Casey Poe has been the constant, carrying Kamehameha to consecutive Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II girls basketball titles. Riana Arima was the variable last season, busting on to the scene to give the Warriors a second scorer.
From there, the rest of the equation is still unknown for Garrett Arima’s Big Island Interscholastic Federation juggernaut. Arima may not be sure how the Warriors are going to get there, but the goal this season remains the same: Nothing less than a seventh straight league title and another state banner.
But beyond its two standout players, Kamehameha is still in the development phase. There are only eight players on the roster and three upperclassmen, something that Arima reminded his team of at a recent practice.
“Look around you, this is your team,” he said. “This is what we have. Nobody is coming from behind closed doors that is going to help you.”
Kamehameha has been thrown out of its comfort zone for much of a preseason as it searches for a point guard. Namele Naipo-Arsiga graduated last season, and the coach said the Warriors didn’t truly appreciate what they had until she was gone.
“We’re still working on our team chemistry and coming together,” Riana Arima said.
Poe, a 5-foot-9 senior and two-time BIIF Division II Player of the Year, has thrived playing anywhere on the court during her career, but Arima would prefer that one of island’s best post players not be saddled with perimeter responsibilities. Riana Arima came on at shooting guard last season, averaging more than 17 points a game at the state tournament, and Kamehameha is most effective when its purest shooter can play off the ball.
“We have to find a way for them to play closer to the basket,” Garrett Arima said.
But like Poe, Riana Arima, a 5-6 junior, has spent much of her energy in the preseason handling the ball, especially when the Warriors faced pressure defenses.
“It’s hard to shoot when I have to worry about bringing the ball up the court,” she said. “I can’t spot up on the 3-point line if I have to handle the ball.
“We need a point guard.”
The best options to fill that role are sophomores Kiera Kua and Caitlin Poe.
“They’re still developing their point guard skills,” Garrett Arima said. “It’s just an experience factor.
“Caitlin adds that defensive intensity to our game and is a pretty streaky shooter.”
Of course, he’d also like for a third scorer to emerge, and that onus will likely fall on 5-8 junior Makamae Gabriel. In the preseason she’s been Kamehameha’s post presence, providing more scoring than rebounding.
“Trying to get her to do both,” Garrett Arima said. “With Casey having to play outside, she’s stepped up inside and has come through.”
Until the offense comes around, Kamehameha will try to rely on its trademark half-court trapping defense. However, Arima may need to pull the reins in a little considering the Warriors’ lack of depth.
Offensively, he won’t put many limits on the amount of shots that Casey Poe and Riana Arima take, saying it may be case of each having to hoist more than 20 a game.
“Casey will get hers. She’s aggressive all the time,” Arima said. “Riana makes the extra pass when we’re asking her to shoot the ball. We’re encouraging her to shoot the ball more. She’s way under her quota.”