Kevin Boyle is back, sharp in his suit, no tie, as he keeps a watchful eye on the nation’s No. 1-ranked boys basketball team.
The Montverde Academy Eagles gave their head coach very little to fret over in a 102-38 win over Campbell on Tuesday night in the opening round of the ‘Iolani Prep Classic.
Dariq Whitehead led Montverde’s offense with 20 points and Caleb Houston added 17. Moses Moody tallied 11 points, while 6-foot-9 Precious Achiuwa led the front line with 12.
The Eagles got lots of minutes for their reserves in the second half. Boyle was pleased.
“We shared the ball well, played a lot of guys, so we’re happy with the outcome. I know the home team will spread the court, play four or five guards. We’ll see how we match up,” Boyle said.
Mitchell Williams led Campbell with 22 points, hitting four 3-pointers and shooting 4-for-4 from the foul line.
The Eagles arrived on Saturday with enough time to take in a sunny day, a rainy day and get past the jet lag that comes with a 4,622-mile flight from Montverde, Fla., to Honolulu.
The defending GEICO national and ‘Iolani Classic champions were loose and business-like, dominating the paint with energetic bigs Bolsa Koprivica, a 7-1 returnee, and Achiuwa. Koprivica scored five points and used his amazing wingspan to control the glass, while Achiuwa ran the floor and had a nice lob to Koprivica on a high-low pass for an alley-oop dunk.
“Bolsa is a little leaner (this year), a little more athletic,” Boyle noted. “He’ll produce more when he’s playing against two or three guys his size. Precious is a terrific, terrific guy, a good student. We’re just trying to get him to be a great defender. He’s got a great future.”
It’s been an interesting year for Achiuwa, who transferred to Montverde for his senior year.
“Different culture, different teammates and environment. It’s been great,” he said.
Then the trip to the islands, going west, and the normal jet lag.
“The first couple days was a struggle getting used to the atmosphere, but we got rested,” Achiuwa said. “I want to show my all-around game, show that I’m not just a scorer, that I can do a lot on offense and defense.”
Bravo to Mitchell Williams