By Paul Honda
hondareport@aol.com
Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2006

OK, OK, I've been slacking.

Some thoughts before the busy day begins. (And, oh, what a scintillating day it will be. I just had to get the adjective 'scintillating' into a sentence. That is required of all high school sportswriters in early August.)

Eagle landing?
After a 9-for-17 performance (with one pick) against the Raiders, has Tim Chang earned himself the No. 3 QB spot with the Eagles? Hard to say. Just looking at numbers, it's hard to say yes, but it's also not easy to write him off just yet. Would Coy Detmer have done better? TC drove his team from the Eagle 10 to the Oakland 39 before throwing an INT in the final minute. It just feels like he's on the threshold, on the edge of figuring out how to get a long NFL career going. (Note that I'm not saying he's heading for the Hall of Fame just yet.)

Will he get one more shot, another stint of five possessions to work with? I hope so. The talent is there, the skills are being honed, and the mind and heart are prepared. I'm glad he's stuck it out this far. A lesser, more sensitive soul would have been shot down by all those haters over the years. Yes, I'm a Tim Chang fan. It's hard not to be after watching him mature through his St. Louis and UH years.

I just wish I'd started saving TC souvenirs long ago, beginning with that custom (green) UH jersey (thick embroidered numbers) offered by Champs in Pearlridge during TC's senior year. Might have been 50 bucks then, but it would just be a fine addition to the Pupule Throwback Collection today. Anybody who has that shirt — in good to mint condition — can check with me for a fair offer.

And I also wish that he makes the cut with the Eagles, and moreso, that he has a long, prosperous career. It's about time the League dispelled its stereotypes and grudges about run-and-shoot passers, especially when they aren't the classic 6-foot-4, 235 pounds.

Future Olympian
All right, the phrase 'Future Olympian' is not fair to Shawna-Lei Kuehu or any other upcoming star, but the best summer enjoyed by any female athlete from Hawaii (not include grownups like Natasha Kai) has to be Kuehu. I'm well aware that Michelle Wie had quite the adventure this summer, and hell yeah, I was rooting for her to shut up those hating fools who call themselves 'experts' on everything from women's golf to Northwestern University athletics. (Yes, this is a dainty, subtle reference to Michael Wilbon.)

Kuehu wasn't even on the radar, not on the one that has big blips for players who are destined to play at Duke, UNC, even UConn and Tennessee. But her dominance in Kalakaua's two wins over the California Storm, averaging more than 30 points per game, was undeniable. The Storm asked her to join them, and there she went, from Kalakaua's Northwest trip (Oregon and Washington) back to Honolulu, then to L.A. (Nike Camp), Chicago (Nike Elite tourney) and North Augusta (N.C.). By the end, she was the third-leading scorer in the top summer tournament in the country, playing — even outplaying — the nation's top recruit, Maya Moore. Never heard of her before, but I've heard of UConn, the school that landed her.

So, after playing brilliant basketball on the wing, showcasing her all-around skills that we don't get to see much here because, well, she's a giant compared to most local ballers, Scout.com gave her a 4-star rating. Out of 5. That's cool, right?

Well, Scout has 29 players with 4 or 5 stars in the junior class. Did I just mention that Kuehu was the third-leading scorer in the top tourney in the nation? On a superficial level, shouldn't she be ranked among the Top 3 regardless of senior or junior class? I've coached the game at the youth and JV levels, and scoring is a slippery way to gauge the true talent and performance of a player. But Kuehu dominated in every phase of the game on both ends of the floor against elite competition, so much so that more than 30 D-I programs are interested in her now.

(I won't even go into detail about the fact that UH hasn't sent her a letter yet. That's another column.)

I'm just saying, Hey Scout.com, thanks for recognizing talent when you see it in front of your faces, but how is Shawna-Lei Kuehu just a 4-star player in the junior class? Didn't she hold Maya Moore to just 10 points? Didn't she score 20 points of her own against Moore's team?

Ah well, maybe I'm greedy. Maybe I place too much value on numbers alone. But I've seen Kuehu play for 2 years now, and frankly, nobody in Hawaii should be surprised at how well she stacks up against the nation's best. She's not just a 5-foot-9 1/2 freak of nature (who else has that kind of height, size, speed, agility and coordination PLUS heart?). She has no ceiling of limitations. She's hungry, constantly hungry, to get better.

Is she better than Nani Cockett was at 16? That's tough. I didn't see Cockett play as a junior in high school. But the fact that there's plenty of room for comparison is astounding. I've always said, my favorite way to pit players from different eras is the Multiple 5 effect. How would five Cocketts fare against five Kuehus?

A year ago, the Cocketts would have won ... but that view is slightly skewed since the only Cockett I saw play was the incredible talent who starred at UH. However, even five UH-era Nanis would have a tough, rough game against the five Kuehus.

I won't say who would win. That would be purely speculative. And crazy. But I know I'd pay to see that game. I'd pay a lot.

And don't be surprised when you see me walking with handfuls of garlic fries (covered in onions, jalapeno peppers and salt) one night wearing a jersey that reads, on the back ... "KUEHU."

Yes, I'd wear a wahine jersey. I know greatness in the making when I see it. And I won't miss my chance. I already did that with the Chang jersey.

Previous Article: Hour by hour
Next Article: New era of Anuenue football

Comments