KAILUA-KONA — The Big Island is on the eve of Hammerhead season.
KAILUA-KONA — The Big Island is on the eve of Hammerhead season.
The island’s first professional basketball squad is set to make its debut on the hardwood this weekend, with the Hawaii Hammerheads suiting up for a pair of preseason games against the Kauai Stars and Maui United in Hilo.
The weekend of action is meant to give the Big Island community a taste of what to expect from the Hammerheads, who will play in the Oceania Basketball Association during the regular season against teams from places like Fiji, Guam and Papua New Guinea.
The team will feature names familiar to Hawaii basketball buffs, such as Aukai Wong, Calvin Mattos, Lanaki Apele and Isaiah Ekau, as well as some mainland talent.
The Hammerheads President of Basketball Operations and head coach Kevin Williams took some time while on the west side of the island for a pit stop to talk about the games, the future and goals for the team in Hawaii.
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Q: It’s an exciting time for you guys. Talk about the inception of this idea to bring a professional basketball team to the Big Island.
We have been in business for the past six years in Houston, and have visited Hawaii a couple of times. We saw the love for basketball here was big, and it felt like the perfect situation to bring a team in.
Our initial thought was to bring a team to Honolulu, but after talking to people in the Hilo and Kona areas, we felt the Big Island was the best place to host the team. So far, the reception has been great.
Q: Talk a little about that reception you have received so far from the community. The Big Island has never had a professional basketball team. What have you heard?
Man, we couldn’t have asked for a better reception from the community. From the local fans, to mayor Harry Kim and the Chamber of Commerce — everyone has been very supportive of bringing a professional basketball team here.
We are excited to get everything up and running. We feel like we can bring in competitive players who are fun to watch. Our main goal right now is to get the word out.
Q: How important was it to have local players on this team?
It was the biggest thing for us. One of our best players, Aukai Wong, is someone everyone knows on the island. We wanted to get him on board, as well as Lanaki Apele and Calvin Mattos, straight out of high school (Waiakea).
Giving those local guys an opportunity to continue their basketball careers is what it’s all about.
Q: What’s your background and motivation to do this?
For me, it’s been all about trying to find guys opportunity in the sport at the next level. The last eight years, I’ve been doing that.
I started by doing tours to Italy with teams to help those guys get signed overseas and other places. But deep down, I’m just a basketball junkie, so when guys need help and reach out to me, I try to help them as much as I can.
Q: What’s been the biggest challenge for you in this that you might have not anticipated?
The biggest challenge was getting the commitment from leagues to get teams over to Hawaii. We talked to a few other leagues, but always, the biggest struggle was flights and having teams who were willing to travel over here.
For us, locking up a deal to travel within the Pacific seemed more realistic. Getting players was really the easy part. Who doesn’t want to come play in Hawaii for a few months?
Q: Tell me a little about this new league — the OBA — that you guys will be a part of.
It’s the first year, and it will include six teams — Hawaii, Guam, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papa New Guinea and the Cook Islands. It will be a 20 game season with 10 home games and 10 away games.
Our first league games are scheduled for Oct. 14-15 and the season will go until mid-March. Then we will take a two-month break and shift to a spring-summer season. The reason we are playing in the fall this first time around is because the other basketball federations had already started.
But the goal is to make it a spring-summer league so we don’t have to compete with high school and college basketball. We will be able to carve out our own niche in the summer.
Q: Five years down the road, where do you see this going?
We definitely want to keep our relationships going with everyone in the Pacific. They have all been great.
But the end goal would be to partner up with the NBA G League and have the team be an NBA affiliate in Hawaii — a feeder program to either the Lakers or the Clippers.
In the next five or six years that would be a goal for us, but right now, we are very comfortable playing where we are. We want to win a couple of championships and get the community involved.
Q: What should people expect from the event this weekend?
They should expect a lot. Our brand new dance team – the Hammerettes — will be there. We have two great teams coming from Maui and Kauai and there is going to be some high-flying action.
We have sold over 800 tickets online already, so we are looking to sell out both games. We are expecting a great turnout and all the guys are excited.
Q: In the future, are there any plans to come to the west side?
It’s in the works, for sure. We want to play anywhere from 2-4 games in Kona. We are working on it, and will know more shortly.