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Fast Times at the Launch Pad
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007
Garrett James and Mike Kinoshita are part of a Marina High team whose high-octane ‘system’ is three times the fun.
HUNTINGTON BEACH.–It’s the rare occasion when one finds Jesse James at a loss for words. But there he stood, silent with pride as fans and players at Marina High School hoisted his son, Garrett, atop their shoulders last Friday night. |
MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo
Mike Kinoshita, left, and Garrett James star on a Marina High team that has electrified fans with their frantic, unorthodox play and three-point shooting.
Garrett James and Mike Kinoshita are part of a Marina High team whose high-octane ‘system’ is three times the fun.
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Rabid fans spilled onto the court to join the team’s celebration after an electrifying 109-103 overtime win over Fountain Valley. The game saw Marina inch closer to the all-time national record of 382 three-point field goals in a season. With 15 more Friday, the Vikings now have 338 long balls on the year, after surpassing the State mark of 308.
“Every practice we all shoot 100 threes,” said Mike Kinoshita, the 17-year-old senior guard who finished with 19 points, including four critical free throws with under 30 seconds remaining in overtime.
Launching the three is an integral part of what the Vikings and their fans call “the System.” It’s a strategy modeled on that of the University of Redlands, involving quick, rapid-fire outside shooting whole-team substitutions which keeps fresh legs on the floor throughout the game. |
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It’s an exciting, frenzied and high-energy spectacle that players and fans have dubbed, “3diculous.”
“At the end last year, we looked at who we had coming back and we had a bunch of smaller guys who good athletes and unselfish kids and thought that style could be for us,” said Marina head coach Roger Holmes. “They’re quick and they shoot so it fits our guys.”
Point guard Garrett James, who has played for years on an Orange Coast Optimist team coached by his dad, said growing up playing in Asian leagues has imparted a heritage of accurate shooting.
“It’s been a big help, as far as outside shooting goes,” said James. “Like Mike here, he’s been a good shooter his whole life because of those leagues.”
Kinoshita is a member of the VFW Ninjas and was on the Yonsei team that toured Japan in 2003. Coach Holmes said he is no stranger to big-game play; having spent most of his freshman year on JV, Mike was brought up to Varsity for Marina’s State Finals game at the Arrowhead Pond.
“He’s used to this kind of atmosphere with a full house and pressure. He’s having a spectacular year,” Holmes added. |
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Kinoshita is on the mark in the classroom as well. His mother, Noel, said he’s holding a 4.23 grade point average and wants to attend USC next fall. In fact, he up until 1:30 a.m. the night before the game, working on a class project.
James, a 17-year-old sophomore who led Marina with 28 points against Fountain Valley, said his team has the stated goal of playing for the fourth quarter.
“We press the entire game, sub in and sub out and everybody shoots threes. It frustrates the other team,” he said, explaining that the Vikings are essentially two starting teams in one. Each rotation has a point guard a primary shooter and an inside man.
“It’s exciting...everyone has the green light to shoot and everyone gets to play,” Noel Kinoshita added. |
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Friday’s starting five included James at point guard, running the offense and Kinoshita at shooting guard. On the alternate squad, junior Dion Douglas sets the pace.
Needless to say, this is not your grandpappy’s brand of high school basketball. Marina has broken 100 points six times this season, including tallying 117 and 118 points in a couple of December games. Players crowd into the substitution box five at a time, every couple of minutes, rendering a scorecard useless. The official scorekeepers’ books looked like a pencil factory had exploded.
The Vikings, now 17-4, 2-3 in the Sunset League, next travel to take on Los Alamitos this Friday, followed by a visit to Esperanza Jan. 31. If you attend their next home game–Feb. 2 versus Edison– remember that the Marina game bears little resemblance to textbook basketball. The system of clamping defense and lining up shooters on the perimeter definitely leaves Marina susceptible to the fast break and outlet pass. Teamfouls are another issue–there were far more than the scorekeepers could fit on one page.
“Oh, absolutely,” Holmes agreed. “If we were playing ‘regular’ basketball, the inside game would really destroy us, as far as post-ups and that kind of thing. So we made the game more full-court and we get a lot of turnovers, and that helps. We do give up some fast breaks, because we’re high risk down at our end, trying to get steals and that’s going to lend itself to them getting the break, but that keeps the pace of the game up and that’s what we want. The faster the better.”
Regarding his father’s silent beaming courtside after Friday’s win, James did his best to be modest, on both his and his father’s behalf.
“I guess he was pretty happy about that. That was pretty cool.” |
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