From keiki in summer camps to future college stars in high school, kids love basketball. We know this. We grew up with it and we see it all the time, it’s not a debatable subject.
From keiki in summer camps to future college stars in high school, kids love basketball. We know this. We grew up with it and we see it all the time, it’s not a debatable subject.
The question on the Big Island for coaches has never been about finding people who want to play, from grade school-age leagues up to extra competitive high school where teams battled for the BIIF championship Saturday night in Hilo.
But after high school, where do they go? What happens to the promising basketball players? Is there a chance that the Division II NCAA program at the University of Hawaii at Hilo could more often serve as a next step for highly motivated players?
If not, why not?
Most people look at the dotted history of Big Island players taking significant roles on the Vulcans’ roster and assume there are structural problems, hills to big to climb or whatever. These folks think it will always be as it has always been, that only in rare circumstances do local players show up and make steady contributions at the only four-year college on the island.
Not everyone agrees with that conclusion, but it’s probably fair to say it’s the prevailing opinion.
“I see it all the time,” said Aukai Wong, athletic director for County of Hawaii Parks and Recreation, “lots of players are out there, but I question the mental toughness when they get to high school age.
“The attention span has to be better, the awareness that a lot of stuff you got away with in high school no longer applies has to be there and that’s what I’m not seeing often enough.”
That’s not to say Wong, the former UHH player who graduated in 2005, is going to write off a special talent. A Hilo High School grad, Wong went as far as the NBA’s D-League with his game, but he discovered what it took to compete when he played for the Vulcans. He dug in and did the work he needed to compete at the NCAA level and that grasp of commitment to the process carried him beyond college and the game paid him back a bit for his efforts.
A few years ago, Wong saw another Viking he thought might be able to develop into a player at the next level. Randan Berinobis was the state player of the year in 2011 and led the squad to the state tournament.
“He was an exceptional athlete, I mean, he stuck out,” Wong said. “He had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder — that can be a good thing competitively — but I wasn’t sure he had the mental toughness to get himself ready to play at this level.”
Wong and GE Coleman, then the incoming new coach art UHH, found out Berinobis, a 6-foot-3 wing player, was an exception to the commonly held understanding of Big Island players.
“I really didn’t think anyone would know about me,” Berinobis said of his perspective as a high school senior. “I never thought I’d be playing here, or, really, anywhere.”
Berinobis attended Santa Rosa Junior College and the following summer was working a basketball camp when Coleman first saw him and was impressed with his raw skills. When Beronobis called just after Coleman was hired three years ago in August, he asked if there was an open spot on the roster.
“I said, ‘absolutely,’” Coleman recalled. “We needed bodies and he looked like he could play.”
The key to it all since then, according to Berinobis, has been the support and encouragement of Wong.
“I know the local boy attitude around here,” Berinobis said, “it’s about staying home, taking it easy; they tend to talk down Hawaii-Hilo with, ‘They’re not that good,’ or ‘You won’t get a chance there,’ they have a bunch of excuses.
“That mind-set can’t play at this level,” he said. “I see guys in Hilo who can play, who could develop and help here, but it won’t happen because they don’t have the commitment; I wish we could get more kids to do it. You get an education, and you learn how to deal with people. This definitely prepares you for life.”
Wong counseled Berinobis, gave him a workout plan. Weights were lifted, roads were run, one day he would shoot until he made 250 shots, later it was shooting until he made 500. The work didn’t end, he’s still doing it.
“Nobody works harder, not many have come as far as Randan from where he was to being a starter for us, making contributions every night,” Coleman said. “I wish his example would inspire more local kids,” Coleman said. “We have room if they do the work.”
A place to play, life skills to learn, personal boundaries to be stretched, but only for the ones ready to commit to basketball, and to themselves.
Contact Bart with comments at barttribuneherald.com