going to miss them next year defensively. Our team plays with a lot of energy, and they bring it every game. On our fullcourt press, they’re chasing down guys 94 feet.”
Did the rotation change?
Townsend: “We didn’t make any changes. At first we had Logan as a sixth man and Jordan starting. We found that Logan gave us instant offense coming off the bench, but we switched that later because of the some of the size difference. Jordan gave us someone that’s going to give us key minutes off the bench. When guys like Jordan, RJ and Tremaine come in the game, they add even more defense. Other than that, the only times we shuffled the rotation is when we enforced team rules, if someone missed practice because they were sick or injured.”
What or who surprised you most?
Townsend: “What surprised me most was our team’s ability to battle with the stronger teams. We worked hard in the offseason, we’re kind of a tiny, skinny team compared to other teams. That always killed us in the past in JV and varsity. I think our guys, the mental and physical toughness this year really surprised me. We didn’t back down when we played Kahuku, Kapolei and some of the other bigger teams. Last year against Kapolei, they had 20-something offensive rebounds, but we were tougher and got defensive rebounds this year.”
What were the most adverse challenges?
Townsend: “Starting the game fast and finishing the game fast, putting all four quarters together, keeping the focus. At times, we’ll go on a big run and we have these stretches, I don’t know, tons of brain farts. We’re trying to push through that. We’ll jump on a team 12, 14 points, and we allow them to creep in. That happened against Kaiser in the playoffs. Then we allowed them to grind out and slowly creep back into the game. Eventually, that killed us against a team like Kamehameha. We took a lead on them in the first quarter, but an experienced team like them, there’s no panic in them. Against Kamehameha and Maryknoll, if you don’t put it together and grind it out for four quarters, they’ll come back and sting you.”
What was the peak? What was the low?
Townsend: “The peak for our team was sending the seniors home with a victory against Kapolei at home. Senior night. Last season, we lost to Mililani and Kapolei, and we won (this year). Our Wahiawa crowd, they helped us out a lot, playing in an atmosphere like that in both games. The Kamehameha game was a low for us. No excuses. We were ready. We look in their eyes, they were serious, they were ready. They were excited, but Kamehameha is a good team. I know our guys really believe. But that was the lowest I’ve seen our guys after a game.”
What will you miss about this group?
Townsend: “Oh man, this group of seniors, I’m going to miss them because we had some of them since ninth grade, sophomore year. Three seasons, at least. I’m going to miss how close they were. They’ve been friends since elementary school. Their parents are friends. As a coaching staff, we’re tough on them, and a lot of kids wouldn’t be able to handle it, but these guys suck it up. They’re dedicated and come to practice ready to go. I’ll make non-mandatory workouts and they’ll show up. I’m going to miss these guys. Whoever gets these guys at the next level, work or college, they’re getting good young men.”
What are you anticipating for offseason and next season?
Townsend: “We have two guards coming up from JV who will wreak some havoc, especially on the press. Jacob Simbre and Keawe Andres. They’re sophomores and they’re coming up. Trenton Bernat, our big man from JV, he’s coming up. And some guys who sat on the bench with our varsity who will be ready next year.
“It’s hard right now. A lot of our guys are on Fortnite or Call of Duty. They’re being with their families. A lot of them have driveways and a hoop in their garage. Hopefully they’re not going to the parks and getting busted for playing on those courts. I’ll text them some workout plans, but other than that we have to wait. Our plan was to take them to Las Vegas like the last two years, but it’s iffy. Hopefully, we still can. Coach Josh (who also coaches Posse basketball club) works a lot of fundraisers with the kids. We’re itchy to get back in the gym with these guys, but we’re going to have to wait. I think our shooting machine is collecting dust right now.”
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