My response left my lips before I could think.

"It should've happened a lot more in the last 10 years."

Was I right? Yes. I know a little about high school basketball in Hawaii and it seems to me that the OIA has always been the most underachieving of the leagues, not including the three-team KIF. The MIL hasn't been en fuego in recent years, but they've had a pretty decent history in the past decade both in girls and boys hoops.

Of course, the ILH has monster organizations at the very top. Whether you love or hate programs that have that allure -- great academics, competitive atmosphere on campus and financial-aid packages -- the best of the ILH will always lure some of the greatest talent from Oahu and elsewhere.

Then there's the BIIF, with Konawaena's dynastic program. The Wildcats don't just win on the Big Island. They've competed for the state title several times in this decade, winning two crowns. Not bad for a school of 900 kids.

What separates Punahou and Konawaena from most OIA programs?

Commitment. Coaches in the off-season develop players in clinics and feeder programs. I don't give a rat's okole if you're rich or poor. If you work at the game and love it so much that it's no longer "work," you will find success in it. It might get you a college scholarship. Or it might just open your mind to possibilities that come through making every off-season workout. It's called Sweat Equity.

That's why I don't regret blurting out what I did the other night. It's awesome to see Kahuku's boys at No. 1, and Farrington's girls have been at the top for several weeks. But for this to happen once in a blue moon is preposterous. The OIA has the most teams, incredible raw talent, and yet there are kids who can't even shot 50 percent from the free-throw line.

Free throws are FREE. I worked my ass off shooting them in eighth grade just because McCully Basketball League had a contest. I remembered what I learned from watching a basketball clinic on TV and worked. I ended up making 18 or 19 out of my 25 shots even though I was nervous and intimidated. I finished second and advanced to the next round, where I shot horribly (choked). Still, that set me on a path of working out alone on different drills, like Miles Ogawa's 60-shot drill.

People think, well, the ILH recruits, there's nothing better to do on the Big Island, yadayadayada. All those statements are crap. You either love the game and work at it, or you don't and your play shows it. You could work hard and play on a mediocre team, but that doesn't change the fact that you put all your sweat into your goals and dreams, whether they revolve around sports or not. You didn't cheat yourself.

When I see years pass before two OIA teams are at the top, I'm not amused. I'm always bummed about the overall dismal skill level. The very best players, regardless of what teams they play for, are just as good as we've had in half-a-century. But when I hear excuse come from OIA supporters about how tough it is to get in a clinic or that there's no time to really practice in the off-season ... it's pathetic.

Get the ball, put on your sneakers and head to the park or gym. It's all about the sweat and devotion. For some reason, we just don't have a lot of it in the OIA. And the teams we see succeed -- girl hoopsters at Roosevelt, Kalani and Farrington come to mind -- are the very ones who have players on the Sweat Equity bridge to success. They put in the extra time. They work out on Sunday afternoons.

No reason that can't happen in every program. When it doesn't, we live with it. But please, drop the excuses.

Hard work is universal. There are some communities that seem to disdain this basic principle of life. Adults, particularly the ones who don't have jobs (by choice) even though they learned about work ethic as high-school athletes, don't want to give back by coaching or reffing age-group kids in their neighborhoods. Lack of clinics. Lack of discipline. The results show in many ways.

Bottom line: if there's a will, there's usually a way.

Enough said.

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