St. Joseph’s intricate passes weren’t in sync yet and the shots weren’t falling. In coming days, however, they might. ADVERTISING St. Joseph’s intricate passes weren’t in sync yet and the shots weren’t falling. In coming days, however, they might. Defensively,
St. Joseph’s intricate passes weren’t in sync yet and the shots weren’t falling. In coming days, however, they might.
Defensively, the Cardinals gave up easy baskets because they were slow to rotate. In coming weeks, however, they could.
St. Joe’s boys basketball team didn’t exactly look the part of a defending BIIF champion last week at the Keaau/Waiakea preseason tournament, but it didn’t need to either. After watching his squad lose two close games, win another and overmatch a junior varsity team, coach Mike Scanlan sounded — at worst — mildly concerned.
“We still have a long way to go, but at the same time we don’t,” he said. “We kind of look bad now, but our offense takes a lot of precision.
“It just takes time.”
That’s all the Cardinals needed last season. After a few seasons as a doormat, St. Joseph knew it would be better, but it fell into a midseason funk, Scanlan admitted, before snapping out of it to make the BIIF Division II playoffs with a .500 record. Then the No. 3 seed fell behind by 18 points against Honokaa in the third quarter of the championship game, but it still had enough time and wherewithal to storm back for its first title since 2010.
“We didn’t play as much (together) as I wanted to in the offseason, so we’re still catching up,” Scanlan said.
Considering St. Joe’s small enrollment, fielding a perennial contender is a balancing act.
The Cardinals have a basketball program in place at the elementary/intermediate levels to provide a feeder system for the varsity, but Scanlan has seen more than one potential contributor elect to go to Kamehameha or the public route once they get to high school.
“We have a good (elementary/intermediate) crew now,” Scanlan said. “If they stay at St. Joe, they are really going to help us.”
With starters Manato Fukuda, Ruka Suda and Jake Au returning, the Cardinals must replace BIIF Division II Player of the Year Cole deSilvsa. Au, a junior point guard, mirrors deSilva in that he can create his own shot, but he’s been sidelined recently after re-aggravating an ankle injury.
Running the Princeton offense, St. Joseph essentially plays four guards along with post Chris Correa. The Cardinals will try to use their speed to their advantage, but with fewer players than last season, they have to be cautious.
“One thing we’re be doing a lot better this year is we’re getting a lot of backdoor cuts,” Mike Scanlan said. “Shooting should be a strength, but it isn’t right now.”
Cutting and shooting are Princeton staples.
The field-goal percentages figure to improve thanks to Fukuda, Suda and freshman Keegan Scanlan. The coach calls his son the best 3-point shooter on the team.
Fukuda, a senior, made first-team all-BIIF last season, enters his third year with the team and is taking on more of a leadership role to fill the void left by departed senior Kaena Naho’opi’i.
“He’s been very vocal, which is a big step for him since English isn’t his first language,” Scanlan said. “He’s letting a lot of the new guys know where they need to be while he’s playing.”
Suda, a junior, has improved his shooting, Scanlan said, and junior Aka Rodriguez-Herring also will see quality minutes.
A 6-foot senior, Correa takes over for Naho’opi’i and has the length to provide an inside defensive presence.
“He’s just a really good teammate,” Scanlan said. “He always has everyone’s back.”
Scanlan’s been happy to toy around with lineups so far in the preseason, but the mindset is set to change. St. Joe is in it to win it at its annual preseason tournament, which it hosts Thursday-Saturday at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. The Cards haven’t won their event since 2010.
Of course, this weekend is just another small step toward the ultimate goal.
“We want to repeat,” Scanlan said. “That’s something the school has never done before.”
In the coming months, they might.
