HONOLULU – The 2014-15 season held great promise for the Chaminade University men's basketball team. But injuries and inconsistent play led to a 12-14 mark, thus missing out on the postseason for the first time in three years.
This year's team has an element of uncertainty as the post-
Lee Bailey era begins. Bailey, a four-year starter at point guard, concluded his standout career last season as one of the all-time career leaders in points, assists and steals.
However the Silverswords return their two top scorers from last year in junior
Kuany Kuany and senior
Kevin Hu, both of whom were named to the All-Pacific West Conference Third Team.
"I'm very optimistic with the team we have," Chaminade head coach
Eric Bovaird said. "I feel we can compete at a high level with every team on our schedule."
The Silverswords open the regular season Friday in Fairbanks, Alaska when they face Alaska Anchorage in the PacWest/GNAC Challenge.
The Seawolves have already played in five contests, going 3-2 to open the season with one of their losses coming to Pacific West Conference preseason favorite California Baptist in the CCA Division II Tipoff Classic in Anaheim, Calif.
The 'Swords conclude the Challenge Saturday against host Alaska.
The team got a taste of what they can do last Thursday when they nearly upset their Division I neighbor Hawai'i, where they led by as many as 22 in the first half before falling in overtime in the exhibition contest.
Six 'Swords put up double-digits points, led by
Kiran Shastri's 20 while Kuany had 15 points and 14 rebounds, reaching his double-double by halftime.
"I saw a lot of things I liked," Bovaird said of the team's performance against the Rainbow Warriors. "I think we are an unselfish team right now that on any given night, any one of our 10 guys can lead us in scoring.
"Turnovers are always something that really bothers me and we turned the ball over 23 times against UH, 17 in the second half and overtime."
Kuany, Hu, Shastri and
James Harper form the core of the squad that has 10 letterwinners returning from last season. Each is capable of being explosive scorers at any time with all four having recorded 30-point games at some point of their Silversword careers.
"We have a team that has a lot of collegiate experience," Bovaird said. "Kuany, Kevin and James have all been with me for at least three years now. They have been a part of both championship and disappointing seasons.
"We will need some valuable leadership from our experienced players to have a successful run this year."
Other key returnees include
Oscar Pedroso,
David Ware and
Kahanu Pu`ulei-Auld, all of whom made key contributions last year.
Amu Rosen and
Michael Sakazaki also return to add veteran depth in both the back- and front-court.
The Silverswords also have several talented newcomers joining the squad, including Division I transfers
Sam Daly (Grand Canyon) and
Dantley Walker (UNLV). Both showed what they were capable of in the Hawai'i game with Daly coming off the bench for 18 points while Walker hit a pair of 3-pointers. Junior college transfer
Rohndell Goodwin also fared well against UH with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The team also has several other first-year players including freshmen
Tyler Cartaino,
Kaleb Gilmore,
Chris Johnstone and
Masa Swain. Gilmore will try to follow in the footsteps of his father, George Gilmore, one of the top players in Chaminade basketball history. The elder Gilmore was the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in 1992 and still owns several program scoring records. The younger Gilmore earned Hawai'i State Player of the Year honors last season after leading Kalaheo High School to the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division I title.
Another intriguing first-year player is 6-foot-9 forward/center
Matt Southard who spent two years in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system after being drafted out of junior college in 2013. Southard earned all-league and all-state basketball honors after setting a career record for double-doubles at North Norman High School in Oklahoma.
After the team showcased its performance against Hawai'i last Thursday, Bovaird knows there's still much more room for improvement.
"We are at a good point right now but the really good team progress through the season," he said. "We will find out in a few months if we fall into that category."
