By Paul Honda
paul@hondareport.com
Sunday, Apr. 22, 2007

Last week Monday, Roosevelt was unveiled as the new No. 1 in the Star-Bulletin Girls Basketball Top 10.

Yes, the same Rough Riders who reached the state final last year. This year's team has continued the winning ways established by Tati Beasley and Shannon Miyashiro. Yeah, they're good, the chemistry is smooth and they play good defense. But as a fan, they're just fun to watch. Quick, uptempo, and only getting better. The younger players are in a good position to learn from their seasoned veterans like Dianna Zane and Tiana Sugui, and Iwalani Rodrigues is absolutely unique as multi-position stars go.

The funny thing is that their terrific coach, Bobby Keanini, wants none of this No. 1 business. Oh, he votes in the Top 10 regularly, and his skills as a hoops guru are well known. Sheesh, I still remember his JV boys at Roosevelt beating my JV Bulldogs twice back in the 1999-2000 season. The man can coach, I can vouch for that.

Bobby takes the poll with a bit of amusement and a lot of caution, so much so that he has yet to vote for his own team at No. 1. His measured approach is working. Roosevelt won both of its games after rising to the top, including a solid 63-50 win over Kalani on statewide TV.

How far can Roosevelt go? Sky is the limit. There are a lot of good, but not great teams out there. If the Rough Riders remain steady and consistent, the state title is theirs for the taking. Never will be easy, not with parity among the top seven teams in the islands, but right now, the girls basketball world in Hawaii is painted red.

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