KAPAAU — Kohala boys basketball knows a thing or two about what it takes to go the distance.
The defending HHSAA Division II state champions are nearing the start of another season, where they will be defending their second title in four years. The Cowboys have four returning starters coupled with their championship experience from 2022-23, making expectations higher than ever.
“Of course we want to win (state) again and get our third straight BIIF Championship,” coach Kihei Kapeliela told West Hawaii Today at practice Tuesday. “But our ultimate goal is for the boys to have fun and leave 100% on the floor, no matter what the result is.”
“We just believe in ourselves,” 2023 ScoringLive Player of the Year Layden Kauka added. “Coach always tells us that we need to envision things before we go out to try to achieve them.”
Kohala’s 40-38 state win over University last season was done by a younger team — one fielded by seven freshmen and sophomores. As a freshman in 2022-23, Kauka was an All-State selection as a guard and led the Cowboys in scoring with 17.1 points per game — helping propel the squad to 19-2 overall.
While being a state champion at a young age is impressive, Kapeliela expects Kauka to continue growing as a leader as Kohala tries to repeat, and believes the rest of the team will follow suit.
“He was a stickler in the gym last season,” he said. “Now coming into this year, he’s probably added about 10 pounds of muscle and grew a couple more inches. They all have been working hard in the gym.”
But while Kohala has much going for it in the preseason, new challenges still await the defending champions. The Cowboys lost six players to graduation, including their big men. Now as a smaller team, Kohala intends to play with pace and space with its shorter, shiftier players.
“We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning and running,” Kapeliela said. “Our whole thing is, we may not have the biggest lead, but we’re always going to be running the same pace. From the first quarter to the fourth quarter, we’re gonna try to wear our opponents out.
“We’re also preaching defense. We don’t have a lot of scorers, but we can all play defense.”
Kapeliela additionally believes the team will benefit from the newly-added 35-second shot clock. The implementation will force schools to execute their offenses faster, giving up-tempo teams like the Cowboys an advantage over bigger, slower squads.
“We like how it speeds up the game, since a lot of teams try to slow us down,” Kapeliela said of the new rule.
Kapeliela also wants Kohala to attempt fewer 3-pointers and go for easier baskets in transition, as he noted that heaving up too many longballs was an issue last season. Nonetheless, the fifth-year head coach credited the Cowboys’ starters for expanding their offensive games inside the 3-point arc over the summer by playing through contact down low.
“Since they were younger last year, they would sometimes be hesitant to size up bigger guys,” he explained. “But now they’ve all been working on their complete games and can drive to the basket, stop on the brakes and finish.”
Kohala will face its fair share of tough competition in BIIF Division II — especially against rival Honoka‘a, who the Cowboys battled in a 57-53 nail-biting win in the BIIF Division II Championship a year ago.
“They’re gonna be tough this year,” Kapeliela said of the Dragons. “They have a lot of returners from last year. Like any rivalry game, it doesn’t matter where each team is ranked — you’re gonna get the best from both sides. Like Duke and North Carolina.”
Regardless of what happens this season, Kohala plans to do everything in its power to recreate last year’s magic for the school community.
The only way to do that? Win state again.
“Our goals have always been to win again,” Kauka said. “Especially with us being a small town and a small school — it’s amazing to get our name out there.”
“Nothing’s guaranteed — and we’ve been telling the boys that just because we won last year, doesn’t mean they’re going to give it to us this year,” Kapeliela added. “We have the talent and heart, so if we stay focused, we should be good to go.”
The Cowboys will compete in preseason tournaments on Oahu and Maui for the next two weeks, but will open their season against St. Joseph’s on Dec. 13 at home. Kohala will also be awarded its 2022-23 state championship rings on the same night.