November 30th, 2023, the Varsity Division 1AA basketball team traveled to Kaua’i to play in a basketball tournament for the first time.
The team traveled to play in the Kauai High Invitational to compete against outer Island teams and a few teams from Oahu. “The most beneficial part about traveling to Kauai was strengthening a good team camaraderie through bonding, game experiences, and downtime,” says Head Coach Dave O’Connor. “After watching the team play my expectations are high with this year’s team. Success on the basketball court, in the classroom, in our faith foundation, and out into the future is what we strive for each season. I’m excited to see what transforms with this year’s team.”
The Kaua’i tournament was the first tournament the team played in together. “The tournament is the first of three preseason tournaments. Each preseason game allows the coaches to evaluate every player and/or group. This will allow the team to work on what is deficient,” explains O’Connor. “Preseason games, along with practices, give the team valuable experiences to work on conditioning, skill set development, and confidence. It also helps the coaching staff to see what combinations work well together given the particular situation we are in.”
Junior Guard Magnus Ochoco says, “I wasn’t sure what to expect, because it was our first game, and tournament. I wanted us to see what we can fix and make better before our regular season starts, and for us to get the first game jitters out.” As he reflects on the benefits of the trip, Ochoco added, “The tournament helped our team because it helped us get our body and minds right and acclimated to the speed and pace of the game. It exposed our flaws and helped show us what we need to fix.”
While on Kaua’i, the team played four games against Konawaena, Kauai High, Aiea, and Island School, going three and one. “The biggest obstacle in my opinion was Kauai High, we knew that they were a tough opponent, we could physically match up with them, but lost the game mentally,” adds Ochoco.
The Kaua’i tournament wasn’t just the first tournament as a team, but also the first games as a team. “The tournament helped our team because it helped us get our bodies and minds right and acclimated to the speed and pace of the game. It exposed our flaws and helped show us what we need to fix,” said Ochoco.
“The tournament helped our team get better because we learned to adapt to new situations and we learned how to close out close games,” said Senior and Team Captain Blaize Arakawa, “I learned that our team is very defensively solid and we need to work on our zone plays.”
