Last season, Hilo point guard Mandi Kawaha was lost in the shadows of four starting seniors, but she’s ready to lead the next promising generation of teammates.
The 5-foot-2 Viking junior plays club ball for the Wahine Ryders, coached by Harry Pagan and Fred Collins, a UH-Hilo women’s basketball assistant.
Their daughters, senior forward Sharry Pagan and freshman forward Jamila Collins-Ebanez, will be in the starting lineup.
The other Wahine Ryders/Hilo starters are senior forward Cherish Quiocho and Mandi’s sister, freshman guard Mindy Kawaha.
On the 11-player roster, eight Vikings play club ball for the Wahine Ryders. The others are freshman wing Tati Rideout, freshman guard Teijah Rosas-Suenishi, and sophomore guard Asia Castillo.
The three-time BIIF Division I runner-up Vikings will be coached by Cliff Kawaha, uncle to ball-handlers Mandi and Mindy and son of the late Wayne Kawaha.
At age 64, Coach Wayne died of a heart attack in April 2012, but not before he left an imprint on Big Island basketball with his club team, Showtime, which started in 2002 and ran for a decade.
He built a feeder program that often sent defensive-minded and fundamentally sound players to Waiakea, which won the BIIF title in 2008 and finished runner-up the next four years.
It’s no secret that the best way to build a BIIF dynasty is to have a feeder program that doubles as a club team tree producing blue-chips harvests.
That’s the main reason Konawaena has captured the last eight BIIF crowns, consecutive HHSAA state titles, and owns a league-record 92-0 winning streak.
Wayne and Alice Kawaha have five children: Kathy, Warren, Julyne, Cliff, and Mark. (Warren and Mark and nephew Kainoa are living in Las Vegas.)
From that family tree, Julyne (Waiakea), Cliff (Hilo), Mark (Hilo), and Kathy’s sons Kainoa (Hilo) and Kaimana (Hilo) and now daughters have all played BIIF hoops.
Julyne also coached the St. Joseph girls back in the day. Cliff joked that Kathy didn’t play ball because she was too busy with hula.
The next, next generation is already underway. Cliff’s wife Julianne is four months pregnant, and their little one, no doubt, will be given a tiny basketball upon birth.
“The one thing I really wanted to do was have somebody who coached with my dad,” said Kawaha, the first-year coach. “Darryl Yagi coached with my dad. That’s why he’s my assistant coach.
“We want the girls to play hard and study hard, play like every game is like your last game. That’s what my dad told us.”
The family connections also apply to Hilo’s junior varsity team. Yagi’s daughter Kelli, a former Viking and Showtime hoopster, will serve as JV coach.
“Wayne was all about man defense. That’s what he stressed to the girls. If you knew how to play defense, you would be in every game,” said Darryl Yagi, who then pointed out the obvious. “Mandi alone will be an offensive sparkplug. She’ll be one of the best guards on the island, if not the state.
“She has a high basketball IQ and as far as skills her main skill is finding her teammates. That’s why the other kids have to be ready because a pass will be coming when they don’t expect it.”
The Viking with the purest shot is Collins-Ebanez, who has flawless mechanics from her catch to her load to her launch.
“Jamila, every shot that she lets go looks like it’s going in,” said Yagi, who added that the other starters are plug-in ready, not necessarily on experience but skill-set. “Mindy has the same ball-handling skills as her sister. The seniors are solid. They’ve had four years of Viking basketball.
“Tati is well-rounded and will give us length. All of our freshmen can handle the ball. Fred did a great job developing the girls. They’re fundamentally sound and well-coached. Cliff brings his dad’s philosophy: simple basketball, nothing fancy, just fundamentals.”
Mandi Kawaha became a Wahine Ryder at 8 years old. But she’s never played for her Uncle Cliff before. That’s no big deal because her club team chemistry was cemented long ago.
“He’s focused on defense, and that’s what we like because defense wins games,” she said. “Most of us know how to play with each other. I want to encourage my teammates during practice and work hard and improve every day.”
Daily gain
Of course, the Next Generation Viks aren’t doing any shoot for the moon goal-setting, like take down Konawaena, at least not yet.
“We want to get better with each day,” said Kawaha, who sparked the Viks to a 6-0 preseason record, including wins over Kamehameha-Hawaii, Honokaa, Punahou II, University High, and Leilehua.
The Wildcats should be in good shape for the next two years. Cherilyn Molina and Mikayla Tablit are juniors and leaders of a defense that can pressure the ball, create turnovers and not foul.
One good way to beat man defense is to attack the rim, which happens to be Mandi Kawaha’s favorite play on the court.
“I like to dribble-drive and get easy buckets,” she said. “That’s the easiest shot. When you drive, you attract the defense and can dish off or make an easy two points.”
For those who are BIIF hoop historians or part of the Viking faithful, they know Hilo last pocketed a league crown in 1996.
That year, the Viks were led by a fundamentally sound sophomore named Onaona Miller, who later graduated from Punahou in 1998 and played ball at Yale.
Coach’s words
Hilo opens with Hawaii Prep at home on Wednesday. But the monster game to watch is Monday, Dec. 19, when the Vikings hit the road to play Konawaena.
The powerhouses will only battle once during the regular season. They’ll likely meet again in the BIIF four-team playoffs, which will be held in late January.
The thing with dynasties is that they tend to have an expiration date. Waiakea had a mini-dynasty from 1998 to 2000. Then Konawaena eventually started to dominate.
Whether it’s on Dec. 19 or four years from now when Hilo’s promising freshmen turn into seasoned seniors, the Vikings can grab inspiration from Coach Wayne.
If you can play defense, you’ll be in every game. And his granddaughter got it right when Mandi Kawaha said, “Defense wins games.”
Even BIIF championships, too, Coach Wayne would definitely remind her.