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Fri, Jan 3, 2020 @ Mid-Pacific

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Damien

50

Mid-Pacific

47

F/OT	1	2	3	4	OT
Damien (18-16, 18-16)	12	10	10	8	10	50
Mid-Pacific (17-15, 17-15)	7	12	17	4	7	47

SEASON LEADERS

Elijah Kahue-Parker 11.4 ppg  2 3pm  61.1 FT%

Jake Holtz 12.3 ppg  11 3pm  66.7 FT%

Both Damien coach Alvin Stephenson and Mid-Pacific's Robert Shklov used similar formulas in the preseason in preparation for what promises to be another entertaining season of boys basketball in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu this winter.

The Monarchs and Owls each took part in December's Iolani Classic, where they faced off on the second-to-last day of the prestigious 16-team tournament. Both teams also returned from trips to the mainland last week: Damien to southern California and Mid-Pacific to Arizona.

"When I first got the schedule and looked at it, I thought ‘this is a tough schedule,' but we've got a nationally-recognized schedule by playing in those two tournaments," said Stephenson, who is in his eighth season as coach of the Monarchs.

Damien captured the school's first state championship in Division II last February, but is making the move up to D1 this year.

Stephenson's squad went 0-4 in the Classic at Damien, a premier tournament in California that includes 80 teams from across the country in five different divisions. The Monarchs competed in the Platinum (top) Division — which included one of the nation's best teams in Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California).

"These were the best of the best from where they're coming from," said Stephenson, whose team is coming off a four-point, double-overtime loss to Long Beach Poly in Monday's final day of the tournament. "Every team we played had a guy that was going to a major D1 (college), so being able to play against that type of talent every single day made us better. We got better and worked on things that we needed to work on, so the scores didn't tell everything they went through."

Before Damien left for the trip, it had won eight of its first 11 preseason games. None of the Monarchs' (8-7) losses have come against teams from Hawaii. Stephenson's hope is that the rugged competition will get his boys battle-tested for the ILH, home to the top five teams in this week's ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings.

"It was an extremely fast pace. I remember we scored 30 points in a quarter one game and we were behind 33-30. Those teams shoot the lights out, so just getting used to that style of play and hopefully we can take that and bring it back to the island and continue to play at that level; we'll be fine if we can do that," Stephenson said.

The Monarchs are ranked second behind defending D1 state champion Maryknoll. Kamehameha, Punahou and Mid-Pacific round out the top five, respectively.

"Batting top teams in the Damien Classic is great prep for the ILH because that's how it's going to be — it's all tough teams and everybody can get beat on any day — so that experience made our young guys grow up faster and gave them confidence that they can play with anybody in the world, so we're looking forward to all our match-ups in the ILH," Stephenson said.

Damien's opening test will come Friday, when it visits Mid-Pacific's Mills Gymnasium for a 6:30 p.m. game against the Owls (12-5).

It will serve as the Monarchs' first league game as a D1 team since the 2011-12 season, as well as Mid-Pacific's first ILH contest under Shklov, who ascended to his first head coaching job in June after five seasons as an assistant with the Owls under now-Iolani coach Ryan Hirata.

"Ryan left the program is such good shape that it was very easy for me to take over and try my best to continue what he started," said Shklov, a 2005 Punahou graduate who played for the Buffanblu under Greg Tacon.

Shklov also counts former-Punahou and current-Saint Louis coach Dan Hale, as well as the Buffanblu's Darren Matsuda among the coaches he's worked beside.

"It's a really tight coaches' community and it's crazy to look around and see so many guys who influenced me that I coached or played with," Shklov said.

The Owls' resume includes wins over several of the usual suspects out of the Oahu Interscholastic Association, including Kailua, Kahuku, Moanalua, Kalaheo, Moanalua and Kaiser.

Shklov praised the work ethic of senior guards Kamana Lapina and Lucca Kitashima, along with junior forwards Elijah Kahue-Parker and Kala Nakaya.

"It starts at the top with Kamana Lapina, who's our leader vocally and on the court with the way he plays and it really helps me to have that support there and with Lucca — he's one of the better golfers in the state, so he got off to a late start because of that — but I've been really impressed with his defense and his shooting. Everyone just calls him a shooter, but I think he's improved to become one of our best defenders and if we can get him playing (well) at both ends, we're gonna be pretty tough.

In addition to their prowess in the front court, the 6-foot-3 Kahue-Parker and 6-6 Nakaya also excel in the classroom.

"They get the best grades on the team," Shklov said of the pair. "I can't say enough about their character and they've really stepped up their leadership, which has been key to putting in our system and progressing from where we were in the summer. I've given them a little bit more freedom than we had in the past because I think their IQ kind of dictates that and that's kind of how basketball goes, you have to read the flow of the game, so I challenge them on that end as well."

While this is Shklov's first go-around as a head coach, he is leaning heavily on the experience brought by assistants Neil Bowers and Nathan Hu. Bowers spent the past four seasons as head coach at Castle, while Hu previously headed the Mid-Pacific program.

"They're indispensable and very valuable to have on staff," said Shklov, whose team went 3-1 in the Central Arizona Holiday Classic last week.

Mid-Pacific dropped its first game to eventual-champion Buena, before winning its final three games in the 16-team tournament.

"It was an appropriate level (of competition) for Hawaii basketball — it's not like there were a bunch of giants — but they were all shooters and they're really strong, they play much more physical and they let you play a lot more on the mainland, so our boys had to adapt to being physical, which was great because Damien and Maryknoll are probably the two most physical teams in our league, so it was a good barometer for us," said Shklov, whose team will play the Monarchs and Spartans (16-0) on back-to-back nights Friday and Saturday.

However, it wasn't just the on-court battles that served the Owls well. Shklov said a visit to the Gila River Indian Reservation provided an invaluable cultural exchange for the players and coaches.

"The boys did a hula, they sang for them and played some basketball with some of the reservation kids — they actually opened up their rec center for us and it kind of functioned as a shoot around for us — they cooked for us and their spiritual leader and governor came down and blessed us and I think that made a big impact on our kids," Shklov said.

The team often referenced what the reservation's shaman told them.

" ‘No matter what you do, you do with all your spirit and it'll come back to you 10 times,' and they loved that. I used that in the huddle a couple of times and they came to every one of our games and it was just a great experience; I think it was a life-changing experience for our kids," Shklov said.

Shklov has quickly shifted his focus to Mid-Pacific's ILH opponents, specifically Damien.

"They pose all kinds of problems, where do I start? First of all, I love Alvin; I think he's a great guy and he has them playing hard all the time. He runs great stuff and they have matchup problems all over the roster for anybody," Shklov said.

The Monarchs' four returning starters from last year's D2 state title-winning team in guards Hayden Bayudan and Bryce Forbes, along with bigs Jake Holtz and Tino Atonio will be a handful, Shklov predicts.

"I think the sky is the limit for them. Those four are as good as anybody and then they have shooters off the bench and they know their roles, which is a credit to Alvin and although they won a D2 title last year, winning a championship at any level is tough and requires focus and discipline and everybody knows they can and will compete for the D1 championship," Shklov said.

Damien pulled away for a 63-40 win over Mid-Pacific behind Bayudan's 18-point effort when the teams met on Dec. 20 at Iolani.

"They're a great team and they're playing really good basketball this year," Stephenson said of the Owls. "I've always paid attention to them because that's a team that we're kind of similar to when we're in D1 — fight, fight, fight in close games, but come up short a little bit — but this year they're having a good team and it's the highest they've been ranked in the last seven or eight years that I've seen them play. They have a first-year coach so there's a lot of excitement and energy, which is great, and they've been surprising some people, but we have to bring our A-game if we want to win this game because they'll be tough at home, but we're definitely excited about this challenge. I know Mid-Pac will give us everything and we have to be able to give them everything. It's another exciting year in the ILH and I believe it's anybody's year right now."

Friday's ILH opener will follow a D2 girls' game between Hawaii Baptist and No. 9 Mid-Pacific that will tip-off at 5 p.m. at Mills Gymnasium.