Kahuku’s Villa is Hawaii’s player of the year

Congrats to all of the Fab 15 selections! Does anyone know who chooses the different “all-star” teams (OIA, ILH, All-Tournament and Fab 15)? Too bad that one of the selections isn’t even in Hawaii anymore. Just adds fuel to the rumours that he was here only to help win a championship and was going to go back home after the season was pau.

@JetWavy are you a fan? Can someone not be a fan and still be real what is happening? Are you one of those fans where you pretend everything is perfect with your team even though it’s not? Kahuku has done amazing things. So it sucks to have a certain situation tarnish all the good that the team has done. Don’t you think? Along with all the accolades Kahuku has received for a kick okole season, they’ve also had to deal with the crap that others have commented on. Don’t accuse me of not being a fan. I happen to be a fan who calls it like it is. Is that THAT rare? And believe it or not there are other Kahuku fans out there wondering what’s up. I’m not the only one.

My fellow islanders, please. Let’s not turn it into this. Aloha kekahi i kekahi! No worries, we good lol. No need locals vs locals on this one.

my kids no play cuz they sh!!!!ty at sports but good at other stuff mainly cheer in sea of red, c u all in vages sept 8

ROOM!! HAHAHA

Felt that Avea coPOY. If he stuck it out, he could have been a stud 6’6″ quarterback.

Villa was absolutely key to Kahuku’s success. Congrats to Jessiya and everyone else named to the Fab 15!

@Seth… Hope you complaining just as much about Kalaheo’s out-of-state players or Kapolei’s, or Mililani’s, or Leilehua’s, list goes on. ILH is the last league on the island that should be crying about acquired talent. Oh, that’s right, it’s all good.. they offer “financial aid”. All you need to know about Villa and Fotu is that they are state champs… Kalo faaaaeeeee!!!!!

I remember this from a previous post.
Which player left? And am wondering if there has been any other instance of this happening for any other sport?
More opportunities for players to get seen and recruited by colleges.
Play in one state and then transfer to another state and play the same sport there.
Especially if you can find two successful programs willing to let you do this.
Could change the game.

What kind of integrity and ethics would you give Cal Lee for recruiting and flying in his football talent from the Neighbor islands?

Did those guys from St. Louis leave before the school year ended? or even the semester? I really don’t know. In all my years of following high school sports, I have never heard of a youth coming in late to a school, playing a season, and leaving immediately after it was completed.

Im just wondering about the players who have been with the program all these years only to have these transfers come in and displace them. I know they say its all good when you winning, but, there must be some slightly miffed parents. Social pressure dictates that you dont say anything, parents and player, but there must be some resentment. If you on the team working hard during the off-season and then season comes around and here comes these three studs after the pre-season starts limiting your playing time, seems kind of unfair.

So why Fotu left? He can stay here only 90 days with tourists visa? That’s why? I hope that rumor is not true but he left…….

Very happy for Kahuku and their entire community. NO DOUBT the best fans on Oahu. I believe the only school who had “out of state assistance” in the ILH was Maryknoll. They got kids coming in (and out!) of their basketball program year after year. In my opinion they’re probably the most blatant basketball recruiting school in the state.

Tafena_Costa March 13, 2017 at 7:43 pm
Still, a school of polynesian boys compiled one of the best basketball teams in Hawai’i history.

@tafena_costa…one of the best teams in Hawaii History? C’mon buddy. They are a good team, but of all time? They lost to a Division 2 team. Let me repeat that, they lost to a Division 2 team. When you lose to a D2 team, you are automatically eliminated from the conversation of an all time best team at anything. And please don’t bring up the Fotu wasn’t there. Their POY Villa and Avea played in addition to Ah-Hoy and Wright. All time great teams DO NOT lose to D2 teams even if they are missing one good player or it’s early in the season.

They also lost to Punahou. And they beat one of Iolani’s worst teams in the past 15 years in OT.

Their resume is fine. Their showing was not bad in a below average Iolani Classic Field. But to say they are an al-time great with a D2 loss on their resume speaks of blatant subjectivity.

When was the last Iolani or Punahou team that had 3 div1 college players?
Villa and Avea are easily in the top 10 BBallers in Hawaii HS history, when did Iolani or Punahou have a team with two players in the top 10 All-time? The only knock on Kahukus team is that the other two starters are football players who are athletes and not BBallers, its hard to say best team all-time under those circumstances but Hawaii is not a basketball state so maybe it doesn’t matter.

The Iolani refs took Fotu out of the game and opened up the middle for Iolani in that game, when Fotu was in, Hoglands production went way down and Hogland is the best center in Iolani history.

This years Iolani classic was by far the best of all-time with a new BBall factory school in Findlay prep who smashed the always powerful OakHill academy. Kahuku did better then any Derek Low Iolani team who only had to deal with Oakhill.

Derek Low is the best player from Hawaii but as a team unit I think this Kahuku team is top 1 or 2 all-time.

@Watcher… Well, BUDDY, not only was Kahuku without Fotu, they were without SAUVAO (all-defensive team) AND Kaniho. You’re talking about playing without 3 of your 8-man rotation not just one guy. Kahuku beat 3/4 out-of-state teams in the Classic. As of today, Mount Vernon (NY) has made it to the finals of their state championship tournament, De La Salle (CA), and Southwind (TN) are both in the quarterfinals or beyond of their state’s respective state tournaments. So don’t now start trying to downplay the competition they beat in the Classic and make it seem like they played scrub teams. They played great out-of-state competition. So the win against Punahou in the championship doesn’t trump the 10-point pre season loss? My goodness. And now all of a sudden this is the “worst ‘Iolani team in the last 15 years” LOL!!! Last year’s champs and they been to the finals the last 3 years Hogland is the reigning POY and Gatorade POY from last year and was named to defensive POY this year. Don’t give me that. The Moanalua head coach called the guy “the best center Hawai’i ever had” – which I do not agree with. But to diminish ‘Iolani for the point of discrediting Kahuku is stupid. You’re the type of person that even if Kahuku beat Findlay Prep, you would’ve blamed the loss on jet lag or some bs. People gonna act like we get this brand of ball that Kahuku brought this season every year. No way. This was wonderful up and down ball that was a much needed refresher from stall ball which is what this state usually gets. A team more than worth the price of admission. Looking at their body of work this season, I’m gonna put them into top 3 easily.

@Tafena_Costa, so what I am reading is that with “anywaaays” 2 NCAA D1 recruits present at that game (Villa & Avea) you guys lost to a D2 team? I have never heard of an all time great Hawaii team losing to a D2 team. And that is an all time great team? You can come with all the excuses you want. But losing to a D2 team and barely beating an average Kailua team in the OIA finals doesn’t scream out all time great team.

All I hear are excuses. Great teams do not need excuses since their body of work speaks for itself.

All excuses do is tell the world that they really weren’t as great as you make them out to be.

They are a very solid team. All time great? Not even close.

@The (blind) Watcher… The OC16 commentators said Mello called him “the best center out of Hawai’i”. Go call your boy and ask him if he said that you must have him on speed dial since you guys tight.

Out of all Kahuku’s accomplishments, you point to two PRESEASON losses (by a combined 14 points) with a team that did not have it’s full roster in tact to take them out of consideration? If you think not having Sauvao AND Fotu AND Kaniho shouldn’t have been a big deal than I’m inclined to think you watched little to no games from this team. Sauvao was THE perimeter defender for Kahuku arguably should’ve taken the defensive POY. With all the pieces together, no team on this island could beat them not even the top 2 ILH teams. Kahuku more than proved that loss to SF had more to do with them missing 18 free throws than anything. You’re talking about these guys’ SECOND game together against a team returning players from their D2 title the prior season.

You tell me which team you think is in the top 3 and let’s dissect their entire schedule from pre-season to the end and let’s put them under the same microscope you put on Kahuku. What they did in the Classic is unmatched by any team before them. They didn’t open up with no easy W win vs local schools. They had to beat one of the most prestigious teams associated with NY basketball – Mt. Vernon – who stake claim to producing 9 NBA players in the school’s history. Be real, even if Kahuku went completely undefeated in pre-season play, you would find something ….something to belittle them. I can only imagine the ammunition you’d have if they finished any lower in the Classic or lost 1 game during the entire season & post season.

I have to agree with the watcher. If you are a big time and one of the best ever, missing one or two players shouldn’t really matter against a D2 team.

Now I understand if they were playing without the kids you list against Punahou, Iolani, or Maryknoll. But buddy, you are talking about a D2 team that barely beat Kalani in the finals.

That really isn’t the standard for one of the best ever.

Let me guess, you are going to come back with a “@Special Education First” or “Education Last” or something lame and played out like that?

All time greats do not struggle against D2 teams like the Watcher said. Great teams still handle since they are so much better than everyone else and evern if you lose 1-2 role players for a single game against a D2 team, they still handle their business since they are an all time great team like you say.

That is what makes an all time team great, they handle situations like that when a role player might miss a game due to illness, injury, school activity, family event, etc.

You are just begging and making weak excuses my friend. Please come back with more excuses and insults. You are quite predictable.

@Ed … i did not pull that quote out of my ass if that’s what you’re implying. It was said on OC16 by either Ojastro or Wong. I vividly remember it because once it was said, I rolled my eyes.

Both guys arguing this squad is not a top 5/10/whatever squad are stuck at the fact that they suffered a loss to a team with the D2 label attached to them. The hell with the fact that these guys were only in their 2nd game together and missing KEY pieces. They weren’t missing role players, one was named top 5 Fab 15 and two were defensive first team. They were vital. Ask the pg from Kailua, or Whitlock from Kalaheo, or both guards from Kapolei’s then-undefeated team, better yet ask Kobayashi the ILH player of the year who Sauvao is they’ll tell you. More than once, Kahuku should have avenged that loss in the eyes of the state when they beat Kamehameha (who beat SF twice), finished 3rd at the Classic, then went on to win OIA & States beating the premiere ILH schools. But apparently not, apparently a pre-season loss @ SF by 4 points trumps all the aforementioned accomplishments. But when I make my case as to why this PRESEASON loss shouldn’t carry weight over their accomplishments, it is labeled as “excuses”.

BTW, the D1 label was given to the 3 guys early on not because they were signed to schools, but because in more than enough people’s eyes, they were capable of playing at that level. Villa proved it last season making WV all-state first team as a junior and then becoming the Classic leading scorer over guys going to Kentucky, Arizona, Iowa St., Kansas, list goes on. You think otherwise? The ‘Iolani coach thought so. Kevin Wong thought so. Lahainaluna coach thought so. Gib Arnold offered Villa back in middle school. Fotu will go big-time D1. He ain’t coming to UH people can forget about that. Gonzaga has traveled to NZ to look at him.

The rebuttal in 3…2….1….

Villa is talented. But there have been numerous talented players in Hawaii who ever got the D1 scholarship. Until someone signs him, it’s just speculation. No shame in going the D2 or D3 route. But until that contract is signed, it’s all just hearsay and speculation.

As for D1, that is a huge hurdle. Look at Marcus Keene. He was a San Antonio 5A All Star who went crazy in the title game. No D1 team took a chance other than Youngstown. It’s due to his size. Just because you do well in HS does not mean you will get a D1 offer. Keene is light years ahead of Villa.

@Ed… This debate is going nowhere. You’re stuck at the fact SF is D2. Nothing will convince you otherwise. That loss, to you, is the case cracker regardless of anything. So let’s not even waste time anymore.

Based on Villa’s accomplishments, I understand exactly why people were giving him a “D-1 caliber” label. Last year, he was his conference’s player of the year and the only underclassmen that was WV all-state. This year, he has an incredible Classic performance, helps lead Kahuku to 3rd against all out-of-state teams, goes on to lead his team to OIA and State ship. So no, I disagree with you on your tongue-in-cheek statement that there are a lot of D-1 caliber players playing in Hawai’i. Other than Kahuku’s 3 and maybe ‘Iolani center, nobody really looked like they could be D1 bound. But back to Villa, his credentials say what you want but there should be no question about whether or not he could hack it against non-Hawai’i competition which was who he played against most his life. Go look at Villa’s footage on YouTube going back to his sophomore year. He’s been ballin vs East Coast competition. The “Keene is lightyears ahead” statement I dont even know what to say. How can you say “light years” when Villa proved what he proved in the Classic. On top of that, he was being full-court pressured and even double teamed damn near the entire game and still managed to do what he did. “Light years” is a bit much. I understand Keene is lighting it up right now in the scoring department at D1, but it’s unfair to compare the performance of a junior in college to a senior in hs. Going back to your remarks about hs performance not translating to college couldn’t I have said the same thing about Keene that you say about Villa? It’s easy to look at what Keene is doing now and make like the writing was on the wall back in hs that he was gonna be a scorer like that.

I will compare Keene to Villa as seniors. While at Warren, they ran Iso’s for Marcus at least 90-95% of the time. Based on the film I seen, he rarely needed a ball screen. He could beat anyone off the dribble and that is playing in Texas top league. As a junior, I believe his Warren team won the 5A State Title with Marcus setting an San Antonio scoring record at 37 or 39, even hitting the game winning 3 from 30 feet if I can recall correctly.

Like I said, Villa is a nice player. He is a little more physical than Marcus was as senior. Both could improve on defense. Villa probably sets up the offense better. Both have good court vision and can pass.

But the scoring puts Keene on a different level. And hitting big shots puts him on another higher level. I never seen a kid in Hawaii, that eventually left that had the kind of moxie and guts to want and hit big shots in very meaningful games.

Try and research at Warren High. You will be amazed at what you find out.

Villa did pretty well against one of the weaker fields that Iolani had in a while. Ask anyone who follow HS Basketball and they will tell you the same.

Villa did well against 2nd and 3rd tier High Schools. It’s not like he went off against FIndlay Prep. And after you reserach Keene on the club and all star scene, you will be amazed at all the 5 Star Athletes he competed against in the summer of his junior and senior seasons.

Iolani Classic had no one on that level.

As for being in HS, Keene has been scoring lights out for his junior and senior seasons. It’s his diminutive size that scared off recruiters.

Edu…You are a bandwagon jumper…You got no investment in anything close to you, no pride in your own school, family or traditions. Easy for you to pick some random kid (Keene) and ride his jock. How do you know him? You might as well pick some Black BBall kid from New York and compare him to Villa to make yourself look and feel good.

Its the same BS that all the Kahuku haters said when BG beat us in Football. “OH, Kahuku got demolished….I told you BG was gonna smash you”…blah,blah,blah…all those fools talking smack were pathetic athletes themselves and also come from weak High schools but all of a sudden they endorse and magically become affiliated with the #1 team in America? Wow! try building up your own community being competitive and making a name for yourselves.

If im not mistaken EDU said he was from Lowell High School in Sanfrancisco. Why this cat keep posting on Hawaii High school blogs beats the hell out of me.

villa is beter then stwph curry and worth a billion dollars and will play fo lakers