It’s become an annual reloading tradition for the Hawaii Prep boys basketball team, which relies on veterans soaked in postseason experience to shine a light for the younger ones.
The perennially tall Ka Makani lost four starters to graduation and much of their athleticism and height, but not a hunger to keep a good thing going.
Last season, Pahoa prevailed over the disciplined Ka Makani 36-26 in the BIIF Division II semifinals, eliminating the 2014 HHSAA state champion.
It’s been a nice run for HPA, which won its first BIIF title in 2012, won again in ’13, and took home the state crown the following year.
The new edition Ka Makani will have to adjust without 6-foot-4 Nicky Palleschi, 6-1 guard Hide Akai and 6-0 point guard Justas Gecas. All three earned All-BIIF honors. They also graduated a fourth starter in Colin Yates.
Senior forward Jonas Skupeika, who’s from Lithuania, is the lone returning starter. Sophomore point guard Jonah Hurney and junior forward Dylan Ngango Dikobo, from Nigeria, saw solid minutes last season.
Matija Vitorovic, a 6-4 freshman guard from Serbia, helps in the height department. Keanu Young, a 5-8 sophomore, and Michael Hanano, a 6-0 sophomore, will also see significant playing time. Both were on the junior varsity last year.
“We’re really young, but we don’t talk about rebuilding because we owe it to the seniors to be as good as we possibly can be,” HPA co-head coach Fred Wawner said. “Obviously, we need Jonas and Dylan to be active on both sides of the floor, and Jonah to play like a senior instead of a sophomore.”
Skupeika, who played football for the first time, is an athletic 6-2 physical presence. He’ll be the center piece of the offense, where he can attack from the wing off the dribble or station himself in the paint.
Vitorovic could be a solid building block. He’s got a pretty good shooting touch, but not the court savvy yet of Skupeika, who has an excellent feel to attack holes in a defense, pass to someone with a better shot or fire away.
“Matija has got a ton of potential, but he’s a 14-year-old freshman,” Wawner said. “He’s skilled for his age and he’ll be a scoring option, but I don’t know when that is.”
In HPA’s 60-55 win over Waiakea 2 (basically the backups), Skupeika scored 30 points at the Keaau-Waiakea tournament on Wednesday. In the first half, he scored 14 points, including four layups and grabbed 10 rebounds, a double-double in just 16 minutes.
“We need him to rebound, defend the post, and score from the post a little bit,” Wawner said. “He can use his athleticism to get out in transition. He’ll be critical to our success. Most things will revolve around him.”
HPA has a steady pass-first point guard in Hurney, who got a good cardio workout in the first period being defended by Waiakea’s Louie Ondo, the two-time BIIF cross country champion who never seems to get tired.
One reason Ka Makani led just 28-27 at halftime was their barrage of turnovers. In fact, Ondo, a starter who gave Waiakea 2 stability, got a steal and layup to start the second half. The senior Warrior guard finished with 13 points. Wes Amuiamuia, another Waiakea regular starter, added 12 points.
Ngango Dikobo isn’t a shooter like Skupeika or Vitorovic, who finished with 12 points, but he’ll be in charge of the unsung stuff, like setting screens and rebounding. Hurley, too, provides value beyond scoring; he had 10 points.
“Dylan’s game has matured and we’ll need him to produce, and be a rock for us inside and outside,” Wawner said. “Obviously, Jonah is critical to our play at point guard. We’ll depend on him a lot to set our possession and run the offense, and apply pressure on defense.”
Both Young and Hanano have worked hard to earn their share of playing time. Warner is fond of pointing to a player’s intangibles as a valued asset. He thinks he’s got two good ones in the promoted JV guys.
“Michael is an energy guy, really tough and a coachable kid,” Wawner said. “He’ll be a dependable guy for us. Keanu is another from the JV. He’s an athletic kid. He doesn’t have a lot of basketball experience, but he’s learning as fast as he can.”
Besides Skupeika, the only other seniors are Adam Kennnon and David Westervelt. Neither played much last season. They’ll likely see limited minutes, but they offer something Wawner deeply appreciates.
“Both have been in the program for four years,” he said. “They do things the right way. They keep us level and balanced. They bring that work ethic every day that’s a good motivation for us.”
Dave Huntington, HPA’s co-head coach, noted that Skupeika, Ngango Dikobo, and Hurney are setting the pace. It’s always a good thing when a team’s best player, rock and quarterback push everyone else.
“Dylan and Jonas have stepped up as vocal guys, and Jonah, too, even though he’s a sophomore,” Huntington said. “There’s a good presence about him.”
Huntington also looked big picture, knowing that defending BIIF D-II champion Pahoa and runner-up Kohala took their share of graduation hits.
“There will be a lot of new faces at every school,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what Big Island hoops looks like this year.”