Photo courtesy of Hoop Dreams Hawaii
Closing the Book: Waiakea (18-6, 10-2 BIIF)
On a good day, the sea is calm and Paul Lee brings a good catch back to the neighborhood.
“I fish whenever I can and give it to the community, the kupunas,” said Lee, a teacher and boys basketball coach at Waiakea. “I usually fish from shore in case I get calls from the kids. On the weekends, I go on my boat. I got a boat, a smaller whaler.”
Lee began coaching the Warriors varsity in 2008. This may have been one of their most dynamic seasons, facing taller teams through a tough schedule. The Warriors rode a wave of games in their hometown through an 8-2 preseason. Then came a 7-0 start in Big Island Interscholastic Federation play, including five home dates.
Then came a loss at home to rival Hilo, a team Waiakea had beaten twice in preseason.
“Against Hilo, half my guys were out with the flu, practicing with seven guys. I had to call alumni, guys like Calvin Mattos helping out,” Lee said.
There were tough road wins over Kealakehe and Hawaii Prep, and a close road loss at Kohala. At 10-2 going into the Division I playoffs, the Warriors had a state-tournament berth wrapped up. Then came a loss to Konawaena, and a state-tourney loss to Leilehua.
For Waiakea, a team without a player over 6 feet, 1 inch, it was a good season. Lee knew it would be a challenge.
“Due to the loss of players from last year, just trying to replace them. When you have 13 people try out, it’s tough. We used to have 100. We’re not like the private schools where we can reload. It’s a challenge putting the pieces together,” he said.
The preseason began with the Waiakea-Keaau tournament. The Warriors went 4-0, including a 70-65 overtime win over Hilo for the title.
“Every time we play Hilo, it’s a good turnout. Hilo will always carry a nice crowd,” said Lee, a Hilo graduate.
The fast start was sparked in part by seniors Kiai Apele, a UH-Hilo signee, and Keegan Scanlan. Lee, however, knew there would be a different feel to the 2019-20 slate.
“Going into the season, I was really skeptical. The starters we lost to graduation, they were our best athletes. We didn’t have anybody who could protect the rim. We only had 13 players try out,” he said. “One kid pulled a fire alarm during tryouts. Half our team was sophomores and freshmen. When we won the tournament, I told our assistants we are going to be so overconfident.”
The Warriors flew to Oahu and played in Kailua’s Surfrider Holiday Class. They drew ILH powerhouse Punahou and lost, 74-61, then posted wins over Waipahu (71-31) and Roosevelt (63-62). Punahou reached the tourney final and lost to rival Kamehameha (63-55). Roosevelt won the OIA D-II title and reached the state final, losing to Kohala (51-48).
“Our freshman (Reese Bergen) hit a 3-point shot against Roosevelt and he never made another 3 the rest of the season. Kiai made the extra pass,” said Lee, who missed half the tourney.
During the Waipahu game, he left at halftime after struggling with flu symptoms. He stayed in the hotel room for the next two days.
“I ended up in the hospital when we got back. I was down for three weeks. I missed three weeks of games and practices. My assistants did a good job,” he said.
Waiakea met ‘Iolani to begin St. Joseph’s Cardinal Classic the following week and lost, 46-36. Then came two wins, including a 65-57 victory over Hilo. Lee returned for the regular-season opener against big, dangerous Kamehameha-Hawaii on Dec. 21. Waiakea won, 61-51, and also outlasted Konawaena, 61-46.
“It was the same way I felt after our first preseason tournament. We got by against two teams that were more talented. Kamehameha-Hawaii has good size and Kona has athletic guards with good size. We were lucky. Kiai always plays great against Kamehameha,” Lee said. “They play together in the offseason. Izayah (Chartrand-Penera) played good, but not as great as he did later in the year.”
Lee didn’t put a lot of weight on the early-season wins.
“Kona is a really good team. They’ve played together since they were little kids. My teams are put together in high school. Kids in Hilo go to Keaau, Kamehameha, Hilo. They spread out. We caught Kona when they were still blending in some young players. They keyed on Kiai and he made the extra pass, Elijah Blankenship scored around 20 points on dump-downs from Kiai,” he said.
The Warriors secured wins over Parker, Honokaa, Ka‘u, Pahoa and Keaau. All but the win over Pahoa (54-43) were by margins of at least 24 points. A game at Kohala was postponed due to a wet floor. Waiakea entered the Star-Advertiser Top 10 at No. 10, but on that same day, lost at home to Hilo, 78-69. That ended a seven-game win streak to start BIIF play.
“Every time we play Hilo, it’s almost like a BIIF championship. They played well. Their strengths were our weaknesses. Great guard play, athletic and could penetrate well. We couldn’t move our feet enough,” Lee said.
The Warriors bounced back with a 47-35 win at Kealakehe and a 49-46 overtime victory at Hawaii Prep. It was HPA’s only regular-season loss.
“The Kealakehe game, I went to our deepest part of our bench. Paul Isotani, a transfer from St. Joseph, went 3-for-4 from 3-point. They were double-teaming Kiai. We were down three and then we’re up six. That game was close all the way to the end,” Lee said.
“HPA was a big win. I honestly thought with the personnel we have and the coaching and discipline they have, it would be an impossible game to pull off, the way we match up. Kiai, Keegan, Makana (Kaehuaea-Credo) all played well. Makana rebounded well. I knew this game, winning would possibly get our team overconfident. We somehow play HPA well.”
The Warriors moved up to No. 9 in the Top 10 and routed St. Joseph at UH-Hilo’s gym. Then came the long trip to Kohala, their seventh road game in a 10-game span. The makeup game, original scheduled on Jan. 11, went down to the wire before Kohala rallied for a 44-41 win to end the regular season. The game had no bearing on Waiakea’s place in the standings, but it was still a tough night.
“Three calls went against Kiai in the last three minutes. I was shocked with the calls against him. We were up five. They got the ball back and O’shen (Cazimero) got a 3-point play with 3 seconds left. He played well. That’s a game we should’ve won and things happened in the last two minutes that we couldn’t control,” Lee said. “We knew going into the game that we had the top seed (in D-I). I played 12 of the 14 guys and I just hoped nobody would get hurt.”
The BIIF playoffs were on the west side, at Kealakehe. For Waiakea, it was a fourth long haul in a 14-day span.
“They made us travel at the end of the season. It makes it difficult for high school kids. In school all day. I don’t mind on a Friday or Saturday, but when it’s a week day, drive straight for two hours after school,” Lee said.
With the playoffs around the corner, the Warriors couldn’t access their gym for a Saturday practice. They got back in in the gym on a Monday, the day before the semifinal matchup with the talented Konawaena Wildcats. A day later, Kamehameha-Hawaii stunned Konawaena in the final, earning the BIIF’s second state berth.
Waiakea took a break.
“I gave them off. We knew how long (13 days) we had. To keep them motivated, to keep them focused, knowing the game is still a while away,” Lee said.
The season ended in the first round of the state tourney, an 82-53 loss to a young, explosive Leilehua squad.
“Going into the game, I told my coach this is the worst matchup for us. They’re going to press us and we don’t have (enough) ball handlers,” Lee said. “We had a lot of turnovers and they had ‘pick-sixes.’ They’re long and my backup guards are 5-6, 5-7. Leilehua got their hands on so many balls, deflections for steals and layups.”
Apele, who averaged 18 points per game while running the point, was smothered by the Mules’ defense.
“I knew it was going to be a long night if Kiai is turning the ball over a little,” Lee said.
Lee drew a comparison between leading scorer and playmaker Kiai Apele and Mattos, a former Warriors standout.
They were both like coaches on the court," he said.
To get to the next level, the Warriors needed maximum production by Apele, their point guard. Lee also wanted Apele to distribute a bit more, like Mattos did in his playing days.
"Kiai would get 18 points and three assists, but I wanted more like 12 points and 10 assists. He wants the ball. Sometimes against teams where we could have other guys handle the ball, he didn’t want to give up the ball. His gas tank was empty," Lee said.
It's tough asking for that much of a senior playmaker on a relatively young team. Apele didn't have the luxury of a 6-5 big man who would finish consistently in the post. When Apele later played in the Hawaii Senior Classic in Honolulu, he had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in victory.
"Our other guys couldn’t score except Scanlan and Kiai," he said.
Lee chatted about the season and his key contributors.
This season was ________.
Lee: “A challenge. Due to the loss of players from last year, just trying to replace them. When you have 13 people try out, it’s tough. We used to have 100. We’re not like the private schools where we can reload. It’s a challenge putting the pieces together.”
Review: Starters and key rotation/role players
Kiai Apele, 18 ppg, 5-8, Sr.
Lee: “He’s fearless. He wants the ball in his hands all the time. He wants to make that final shot or final play. The thing that impressed me more over the years is the work he put into getting physically stronger. Since he was a freshman, he put in the time and it showed when he earned a scholarship to UH-Hilo. That’s one guy who will be in the gym all the time. A gym rat. He has the work ethic, too. He may not be as physically gifted as his brother, Lanaki, but his IQ and instincts are the same.”
Keegan Scanlan, 15 ppg, 5-10, Sr.
Lee: “He helped with ball handling, and I wanted him to score more. He was a guy who wasn’t as athletic when he first came to high school, but like Kiai, he put in a lot of work. He’s a guy who could score, get to the basket, hit the pull-up, shoot the 3. I wish we could’ve seen more of that this year. When you have him and Kiai being the main scorers, that lack of other experienced scorers hurt the team. As soon as they got the ball, two guys were on them all the time.”
Elijah Blankenship, 13 ppg, 6-1, Jr.
Lee: “He’s a big, strong guy who benefited from the attention Kiai and Keegan got. He and our other post guys, I would like them to get to another level. He’s a rebounder, physical. Offensively, I’d like to get more out of him. I’d like him to be more aggressive on both ends of the court. He’s our most experienced player coming back. He’s going to have to be our leader.”
Makana Kaehuaea-Credo, 5-10, Sr.
Lee: “He’s a volleyball guy. In basketball, he was our glue guy. He’d get the offensive rebound and pass the ball out. He’s the first guy I ever coached, I told him, I’m going to sit you down if you don’t shoot. He’s one of our better defenders. He’ll guard 1 through 5. I could use him where I wanted, but he wasn’t confident in scoring. He would sacrifice for the team. He’s a big part of why we were successful this year with the talent we had.”
Dominic Rodriguez, 5-9, Sr.
Lee: “He ran cross country, and he beat out everybody to be our fifth man. He was a good role player. He played defense. He tried to rebound.”
Did the rotation change?
Lee: “It was pretty consistent. The fifth, sixth and seven guys could change depending on a matchup where we needed more size, injuries and guys getting sick.”
What or who surprised you most?
Lee: “I knew what I was getting. The thing that surprised me the most this year was it took teams so long to figure out our weaknesses. Me and our assistant coaches, we broke down video on every team we played, every play they run, even inbounds and sideline. Clayton Kaneshiro watches all the video, which I used to do. He breaks things down to a tee. We have at least three pages of scouting report on every team. We had Randy Apele, our JV coach, helping out. Jason Kauhi was my other assistant coach.”
What were the most adverse challenges?
Lee: “The depth of the team and needing more competition at practice. That’s where you build your team. The second group is very young, very inexperienced. A lot of our players played 13-14 (age group) the year before.”
What was the peak? What was the low?
Lee: “The peak was the start of the year. Everybody was buying into it. As we lost some games along the way, it seemed like it was kind of fractured, not sticking to the game plan and team philosophy at times. I needed to do a better job at that.”
What will you miss about this group?
Lee: “I’ll miss the personalities. They’re laid back and I wished they had more drive, but they’re not a group that I had to worry about sneaking out when we traveled to Honolulu. They didn’t have that drive, but they were laid back, hanging out with my 8-year-old son playing video games and having a good time.”
What are you anticipating for offseason and next season?
Lee: “Through this COVID-19, I want to see who is going to step up with Kiai and Keegan (graduating), stepping up to handle the pressure and do the scoring. I want to see who can take over those roles. Who can run the offense? We have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. (Former Waiakea player) Wes Cabreros and Randy coach a lot of these guys in the offseason. We have some kind of feeder system, running our system with regularity. We’ll do some strength work in a regular offseason, but now, with the (virus) and totally rebuilding, we’ve got to find leaders.”
Who could be your new contributors next season?
Lee: “I like Kaimalu (Haleamau, 5-7, Fr.). I think he’s has a head up. Royden Ratific-Justo (5-6, Fr.). Reese (Bergen, 5-9, Fr.) is one of our more athletic kids. He was our fifth man. He had an injury in midseason, he won the game against Roosevelt.”
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