![Alan Akina addresses his suspension from coaching Kahuku basketball in a Jan. 1 Facebook post. Kat Wade / Special to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.](https://www.hawaiiprepworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/coach.jpg)
Alan Akina tells his side of the story concerning his suspension as coach of the Kahuku basketball team on a Facebook post from Jan. 1.
On Dec. 29, Hawaii Prep World learned of Akina’s suspension, which occurred apparently for alleged favoritism toward his two sons, Keanu Akina and Kawika Akina.
Hawaii Prep World realizes the Department of Education and the Kahuku administration may have had valid reasons for the suspension, so we would welcome and publish any statement from either the DOE or the Kahuku administration regarding this issue if they would like to send one.
Below is Akina’s verbatim Facebook message. (Editor’s note: Akina uses quotes from messages he received from Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball assistant coach Jesse Nakanishi and Kaiser High head coach Brandon Kawazoe. Hawaii Prep World confirmed from both coaches that the quoted material is accurate.):
———————
First, I want to thank all of you for the overwhelming positive support. All of the incredible kind words from so many of you in the community as well as the kids, school staff, coaches and many other people from other schools has convinced me that my path is not only the right one but also an important one. So thanks.
I’ve been patient and quiet on my coaching situation at Kahuku for a long time now, but I believe now is the time to share the real facts. But first I want to start out by expressing my love and concern for the young men on my team. Some of you I have had the privilege of coaching since you were in the 4th grade. It’s never a good thing when you are caught in the middle of an unfortunate emotional adult world that you may not understand. I am praying and wishing the best for each of you and I hope that you can learn some positive lessons that come from this situation.
Next let me address the legal action. Now I want to be clear, my intent at this point is not to sue anyone or the school for money or threats of any sort. But rather I obtained legal counsel to protect my two sons. The situation at the school involving just a couple of emotional parents, the principal and the athletic director undisputedly crossed the line. It was done so unethically and with such distain I felt the need to take off my “Coaching” hat and put on my “Daddy” hat and stand up for my kids and to make sure this kind of thing does not happen in the future to others.
Since last spring my son Kawika who at the time was only in the 8th grade was targeted and discriminated upon. I was told at that time that he would have to play on the JV team. This was 7 months before the actual tryouts, mind you. Kawika was unfoundedly denied the opportunity to play on the varsity basketball team at Kahuku High after clearly officially making the team at tryouts. The school has 15 spots for players but we only had 12 kids try out, so everyone made the team and NO cuts were made even regardless of them achieving the requirements. But for some reason that we still do not know of today, the principal and athletic director forced me to put him down on the JV team. Kawika was devastated, confused and wondering why he couldn’t play when he knew he earned a spot on the varsity team.
To make matters worse a few of the same parents involved in the discrimination of Kawika convinced some of the players to bring my other son Keanu into the mix by making false accusations that he has all of the plays run for him and thereby accusing me of favoritism.
Now I have my coaching staff track every shot taken for every game, we track both made and missed shots. I offered the admin to look over our shot charts along with shooting percentages to prove that Keanu clearly does not take the majority of the shots. In fact, many of Hawaii’s high school and college basketball coaches sent letters of support and vouching for Keanu’s playing ability and recognize him as one of the top players in the state.
Here is what Coach Jesse Nakanishi from Hawaii Pacific University said in his letter:
“I have watched Keanu for the last two years, and I have personally coached him during the last two summers at the Maui Sports Academy. Keanu is a standout, and one of the best basketball players in the state of Hawai’i. As the recruiting coordinator for the HPU men’s basketball program, I analyze the athletic capabilities of thousands of young men annually both here and on the mainland. I have no doubt that he will play at the next level, and he is Kahuku’s most valuable weapon.”
Coach Branden Kawazoe of Kaiser High School said this:
“If Keanu were playing within our program, there is no doubt that I would be illustrating plays to get him open shots and/or putting the ball in his hands to let him create opportunities for himself and his teammates. Keanu is as willing of a passer as he is a shooter/scorer. He often makes the correct play and is definitely a major asset to the Kahuku Basketball program.”
When I asked the principal if there were any complaints of physical or verbal abuse on my end or anything I had done wrong she clearly stated “No, the players think you’re a nice guy but they just feel like there is favoritism.”
I understand how people can perceive that there might be some sort of favoritism, but the facts and data show other wise. Favoritism in this case has actually been turned into the opposite, which is discrimination.
There are many unethical things that have happened that I will not discuss here because all I want to do is continue to coach and teach these young men that through basketball you can learn to set goals and that working hard toward those goals you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. I try to be the best example I can be for my players and I believe I do a great job by the way I live my life on the court, in business and at home.
I would like to thank all of you who reached out to my family and I over the past few days; your kind words and support are much appreciated. I also want to thank all of the high school coaches from across the state of Hawaii and on the mainland for offering your support and for expressing concern for the future of coaching in high school sports. I will continue to fight for you to the best of my ability to protect you and others that may want to coach in the future. You are role models that sacrifice a tremendous amount of time and money to build up our future generation through coaching.
Happy New Year Everyone and May God Bless you all!
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Mr. Honda, there are way more coaches who agree with Coach Akina, Coach Kawazoe, and Coach Nakanishi. It is unfortunate that some parents think he is showing favoritism to his kids when it’s clear how he coaches is similar to how many of his peers would coach the team. I have watched his sons play and they are unselfish and both talented. In my humble opinion I feel some people involved have ulterior motives.
I hate to see this. NO coach is in it for the money. I guess it’s Coach Akina trying to spend quality time with his kids. My DL coach in football followed his boy up the ranks from Intermediate coach, to JV to Varisty. Mahala nui loa for coaching, Coach Akina.
Another reason coaches should never coach their own kids. Their son/daughter can be one of the best, but it will always be seen as favoritism. The other being they are usually harder on their own kids than others and it comes home with them.
To open a can of worms, can the administration look at the Kamehameha Girls Softball team. It is clearly “favortism” with the Coaches 2 daughters playing. Last year coaches have quit because of this and more will quit because of the coaches, favortism.
Archie Manning was a qb. His sons Eli and Peyton also were pro quarterbacks. Coaches kids get 24/7 coaching. They are better mentally ,physically and in play savy.
I agree that coaching your kids give parents ammunition to complain. In this case I heard from many coaches and community members that some are complaining for no good reason. It is unfortunate. I heard Coach Akina is a fine person.
Nick Abramo wrote this post.
If you’re specifically asking for my response, this is a multi-layered mess that starts at the top. When my brain stops hurting, I might post something later. I’ve seen enough of Akina’s Red Raider teams to form a decent opinion.
oh me oh my, I would love to hear what paul has to say, especially since he spends so much time interacting with student athletes and has covered kahuku sport for so long. however i think paul is gonna side with akina this time instead of the students.
The common denominator here is the ADMIN. The admin has been terrible handling Kahuku’s football situation and now they are terrible handling their basketball situation. I agree with Abramo and the Top is at the Admin level! Fix it the admin level, and you fix majority of the problems.
FYI to Ua Ova Lou Taimi: it was Paul Honda and not me who wrote, “This is a multi-layered mess that starts at the top.”
There are way more issues than admin. Before you fix admin you need to fix the culture of how many people view academics out there. When Reggie Torres was hired years ago and parents were unhappy, they confronted him. When some parents were upset with Darren Johnson, a parent allegedly assaulted him after a game and a police report was fired. Parents are unhappy and they go on the news to complain about Akina and complain to the Administrators.
However, with standardized test scores so atrocious, do these same parents go to the superintendent or complex area superintendent to complain about teaching? Are these parents waiting after Chemistry class to confront the teachers? Are they getting the kids to boycott class since the teacher isn’t calling them?
So while I agree that the admins aren’t the best, you guys really need to look deeper and in the mirror. Much of the problem lies in many of the parents and what they set as priority.
I am not saying all of the parents, but when 18-20% of the kids aren’t meeting the proficiency level, that is a parent issue, not a teacher issue. The teacher can only do so much. It always starts in the home and from what I can tell from this blog the Kahuku supporters often point at others instead of pointing at themselves.
Kids gotta buy into coaches system. Seems players didn’t like what was happening.
Nothing wrong w/ playing JV as a frosh, why so devastating?
Maybe A.D./ Principal could’ve asked coach to step down quietly. Not sure about the firing, why so abrupt?
Culture of how many people view academics??
Kids gotta make that 2.5 GPA to be eligible nuff said!
Standardized test scores are atrocious??
Maybe student athletes can take more SAT prep classes.
You’re way off in Mars “EDUCATION FIRST”. Maybe you should go look in the mirror. Don’t try to sweet talk us w/ your baloney!
http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/Reports/StriveHIKahukuHighInt15.pdf
Math Meeting Standard – 28%
ELA/Literacy Meeting Standard – 20%
Science Proficiency – 26%
Fletcher Lee, you may say I am way off mars. These scores are all below the state average and near the bottom when examining all public schools on Oahu.
This just illustrates the point I made above being unable to look in the mirror and take accountability. If I am way off like you say Fletcher, why are the scored so horrendous?
The scores represent how academics are in that community. It’s bad. And it’s not only on the teachers. It’s unfortunate that you cannot recognize the scientific facts provided and realize it’s due to culture and priority.
If it’s not, what do you blame such low scores on? I didn’t make it up, I even put the link straight off the DOE website to authenticate the numbers I provided.
And why do I need to look in the mirror. As demonstrated by my writing, it is clear I am proficient in the 3 areas listed above.
It’s so tiring to here statistics of the general student population of HI public schools. There’s no science involved here pal. Pretty simple. Student athlete’s go to school, they make the 2.5 GPA, they prepare for the SAT, then go off to college.
That too hard to digest? Those statistics are uncontrollable. Public school teachers aren’t there to perform miracles. If students wanna learn, the resources are there for them. Teachers sad to say are just there to pick up paychecks like everybody else. If students wanna slack and not pay attention they’re gonna lose out.
Those statistics you’re providing are for the vast general population of public school students. We’re not talking about them. Student athletes are a special breed of people who have gifts. They wanna learn team unity, respect, school spirit, cooperation etc. Therefore they make the grade while preparing for the SAT.
Please don’t put student athletes and the rest of the “Joe Blows” in the same category. What student athletes know as student athletes is simple. Make the grade, pass the SAT. Period!
Student athletes in HI public schools make up roughly 5% of the general student population. You giving us those statistics is Phoney Baloney pal. Most of those sub par scores bringing everyone down is from the jigolos, druggies, slackers, kids from broken homes etc.
@Education… Not every athlete there plays sports. These scores seem to pain a picture of the entire school. Maybe you should complain that with those scores the graduation rate is too high? Also, I would say that overall (not just in student athletes) there needs to be a change in teaching that could put students in a position to succeed on these tests. I am sure they are learning, but obviously not enough of what is being tested on.
@This article, its Ironic.
What is this BS…. Talk about basketball but no one talks about football. Kahuku football has played favoritism for years nothing happens to the football coach. You kahuku parents need to wake up. When’s the last time kahuku basketball was this good.
Fletcher those scores seem very bad. And right now it’s the only scientific model that can be used. Why do you feel a need to defend such weak scores? When looking at the link, that is only for Kahuku High School. What makes you think it’s about the entire state? These numbers give a good glimpse of the school in it’s entirety. Kahuku has been known for having poor academics for decades. Yes there will always be the ones who do well like every low achieving school has, but overall it is pretty bad there. I sense anger in your voice. Usually if the truth hurts then people get defensive. You can say it’s not scientific, well then give us an example of what is? And you say it’s uncontrollable? The SBAC is one of the most controllable standardized tests I have seen at the elementary through high school level. please give evidence to support your claims if you are going to make such outlandish comments so we can see your point. Right now all I see is someone who’s being offended since the honest facts and scores are out and it looks bad.
@007… Just for kicks here are the Kahuku D1 Boys Basketball State Tourney results:
2009 – 2nd place
2010 – 4th place
2011 – 3rd place
2012 – 2nd place
2013 – Did not make it into states.
2014 – Did not make it into states.
2015 – 4th place
http://sportshigh.com/sports/basketball_boys/tournament/record_book
Whats your point?
I saw Kahuku play in the Iolani Classic a week before this past Christmas. Kahuku played a team from the D.C. area. I have no horse in this race but I did notice that the 2 best players on Kahuku were Hirkley Latu and Bradley Anae (sp?) by far! The older Akina boy is average. Coach Akina played his older son who is decent offensively but not too bueno on defense. His younger son, Kawika, could barely get the ball across the half court line without turning over the ball. When his Dad/Coach yanked him after about 8 quick T/Os in about 2 minutes, he started complaining and the two got into a brief argument in front of everyone. Kawika is not yet a D1 basketball player plain and simple. I have seen much better players who still play 6th grade basketball in PAL. Coach Akina has a huge blind spot when it comes to his younger son and Kahuku should never lose to Kaimuki with the amount of talent that they have on their roster. Last year (State Tourney) he set up the last shot for his son Keanu who had no business starting when the best player was the senior 6’4″ point guard was the best player on the team. Just saying that the parents who complained have a legitimate leg to stand on in my view.
I agree with R. Dunn. Coach Akina has done a dis-service to the Kahuku basketball program by engaging in such blatant nepotism. Its one thing to bring up his 9th grade son to the varsity, but its a total sham to play that kid in front of so many better players. Kawika is about 5’5″ and weighs about 130 lbs and can barely get the ball past half court. I also saw Kahuku play in the Iolani tournament and Coach Akina’s favoritism brings down the entire team’s moral. Eveytime Kahuku made a run, one of his sons would turn the ball over or shoot an air ball. Don’t take my word for it, watch any game that Coach Akina coaches and watch what he does with his sons. Its ridiculous. I feel sorry for the entire team especially the Latu boy who has excellent skills.
My point is why suspended a good coach. He said his son tried out like everyone else.
It is possible Akina favored his sons, and if so, that’s not a good thing. But was it egregious enough to merit a suspension?
@007 Here is what I am talking about…
“You kahuku parents need to wake up. When’s the last time kahuku basketball was this good.”
Weve actually been on a downturn. Before last year a small drought. That’s why I asked what your point was.
He is a good coach, both sons good. Who he plays and when he plays them is up to him completely. But if things are so bad that they would rather not play then have him coach. Why have sport? Cancel the season. Why stop there if wants to come back again and they won’t play for him do away with the sport altogether at Kahuku. Or we could say… You are a good coach and it sucks that it didn’t work out. Thank you and good luck in your future endeavors.
Kawika may or may not have been ready for varsity … but he has lots of talent. Look at this video of him playing youth basketball:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usRevyoNhWg
I have no horse in this race but I did notice that the 2 best players on Kahuku were Hirkley Latu and Bradley Anae (sp?) by far!
I have to humbly disagree. Neither look like basketball players. They are ackward with the ball in their hands and lack basic fundamentals of the game. I saw them play multiple times this year. The Latu kid went something like 3/12 from the FT line one game. That is not a best player by far to me. A bad ft shooter shoots 50% or close to it. 25% is very bad. I never heard of a kid being the best player by far and can only shoot 25%. The Akina’s have good hips which allow them to change directions well. They break defenders down off the dribble which allows them to get easy shots for their teammates.
If we all read the assessments from Coach Nakanishi & Coach Kawazoe who are far more qualified than any of us, they speak highly of the two Akina Boys. I trust them far more than any blogger using a pseudonym.
To Randy Dunn & Naiwi’s Hale, what makes your opinion more credible than Coach Nakanishi (HPU Coach); Coach Matsuda (Punahou Coach); Coach Kawazoe (Kaiser Coach), or Greg Tacon (Kamehameha Schools Coach) who all have spoke highly of the Akina boys and have supported publicly the way Coach Akina has run his team and used all the players during games.
Since our state has no Coach K, Coach Williams, or Coach Izzo. So these coaches are some of the most qualified coaches in the state. Coach Nakanishi has 2 state titles; Coach Matsuda has 1 state title; Coach Kawazoe has a D2 state title, and Coach Tacon has 2 OIA D1 titles. These are some of the best in Hawaii now and they all speak drastically different than you.
Are you guys saying that these 4 coaches do not know what they are talking about and you are more qualified to coach HS basketball in Hawaii?
Once again, somewith with good basketball skills never shoots 3/12 from the FT line. No one is guarding him. I don’t recall anyone in Hawaii ever shooting 25% with that many attempts. A kid with good skills would never shoot less than 50% from the FT line.
I smell a lot of parents writing on this blog now. I smell a hidden agenda to get their children more playing time.
@Pollster, hard to compare the Big Men to the smaller point guards of Akinas. Shaq was also a terrible ball handler and free throw shooter. Lol
Pollster… Seems you’re “Education Firsts” only buddy.
Like you said, the scores are weak reflecting the Kahuku school district. So what’s that got to do w/ the student athletes? Student athletes represent only a manini percentage of the whole general population of students. Student athletes have a gift, why should they have to slow down and worry about the sub par scores of these other riff-raffs. Embrace our student athletes and let them move forward w/ the gift they have. For Gods sake they already get hit w/ having to make 2.5 GPA’s w/ 850 SAT scores, gimme a break!
@Hahashandah Do you even understand what makes Shaq such a terrible FT shooter? And, don’t tell me it’s because he didn’t practice. It is because his hands are so huge. It would be like you trying to shoot a FT with a tennis ball. And, I’m not talking about you shooting the tennis ball like throwing a football. But, really try to shoot it like you would a basketball, and see just how difficult it is.
You should be comparing Latu to 6’3″ or whatever he is players shooting FTs. The Shaq comparison does not apply here. Sorry.
And, also notice that I do not mention their ability in outside shooting. Nope. Of course the Akinas win there when compared against Latu (as well they should). But, a FT is the second most simple shot in the game (after a layup), and he can’t hit them to save his life. Not bagging on the kid. But, pointing out the facts.
Wow, way it sounded these 2 Akina boys are the next Derek Lowe and Alika Smith. What’s going on here? That’s why I get discouraged about HS basketball coach’s coaching their own sons.
It’s hard to gather names of HS basketball coaching legends in Hawaii because Hawaii’s not really a basketball state. But when I hear names like Kawazoe and Nakanishi, they’re not credible enough to mean anything. They have no state championships under their belt, they’re just average guys.
Good luck Hirkley and Brad on rest of season, go Red Raiders!
@AOK. Actually the comparison I was making was the Kahuku boys and Shaq play the big man positions. Center/Forward. Not in their actual height.
But since you like to compare actuals. I am no way near Shaq’s size but I can pretty much fit my whole hand around a tennis ball. Given that analogy I don’t remember Shaq looking like a freak with his one hand completely surrounding a basketball where his finger tips are touching around the ball. Hello kettle.
Hahashandah January 8, 2016 at 1:03 pm
@Pollster, hard to compare the Big Men to the smaller point guards of Akinas. Shaq was also a terrible ball handler and free throw shooter. Lol
Shaq averaged 38 points in the final shooting bear 70% from the field. You are saying that the Kahuku Posts have that ability? Last time I checked, both Anae & Latu scored only 9 points each and they lost to McKinley, not really one of the top teams in the state. I also think Akina didn’t play that game.
If either of those guys were Shaq like, they would win by a 100. You really need to come up with a better comparison, maybe someone like a Rogue Harris or Swen Nater?
Hahashandah January 8, 2016 at 1:03 pm
@Pollster, hard to compare the Big Men to the smaller point guards of Akinas. Shaq was also a terrible ball handler and free throw shooter. Lol
Terrible ball handler? Have you ever seen him play? Shaq was one of the most fundamentally gifted players ever. His footwork was outstanding. Many times when we was young on Orlando and then when he first started with the Lakers he would lead the break. I am not saying 10-15 times a game since he was a center, but a couple of times a game. And when you add that over 82 games that is a very nice sample to see how great his ball handling was for a guy who was over 7’0 and 300lbs.
Am I saying he is Nate Archibald, Pistol Pete, or Zeke Thomas? No I am not. But to compare these Kahuku Posts to Shaq and tell the cyber world that their ball handling is anywhere similar that you want to draw a comparison is nothing less than blasphemy!
Stop making up stuff just to try and win an argument.
Based on scoringlive’s stats, Anae averages 8.8 points for the season and 8.3 in league play. Latu averages 11.3 points for the season and 9.3 in league. Why are we even talking about these two guys?
Those are the numbers of guys who are okay, but no where near stellar. If you are 6’5 like Anae and can only average 8 points with the high minutes he plays in Hawaii, you cannot make an argument that plays should be run for him. That is like scoring 1 basket a quarter.
You guys need better ammunition.
Fletcher Lee January 8, 2016 at 3:11 pm
“But when I hear names like Kawazoe and Nakanishi, they’re not credible enough to mean anything. They have no state championships under their belt, they’re just average guys.”
What are you talking about? Coach Nakanishi while at Kamehameha has 2 state titles, and it took a last second shot by Kainoa Chu that costed him a 3rd state title.
Coach Kawazoe won a state title at Kaiser last year.
Here is proof off the HHSAA website: http://www.sportshigh.com/sports/basketball_boys/tournament/record_book
Man you keep making up stuff. Maybe if you worked out with your son more or if you were a better coach then he would get more playing time. Keep making up nonsense, it’s clear you have a horse in the race and his name is either Hirkley or Brad.
Fletcher, you wrote, “For Gods sake they already get hit w/ having to make 2.5 GPA’s w/ 850 SAT scores, gimme a break!”
2.5 is barely above a C+ (2.33). 850 means you have to score 425 on math and verbal (not including the written part).
You think this is hard to do? If you cannot reach these meager scores, then I blame their parents. To me it should be a 2.75 GPA and 1100 to qualify.
@Education First, welcome down from the soap box. Please see my response to @AOK. It was not about talent. It’s about position. @Pollster and I both used the word. “positions”. They and Akinas play different positions so they’re speciality is different. They Center/Forwars which is different from playing point guard. That was it. There were times when Shaqs free throw and ball handling was lame. Google it.
BTW: both those boys have offers to go D1 in something other than basketball. So don’t worry about them.
“Education First”-
Some kids wanna learn at their own pace. Not all kids seem to tune in to what some teacher slaps in front of their face. Kids should be able to home school plus still be able to play in the OIA, BIF, KIF, MIL, etc.
I personally don’t agree always w/ the learning system at public schools.
Fletcher Lee Kaiser c/o 1994
1st place Track high jump OIA east
1st team all state baseball player OIA player of the year
1st team OIA blue all star Linebacker
Graduated 2.3 GPA 800 SAT’s earned a full ride Lewis-Clark State Idaho
played twice in the Easter tournament. Played for the Island Movers Japan, Korea, Alaska.
Was a first team Pacific Northwest College all-star.
Drafted by the San Francisco Giants 13th round, played 2 years in da minors.
Graduated w/ Bachelors in Theatre/ Communications 2.5 GPA
… Currently reside on da Big Island built my dream house here.
“Education First” it’s not all about education. There’s “creativity”, “artistic ability” plus many other traits involved. A “C” average is not always a bad thing. Knowing who you are as a human being, studying what you wanna study. You shouldn’t have to be a robot puppet slave to the system.
2 state titles @ Kamehameha. Well Nakanishi walked into a goldmine. Kam always has many stud athletes. Kawazoes 1 state title at Kaiser D2. You still can’t group those guys in the same class as the Smith’s, Kelly Grant, Manlingus, Walter Wong etc. Talking about Kawazoe and Nakanishi is the same as talking about Fletcher Lee and Froggy Fujimura the equipment manager at UH.
Wake up buddy!
You said they had no titles. Now you are singing a new tune. Make up your mind. Kelly Grant has 1 state title at Kaimuki. Nakanishi has 2 with 3 finals appearances who now coaches college. Smith is a fine coach.
Malingus was a good coach, but did he coach college? If not, his resume isn’t that of Nakanishi. You submit your resume to any basketball program on the mainland and college almost always trumps high school.
I am wide awake, it’s your ridiculous comments that is putting me to sleep.
You got caught with inaccurate information once again and now you are begging and hoping no one notices.
But everyone knows that the 4 coaches listed above know more than you and your mommy who continue to change your names and badmouth the coach who didn’t play your son.
Grow up and stop bad nothing this fine man.
It’s not about education? What is it about? Being unemployed?
@ Hahashandah, I hope they qualify. I heard the P.C.C. is running out of jobs.
Hahashandah January 8, 2016 at 1:03 pm
@Pollster, hard to compare the Big Men to the smaller point guards of Akinas. Shall was also a terrible ball handler and free throw shooter. Lol
Hahashandah January 8, 2016 at 7:02 pm
@Education First, welcome down from the soap box. Please see my response to @AOK. It was not about talent. It’s about position. @Pollster and I both used the word. “positions”. They and Akinas play different positions so they’re speciality is different. They Center/Forwars which is different from playing point guard. That was it. There were times when Shaqs free throw and ball handling was lame. Google it.
Here is another guy changing his tune and begging. GOOGLE What? What stat does the NBA use to track poor ball handling? Are you serious? I’m glad you can make up a username here. If you had to match the asinine statement with a real name, then your mother would be embarrassed and feel like she failed you.
Really? Google poor ball-handling? HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I mean you have to be pulling our legs right? No one can be the dumb. HAHA. Google poor ball handling.
You obviously never seen Shaquille play. Orlando and LA often ran their offense through him since he was such a gifted passer. Maybe not a Vlade Divac type, but still very good. In the 2001 NBA finals he averaged over 80 touches a game. That’s a lot.
As for ft’s Shaq never shot 25% in a game for ft’s with over 10 ft attempts. Stop making up stuff already. Have some integrity and write things that are accurate, truthful, and not stupid. GEEZ!
“Fletcher Lee”-
Bill Gates
William Henry “Bill” Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, philanthropist, investor, and computer programmer.[2][3] In 1975, Gates and Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft, which became the world’s largest PC software company. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of chairman, CEO and chief software architect, and was the largest individual shareholder until May 2014.[4][a] Gates has authored and co-authored several books.
Starting in 1987, Gates was included in the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people[7] and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2014 – excluding a few years after the financial crisis of 2007–08.[8] Between 2009 and 2014, his wealth doubled from US$40 billion to more than US$82 billion.[9] Between 2013 and 2014, his wealth increased by US$15 billion.[10] Gates is currently the richest man in the world.[11]
Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Gates has been criticized for his business tactics, which have been considered anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by numerous court rulings.[12][13] Later in his career Gates pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.
Gates stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He remained as Chairman and created the position of Chief Software Architect for himself. In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work, and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He gradually transferred his duties to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer. Ozzie later left the company. Gates’s last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He stepped down as Chairman of Microsoft in February 2014, taking on a new post as technology advisor to support newly appointed CEO Satya Nadella.
I love being rich! Academics helped me become rich and famous!
Turnovers are a stat that can be attributed to getting it stolen, dribbling it off your leg, passing it out of bounds or to a defender, etc. However, there is no stat that tracks “lame dribbling.” HAHAHAHAHA
I tried googling it and all I could find was “if anyone is telling you to google lame dribbling then they are an imbecile.”
@Education First, Here is a quick google search of what I am talking about.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/886876-the-nbas-top-ten-all-time-worst-free-throw-shooters/page/8
Shaquille O’Neal (52.7 % Career FT, 4.9-9.3 FTA per game, 5,935-11,252 career FT)
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealsh01.html
He ranged somewhere between 40+ up to maybe 53 % shooting for Free Throws… He was not very good. Its as simple as that. Sorry to break your childhood dreams of him. I did watch him play against Yao Ming… He got MAN handled by Ming.
So, where do you get @Education First “In the 2001 NBA finals he averaged over 80 touches a game.” Did you read that somewhere or were you at the game and counted each pass? You like to talk facts so…?
@Education first… Since I didn’t address it… So if I am wrong and Shaq is a great ball handler… Prove me wrong. I say he was a Center or Forward all the time. If you find that he also was a starting point guard somewhere that would show that he had the skills to break a press. Otherwise we agree to disagree.
“Education First”-
Kelly Grant won 2 state titles in 93 and 2007 w/ a team of riff raffs who would probably rather be bodyboarding Waiks walls or whatever.
Even if Nakanishi did make head coach @ HPU Its only D2, he’d never accomplish what Coach Sellitto did there.
And no it’s not all about public school education. It’s about the public school experience champ. Making friends, having girlfriends, cutting class to go Sandy’s, smoking cigarettes in the bathrooms, going to costco for lunch. I did it. I had more fun at Kaiser in the 90’s than you can imagine. Though i still took care of grades, made the GPA, got my picture on the wall in the gym. We partied hard buddy. That’s what school is about!
This life is not all about money. I want my kids to learn and have fun being happy. School doesn’t teach creativity, artistic ability, learning to navigate a boat, learning to grow and finding your own food.
Buddy…. You’re going on and on about everyday mainstream nonsense every media mogul feeds you on that silly overcrowded island of Oahu. Grow up!
What if a food shortage hit… Are you prepared to feed your silly face w/ no Safeways/ Foodlands. A tsunami hits, then the streets of Honolulu go chaotic. Where will you find drinking water? Waikiki will be under water from global warming in 50 yrs. Do you care about future generations? Oh, you care about proficiency scores that in itself lack much proficiency!
You are a silly guy let me tell you. Learn to grow and hunt your own food, provide drinking water in case of emergency. We humans don’t need corporate chemical conglomerate influences. Our schools lack in every aspect of teaching every basic fundamental buddy.
Yes, the topic here really is coach Akina getting the respect he deserves. Lots of upset parents and players.
But you buddy, you need to reshape your morals. why human beings are truly here on earth? We respect da aina. We need clothing, food, water, and shelter. Oahu can only handle so many people. Gotta leave some land for the farms. No farms no food.
Hey, maybe you can disclose your real name and alma mater. We can make arrangements to check you into the insane assylum or psyche ward.
Holy smokes!