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Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:23 am
by HS Football Fanatic
@Naz: Well, I'm not advocating for Ng so much as I'm trying to advocate for weak basketball schools. Yeah, I'd be perfectly OK with Waialua High having Ng's dad as coach, with son Kameron on the team being allowed to "chuck it up." It seems the same old schools are always good in basketball; I'm tired of that tune. I'd like to see other schools have a place in the sun. Again, one way to do that is to have outstanding players understand that they have an equal chance to be POY at any school. Of course, at Waialua High, it would be D2 POY. But that's the compromise we make with the classification system. To tell you the truth, I'd be OK with getting rid of the classification system for basketball. The size of a school doesn't necessarily dictate how good that school's basketball team is. Take Maryknoll School, for example. That's a small school, but look at how good their basketball teams have been for years.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:36 pm
by Neighbor
Kameron playing the entire game does bring up a good point. The other ILH schools have a little more depth and can rotate players out. Should that be used against Ng? I don't really think so but I still stand by that you gotta at least make the state tournament, even if ILH D1 is the toughest division in most sports. But on the other end, this is a year that there really wasn't any other players that could contend for the award. Maybe the kid from Kailua. Damien for sure if they were in D1 this year, but will be interesting and fun to watch Damien next year

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:08 pm
by Naz
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:23 am @Naz: Well, I'm not advocating for Ng so much as I'm trying to advocate for weak basketball schools. Yeah, I'd be perfectly OK with Waialua High having Ng's dad as coach, with son Kameron on the team being allowed to "chuck it up." It seems the same old schools are always good in basketball; I'm tired of that tune. I'd like to see other schools have a place in the sun. Again, one way to do that is to have outstanding players understand that they have an equal chance to be POY at any school. Of course, at Waialua High, it would be D2 POY. But that's the compromise we make with the classification system. To tell you the truth, I'd be OK with getting rid of the classification system for basketball. The size of a school doesn't necessarily dictate how good that school's basketball team is. Take Maryknoll School, for example. That's a small school, but look at how good their basketball teams have been for years.
I don't want to beat a dead horse but you already know my opinion on this. If you're pounding your chest and being held as the best player in the state, your 'elemu belongs up in Division 1. Can you imagine a football player for 'Iolani sweeping all the awards over his Saint Louis, Kahuku, Punahou counterparts? No, it would never happen. Because there is a very obvious talent disparity between what is now open division and everybody else. In much the same way that there is a huge talent disparity between D1 and D2 in basketball. Heck, what if Tolu played for Damien last year? He would've averaged 80 ppg beating up on Le Jardins and Uh Labs. Would we have realized who his competition was if that were the case? I'd hope so.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:25 pm
by Naz
Neighbor wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:36 pm Kameron playing the entire game does bring up a good point. The other ILH schools have a little more depth and can rotate players out. Should that be used against Ng? I don't really think so but I still stand by that you gotta at least make the state tournament, even if ILH D1 is the toughest division in most sports. But on the other end, this is a year that there really wasn't any other players that could contend for the award. Maybe the kid from Kailua. Damien for sure if they were in D1 this year, but will be interesting and fun to watch Damien next year
My gripe is if this was such a close, up-in-the-air race for the best player award, why didn't the fact that Kamata won the ILH regular season MVP and the state tournament most outstanding player give him the nod for both Gatorade and Star Advertiser? It is because he scored 12 ppg? Put Kamata on an OIA contender or middle of the pack ILH team and give him the green light and the whole game to shoot it. His ppg would go up. It was the fact that he played for the ILH's toughest team that went deep into the bench and didn't rely on one guy to score. His circumstances hurt his point average for those who are stat watchers and people were too blinded by the glitter of article after article about a kid who scores a lot. Like I said, it was already set in stone who was going to take these awards before the season even began.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2019 5:01 pm
by HS Football Fanatic
Naz wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:08 pm
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:23 am @Naz: Well, I'm not advocating for Ng so much as I'm trying to advocate for weak basketball schools. Yeah, I'd be perfectly OK with Waialua High having Ng's dad as coach, with son Kameron on the team being allowed to "chuck it up." It seems the same old schools are always good in basketball; I'm tired of that tune. I'd like to see other schools have a place in the sun. Again, one way to do that is to have outstanding players understand that they have an equal chance to be POY at any school. Of course, at Waialua High, it would be D2 POY. But that's the compromise we make with the classification system. To tell you the truth, I'd be OK with getting rid of the classification system for basketball. The size of a school doesn't necessarily dictate how good that school's basketball team is. Take Maryknoll School, for example. That's a small school, but look at how good their basketball teams have been for years.
I don't want to beat a dead horse but you already know my opinion on this. If you're pounding your chest and being held as the best player in the state, your 'elemu belongs up in Division 1. Can you imagine a football player for 'Iolani sweeping all the awards over his Saint Louis, Kahuku, Punahou counterparts? No, it would never happen. Because there is a very obvious talent disparity between what is now open division and everybody else. In much the same way that there is a huge talent disparity between D1 and D2 in basketball. Heck, what if Tolu played for Damien last year? He would've averaged 80 ppg beating up on Le Jardins and Uh Labs. Would we have realized who his competition was if that were the case? I'd hope so.
@Naz: OK, but remember, we're talking about Player of the Year, not School of the Year or Team of the Year. While I hope it never happens (because I don't care for Iolani School), it is possible that the best football player in the state might play for Iolani School some year. So, why should he not be named POY, if indeed he is the best player in the state? My position is that if a player is the best in the state, it shouldn't matter which school he (or she) is playing for. He or she is the same kid, the same player, no matter which school's uni he or she happens to be wearing.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:25 pm
by Naz
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2019 5:01 pm
@Naz: OK, but remember, we're talking about Player of the Year, not School of the Year or Team of the Year. While I hope it never happens (because I don't care for Iolani School), it is possible that the best football player in the state might play for Iolani School some year. So, why should he not be named POY, if indeed he is the best player in the state? My position is that if a player is the best in the state, it shouldn't matter which school he (or she) is playing for. He or she is the same kid, the same player, no matter which school's uni he or she happens to be wearing.
Ok, but we're also not just talking only about who was the SCORER of the year, either. If Ng was truly the best player hands-down, why did the coaches not vote him unanimously as such in the ILH? The fact that he couldn't win the ILH MVP is a clear indication that the only facet he had going for him was how many points he scored according to the rest of the state.

There would be such an upheaval if a D1 football player beat out highly deserving Open Division player for the Player of the Year award. In this state, for basketball, the top level (D1) is already not that high (2A) when you compare it to other states who go as high as 6A. If you can't make it to at least the state tournament in a 2A state, there must be better players on other teams. ILH had 3 births. Saint Francis beat 2/3 teams who got births to the tournament. There were no excuses not to be able to make it this year because of talent disparity.

You mean to tell me, you could care less about who the kid's competition is in declaring himself as the best player in the state? So if a 6'7" out of state transfer comes to the island, plays in the lower division where there is weak competition and shows out, you will be convinced he was the best because of how badly he whooped inferior teams on a nightly basis? Or do you look at the players grinding it out in the competitive ILH D1 who may average modest points, but have the much tougher schedule. Btw, the example of the 6'7" kid actually happened this past season. And thankfully people weren't that blind enough to claim him as the best player in the state unlike last year where a D2 kid took the Gatorade.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:16 am
by HS Football Fanatic
Naz wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:25 pm
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2019 5:01 pm
@Naz: OK, but remember, we're talking about Player of the Year, not School of the Year or Team of the Year. While I hope it never happens (because I don't care for Iolani School), it is possible that the best football player in the state might play for Iolani School some year. So, why should he not be named POY, if indeed he is the best player in the state? My position is that if a player is the best in the state, it shouldn't matter which school he (or she) is playing for. He or she is the same kid, the same player, no matter which school's uni he or she happens to be wearing.
Ok, but we're also not just talking only about who was the SCORER of the year, either. If Ng was truly the best player hands-down, why did the coaches not vote him unanimously as such in the ILH? The fact that he couldn't win the ILH MVP is a clear indication that the only facet he had going for him was how many points he scored according to the rest of the state.

There would be such an upheaval if a D1 football player beat out highly deserving Open Division player for the Player of the Year award. In this state, for basketball, the top level (D1) is already not that high (2A) when you compare it to other states who go as high as 6A. If you can't make it to at least the state tournament in a 2A state, there must be better players on other teams. ILH had 3 births. Saint Francis beat 2/3 teams who got births to the tournament. There were no excuses not to be able to make it this year because of talent disparity.

You mean to tell me, you could care less about who the kid's competition is in declaring himself as the best player in the state? So if a 6'7" out of state transfer comes to the island, plays in the lower division where there is weak competition and shows out, you will be convinced he was the best because of how badly he whooped inferior teams on a nightly basis? Or do you look at the players grinding it out in the competitive ILH D1 who may average modest points, but have the much tougher schedule. Btw, the example of the 6'7" kid actually happened this past season. And thankfully people weren't that blind enough to claim him as the best player in the state unlike last year where a D2 kid took the Gatorade.
@Naz: What I'm saying is that we're promoting school elitism if we say that unless a player goes to a strong school (in whatever sport), that player can never be POY. Come on, now. Take Faa Tuitele of St Louis School, for example. He wasn't only the best D-lineman in the state; he was also one of the best D-linemen in the nation. He lives at MWH, so he should have played for McKinley High. OK, let's suppose he did play for McKinley High. Not only were the Tigers in the lowest division (D2), they weren't one of the best teams in that division, either. So you're going to tell us that Tuitele somehow "wasn't" as good as he "would" have been, had he played for the Crusaders? Come on. That's a ripoff. It would be a ripoff of Tuitele, had he played for the Tigers, and a ripoff of McKinley High as well. Come on. Whether Tuitele played for the Crusaders OR the Tigers, he would STILL be not only the best D-lineman in the state, but one of the best D-lineman in the nation. Alumni of all the schools that aren't in Open shouldn't be told, "Your alma mater isn't in Open, so your alma mater absolutely will never be recognized as having the best player in the state. Even if he is the best player in the state, too bad. His school is not in Open, so we're not going to recognize or honor him as such." That's outrageous.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 9:43 am
by HS Football Fanatic
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:16 am
Naz wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:25 pm
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2019 5:01 pm
@Naz: OK, but remember, we're talking about Player of the Year, not School of the Year or Team of the Year. While I hope it never happens (because I don't care for Iolani School), it is possible that the best football player in the state might play for Iolani School some year. So, why should he not be named POY, if indeed he is the best player in the state? My position is that if a player is the best in the state, it shouldn't matter which school he (or she) is playing for. He or she is the same kid, the same player, no matter which school's uni he or she happens to be wearing.
Ok, but we're also not just talking only about who was the SCORER of the year, either. If Ng was truly the best player hands-down, why did the coaches not vote him unanimously as such in the ILH? The fact that he couldn't win the ILH MVP is a clear indication that the only facet he had going for him was how many points he scored according to the rest of the state.

There would be such an upheaval if a D1 football player beat out highly deserving Open Division player for the Player of the Year award. In this state, for basketball, the top level (D1) is already not that high (2A) when you compare it to other states who go as high as 6A. If you can't make it to at least the state tournament in a 2A state, there must be better players on other teams. ILH had 3 births. Saint Francis beat 2/3 teams who got births to the tournament. There were no excuses not to be able to make it this year because of talent disparity.

You mean to tell me, you could care less about who the kid's competition is in declaring himself as the best player in the state? So if a 6'7" out of state transfer comes to the island, plays in the lower division where there is weak competition and shows out, you will be convinced he was the best because of how badly he whooped inferior teams on a nightly basis? Or do you look at the players grinding it out in the competitive ILH D1 who may average modest points, but have the much tougher schedule. Btw, the example of the 6'7" kid actually happened this past season. And thankfully people weren't that blind enough to claim him as the best player in the state unlike last year where a D2 kid took the Gatorade.
@Naz: What I'm saying is that we're promoting school elitism if we say that unless a player goes to a strong school (in whatever sport), that player can never be POY. Come on, now. Take Faa Tuitele of St Louis School, for example. He wasn't only the best D-lineman in the state; he was also one of the best D-linemen in the nation. He lives at MWH, so he should have played for McKinley High. OK, let's suppose he did play for McKinley High. Not only were the Tigers in the lowest division (D2); they weren't one of the best teams in that division, either. So you're going to tell us that Tuitele somehow "wasn't" as good as he "would" have been, had he played for the Crusaders? Come on. That's a ripoff. It would be a ripoff of Tuitele, had he played for the Tigers, and a ripoff of McKinley High as well. Come on. Whether Tuitele played for the Crusaders OR the Tigers, he would STILL be not only the best D-lineman in the state, but one of the best D-linemen in the nation. Alumni of all the schools that aren't in Open shouldn't be told, "Your alma mater isn't in Open, so your alma mater absolutely will never be recognized as having the best player in the state. Even if he is the best player in the state, too bad. His school is not in Open, so we're not going to recognize or honor him as such." That's outrageous.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 7:04 am
by Naz
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:16 am
@Naz: What I'm saying is that we're promoting school elitism if we say that unless a player goes to a strong school (in whatever sport), that player can never be POY. Come on, now. Take Faa Tuitele of St Louis School, for example. He wasn't only the best D-lineman in the state; he was also one of the best D-linemen in the nation. He lives at MWH, so he should have played for McKinley High. OK, let's suppose he did play for McKinley High. Not only were the Tigers in the lowest division (D2), they weren't one of the best teams in that division, either. So you're going to tell us that Tuitele somehow "wasn't" as good as he "would" have been, had he played for the Crusaders? Come on. That's a ripoff. It would be a ripoff of Tuitele, had he played for the Tigers, and a ripoff of McKinley High as well. Come on. Whether Tuitele played for the Crusaders OR the Tigers, he would STILL be not only the best D-lineman in the state, but one of the best D-lineman in the nation. Alumni of all the schools that aren't in Open shouldn't be told, "Your alma mater isn't in Open, so your alma mater absolutely will never be recognized as having the best player in the state. Even if he is the best player in the state, too bad. His school is not in Open, so we're not going to recognize or honor him as such." That's outrageous.
This is an absolute hypothetical because as you stated Tuitele did indeed play in the OPEN division. But I'll play along and pretend as if he did play in D2. According to Rivals, Tuitele was the highest prospect out of Hawai'i for his class. However, right behind him is Kahuku's Enokk Vimahi who is also a 4-star committed to Ohio St. Had Tuitele played in D2 for McKinley as you presented, I would, in fact consider Vimahi, Tufono (Punahou), or Buelow (Kapolei), to be candidates worthy of the Player of the Year as all played in the open division. Tuitele would have been playing against teams like Kalaheo, Pac-5, and Waialua. Put any of the other open division players in D2 and they would look like men amongst boys. In your view, Tuitele may be the best PROSPECT in the state regardless of division, but to give him an award and say he's the best PLAYER needs to consider what he has done and WHO he has done it against while playing in Hawai'i that season.

A player can get 5 sacks against Waialua or score 25 points against Le Jardin... that's fine. But get 5 sacks against St. Louis or put up 20 points on Punahou and now you have my attention. And then continue to do it night in, night out. Take your team to the post-season. Those are all things that should accumulate in a resume for POY in anything.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 5:30 pm
by HS Football Fanatic
@Naz: Well, I think the challenge is for pollsters to determine who the best player is, regardless of how well they performed during the season. Like you said, if a kid like Tuitele played for McKinley High, he wouldn't have to perform against tough offenses like St Louis School, Punahou School, Mililani High, etc. But the thing is, he would do just as well against them if McKinley High did play them. The only difference, then, is which school's jersey he's wearing. I get what you're saying: How do we know he's the best player unless we see how he does against the best offenses? I get that. What I'm saying is that that concern is outweighed by the need to not discourage good players from playing for weak schools. What if Tuitele wanted to play for McKinley High? What if most of his relatives went to that school, for example, and he wanted to play for that same school? Tuitele should be able to feel that he has just as good a chance to be named State defensive POY playing for McKinley High, as he does playing for St Louis School. I would rather have McKinley High than St Louis School, so I want to see good players play for the Tigers. If you're good, you're good. If you as a player are in fact the best defensive player in the state, then it should not matter which school you're playing for. As a player, you are just as good at McKinley High as you are at St Louis School. That being the case, Tuitele should be named State defensive POY, even though he played for a D2 school, for example.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 6:18 pm
by Hooper
One basketball coach last year told me the way you can tell a player is really good is when the opposing team's defensive game plan focuses on that player, and that player still puts up a lot of points. I know this isn't how POY is determined, but I'm guessing Ng was the focus of many defensive game plans.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 3:08 am
by Naz
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 5:30 pm @Naz: Well, I think the challenge is for pollsters to determine who the best player is, regardless of how well they performed during the season. Like you said, if a kid like Tuitele played for McKinley High, he wouldn't have to perform against tough offenses like St Louis School, Punahou School, Mililani High, etc. But the thing is, he would do just as well against them if McKinley High did play them. The only difference, then, is which school's jersey he's wearing. I get what you're saying: How do we know he's the best player unless we see how he does against the best offenses? I get that. What I'm saying is that that concern is outweighed by the need to not discourage good players from playing for weak schools. What if Tuitele wanted to play for McKinley High? What if most of his relatives went to that school, for example, and he wanted to play for that same school? Tuitele should be able to feel that he has just as good a chance to be named State defensive POY playing for McKinley High, as he does playing for St Louis School. I would rather have McKinley High than St Louis School, so I want to see good players play for the Tigers. If you're good, you're good. If you as a player are in fact the best defensive player in the state, then it should not matter which school you're playing for. As a player, you are just as good at McKinley High as you are at St Louis School. That being the case, Tuitele should be named State defensive POY, even though he played for a D2 school, for example.
If the situation played out this way, then I could see Tuitele garnering the D2 Player of the Year Accolades. I don't like saying "well this kid plays D2 because of his school but IF he played in the D1 or OPEN, he would have done just as well"... But the fact is he didn't play against those teams. There will be kids out there who perform against Kahuku, Punahou, Mililani, St. Louis, with just as good of stats as Tuitele would've had at McKinley. Proving you are the #1 main guy at the top of the mountain meant you went through the gauntlet of the best teams the state had to offer and you still performed. We're talking about #1 here. And for me, the conversation begins with the guys playing at the highest tier. Our mentalities are obviously forked on this road. We are just not going to agree. For me, the case of division disparities is even more emphasized in basketball than it is in football. There's no way a kid should be garnered the #1 head honcho of the state but did not play in the highest tier of competition.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 3:20 am
by Naz
Hooper wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 6:18 pm One basketball coach last year told me the way you can tell a player is really good is when the opposing team's defensive game plan focuses on that player, and that player still puts up a lot of points. I know this isn't how POY is determined, but I'm guessing Ng was the focus of many defensive game plans.
There were two Ngs this season who garnered most of the attention for Saint Francis. The younger brother undoubtedly took a lot of pressure off of the older brother this season. Defenses couldn't focus all their attention on one guy because the other was just as dangerous offensively. I'm sure there were a lot of game plans that were even willing to let the older Ng score his points but set the objective at shutting down everyone else. Saint Louis, who ended up being the bottom feeder team of the ILH, found a game plan to not have one single guy on their team score double digits but they still beat SF. Like I said, if you're the focus of attention but you've got the green light to shoot any shot inside the gym, good or bad, without repercussion of coming out, what does it matter if you're getting double teamed? You have the whole game to get your points up.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:08 am
by Hooper
Naz: I get what you're saying, and personally, if Kamata got POY I would understand it. However, like HS Football Fanatic stated, if POY is determined by league POY and tournament POY, then only the good teams will have the POY. I'm not advocating for Ng, but I do think he is one of the top players in the state, if not the top player.

The younger brother did take pressure off of him, who is also more athletic - he can dunk at 5'9, he plays better defense, he is cat quick, and he is a slasher. However, older brother is a 3 point threat and is a solid free throw shooter. Older brother has high basketball IQ and knows how to draw fouls. If you look at his scoring, a lot of his points come from the FT line. Anyway, I get that you don't think he is POY. It really doesn't bother me because I don't have a dog in the fight. It would be nice if the criteria for POY was based on more than points and included things like: impact on team's performance, performance during crunch time, and defensive skills. The hard part is these types of things aren't always measurable.

Re: 2018-2019 Boy's Basketball Thread

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:16 pm
by Naz
Hooper wrote: Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:08 am Naz: I get what you're saying, and personally, if Kamata got POY I would understand it. However, like HS Football Fanatic stated, if POY is determined by league POY and tournament POY, then only the good teams will have the POY. I'm not advocating for Ng, but I do think he is one of the top players in the state, if not the top player.

The younger brother did take pressure off of him, who is also more athletic - he can dunk at 5'9, he plays better defense, he is cat quick, and he is a slasher. However, older brother is a 3 point threat and is a solid free throw shooter. Older brother has high basketball IQ and knows how to draw fouls. If you look at his scoring, a lot of his points come from the FT line. Anyway, I get that you don't think he is POY. It really doesn't bother me because I don't have a dog in the fight. It would be nice if the criteria for POY was based on more than points and included things like: impact on team's performance, performance during crunch time, and defensive skills. The hard part is these types of things aren't always measurable.
As I stated in an earlier post, I felt that this award was his to lose prior to the season even beginning. The hype from the D2 season prior already had sportswriters starting to build the momentum for him to win these awards back in pre-season because they wanted to see a kid make the D2 to D1 transition and kill it and be back to back Gatorade POY. However, I felt that he needed to only at least finish top 3 in the ILH thus getting Saint Francis into the Division 1 state tournament. If he at least accomplished that, I would shut my mouth. However, he didn't. To me, that matters. POYs aren't always determined by League POY & Tournament POY. There have been many seasons where the league MVPs and the tournament MVPs have been two different individuals. It can't be Kamata's fault that he won both those awards and his team won the state championship. So, he plays for the best team in the state. Should that count against him? If the race for POY was so close as people were saying it was this year, how did Kamata winning both those awards not put him over everyone else? Instead, he loses to a guy who logged 0 seconds of state tournament time. I'm not pro-Maryknoll, ILH, or Kamata for that matter, but that scenario doesn't fly with me.