Stokes keeps it going
Make that two captivating summer league performances out of two for UH hoops newcomer Shaquille Stokes.
After going for 27 in his debut on Tuesday, Stokes followed it up with a 24-point outburst Thursday night in barely over a half of action with Wealth Strategy Partners. Stokes, who played for Army on Tuesday, suited up just before halftime with his unexpected new team and put on a show.
The 5-foot-10 freshman point guard from New York went right at former ‘Iolani and Washington State standout Derrick Low of Electricians Hawaii, flashing and slashing his way to the basket for finishes several times and or pulling back for deadly 3-pointers. The unbeaten Electricians (6-0) got another win under longtime coach Artie Wilson, but not without surviving a hail of baskets from the plucky Stokes.
He got his pocket picked a couple of times by the veteran Low, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of against a player of that caliber. Some of the Harlem native’s finishes at the basket — a reversal and twisting shot off the backboard come to mind — were incredible.
“That’s East Coast!” UH teammate Joston Thomas crowed from the sideline after a particularly nasty Stokes bucket.
Yes, it’s just summer league, but there’s plenty to be excited about with what Stokes showed so far. He’s fearless going to the basket.
“I wasn’t even supposed to play today, they just told me to get a shirt,” Stokes said with a laugh. “I just played. I just felt good on the court, body loose. That (aggressiveness) is my game, but when I play with the (UH) guys, my game might be different. Zane (Johnson) can score, Davis (Rozitis). So we’re going to be good, pretty good. Me at the point guard and Bobby (Miles), so it’s been great.”
————
Tyler McDaniels, the son of UH assistant coach Benjy Taylor, made his Manoa summer league debut tonight. He said he still plans to walk on with the Rainbow Warriors if he can pass a heavy courseload during this second summer session.
McDaniels had four points for National Fire Protection, content to take a backseat while his Fire teammate, Thomas, enjoyed a scoring binge of 37 points in his summer league debut. McDaniels, 6-foot-9, went to the 3-ball a lot. He played unselfish, sometimes looking to break his man down 1-on-1 but generally passing it around instead.
As for California prepster guard Brandon Jawato, who may be joining the team for the fall, we’ll have more on him soon.
———
It was a huge contingent of UH players there tonight: Johnson, Trevor Wiseman, Stokes, Thomas, Jace Tavita, Pi‘i Minns, McDaniels. Others still came to cheer on their teammates: Rozitis and Miles.
Plenty of UH guys will be on display again on Saturday at 6 and 7:30 p.m. at the Manoa District Park gym, including another newcomer, Hauns Brereton.
footage on jawato looks great. good all around shooter. solid recruit for sure. he is a scholarship player, no?
Stokes is the man, D Low2 is a pro so of course he’s not going to let Shaq show him up. Still Shaq is a rare talent that will take UH to new heights and some consecutive year in and year out NCAA March Madness tournament appearances. With Joston coming around and proving his true potential, Rozitis finally getting to play, and hopefully the Cali recruits on their way, Coach Gib is going to have an arsenal teams will have headaches trying to defend! Shute UH needs to get these Stokes jerseys ready to sell cause I can’t wait to get mines!
Great Start, Shaq ! (and Hans)
(Joston, too but we already have elevated expectations for returnees)
Welcome Aboard, Brandon !
i have a lot of respect for the other school options you had St. Louis, Irvine & Idaho St.)– Thanks for choosing Hawai’i …
HOW does this compare to BALI ?
Brandon has all the pedigree (4A All-CIF) that would make him a promising signee / walk-on even in the regular signing periods: steady game inside – outside, both three and mid-range, good BB-IQ.
Glad Brandon can make the trip AND get his feet wet in school as well — hope the rest of Cal-recruits also clear and join soon …
what level of play is 4A in Calif state system?Is it the top highschool level ?
4A should be the highest / (higher end if they had 5A)
From WikiPedia – States Range from 1A to 8A — 8A being the Highest/Largest … the following for football, but similar for athletics in general(?):
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) establishes the rules of High School Football in the United States…
Each state has at least one sanctioning organization for public schools. In many states a separate organization governs interscholastic athletics at most private schools. Each sanctioning body divides its member schools up into anywhere from two to eight size classifications based on enrollment and then each classification is further divided into geographic regions. The size classifications are arranged from ‘A’/’1A’ (the smallest) to ‘AAAAAAAA’/’8A’ (the largest), though the nomenclature and number of size divisions vary from state to state. A school’s size classification can change if its enrollment rises or declines over the years. At the smallest schools, particularly in rural communities or smaller private schools, variations on the game using six, eight, or nine players per side instead of the traditional eleven (or twelve in Canada) are encountered.[citation needed]
[edit] Home schooling and high school football
Homeschooled students may also participate in high school football through independent or freelance teams, which compete against small private (or in a few cases, public) schools. In some states, such as Florida, state law allows homeschooled students to compete in interscholastic athletics for their local school district. Thus, homeschooled Tim Tebow, who was one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation, was able to play for the nationally ranked public Nease High School after he and his mother rented an apartment in that school district. Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 as quarterback for the University of Florida. The legislature in the state of Alabama, where Tebow played in a nationally-televised loss against Hoover High School, is considering a bill, dubbed the Tim Tebow Bill[5] that would grant similar rights to Alabama’s home schooled students.
Brian, what is Vander Joaquim’s situation, will he be playing for Hawaii or the Angola National Team?