A Whole Lotta Hoopin’ Going On
Wednesday - January 05, 2011
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Del.icio.usThis could be the year of the big man in local high school basketball - but not just traditional big men who play around the basket.
Consider Micah Dunhour of upand-coming Academy of the Pacific. “He’s a 6-foot-5-inch guard who can do everything,” says AOP athletic director Ryan Hogue. “He can shoot and he can really handle the ball, and he can even play point guard.”
Dunhour burst onto the scene last year when he led the Dolphins to a fourth-place finish in the Division II tournament. This year, AOP jumped all the way up to one of the early favorites in Division I as Dunhour poured in 22 points in a stunning victory over then No. 1-ranked Kamehameha.
And he isn’t the only big man with big numbers for the Alewa Heights school with fewer than 100 students. Moritz Krume, a 6-foot-7-inch exchange student from Germany, also can score from the outside, and 6-foot-2-inch Kona Makaula is an athletic forward who also can light up the scoreboard for head coach Wally Marciel.
Of course, you can’t talk Hawaii boys basketball these days without once again mentioning Micah Christenson. The smooth-shooting 6-foot-6-inch senior has been pouring in points for Kamehameha since he burst onto the scene as a sophomore two years ago.
Other impressive big men include DeForest Buckner, Punahou’s 6-foot-7-inch giant, Farrington’s 6-foot-6-inch Viane Vaina and Roosevelt’s 6-foot-3-inch center Kaipo Pale. Although a few inches shorter than the traditional post player, Pale’s numbers are absolutely stunning. In a recent contest against Kahuku, he had 20 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Not too long ago, he had 25 rebounds in one game - that shows intensity and heart!
Meanwhile, over on the girls’ side of the scorebook, some of the recent numbers there are equally staggering. It’s not too often that we see 30-point outputs by a single player - in fact, it usually happens only a couple of times a season. But late in December it happened three times in a week and twice in one game!
Nanakuli’s Kirstie Rosa and Kalani’s Corie Kuia put on a scoring showcase for the ages in the Golden Hawks recent 69-67 victory over the Falcons. Rosa poured in 36 points while Kuia had 30 - impressive numbers that really kept the scorekeeper busy!
Another 30-point scorer hails from University High. The Junior Rainbows, led by Quynne Eharis, who helped University to a runner-up finish in the DII state volleyball tournament, were undefeated by the end of December.
In other basketball news, Gib Arnold’s vastly improved University of Hawaii men’s basketball team plays its WAC home opener this Thursday night (Jan. 6) against Idaho at Stan Sheriff Center. That matchup is followed up Saturday night by Hawaii against Boise State.
In the PacWest, Chaminade opens the conference season with a home date against Notre Dame de Namur also Thursday at McCabe Gym.
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