Prep Notebook
Lum resigns as Punahou boys basketball coach

Advertiser Staff

After seven seasons, Alan Lum has resigned as varsity boys basketball coach at Punahou School, the school announced yesterday.

Lum, 39, said he wanted to spend more time with his family and pursue personal and professional endeavors. But he hasn't completely shut the door on coaching.

"I still enjoy coaching," he said. "Maybe I'll come back one of these years."

Overall, Lum said he has been coaching for about 20 years. He began his coaching career while a student at the University of Hawai'i. He was at 'Iolani School for five years before moving to Punahou, his alma mater.

Lum has coached at every level: intermediate, junior varsity, Division II and varsity assistant. He coached both boys and girls. He took the Buffanblu to the state tournament for the fifth time in his seven years earlier this year. His team won the state title in 1999.

But his proudest achievement, he said, was getting his players involved in community service projects. For the past 10 years, the team has helped at the Salvation Army Thanksgiving luncheon.

Lum will continue to teach second grade at Punahou.

"I appreciate the school giving me the opportunity to coach," he said.

BASEBALL

As good as it gets: Mid-Pacific won the Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular-season championship, but it could have been a three-way tie, or maybe a five-way tie, except that:

Kamehameha beat 'Iolani,
'Iolani beat St. Louis,
St. Louis and Mid-Pacific beat Punahou,
Punahou beat Kamehameha and 'Iolani,
'Iolani beat Kamehameha,
St. Louis swept Kamehameha,
Mid-Pacific beat St. Louis,
St. Louis beat Mid-Pacific,
Mid-Pacific beat 'Iolani,
and seventh-place Maryknoll really messed it up by beating, in successive games, St. Louis, Kamehameha and Punahou for its only wins of the season.

That's the way it is, year-after-year, in the state's most competitive league.

"It's great to watch the games," Kamehameha athletic director Blane Gaison said. "You never know which team, or which pitcher is going to be hot today."

It gets even more intense when the league's double-elimination tournament starts on Thursday.

The one team left standing on May 8 will play Mid-Pacific for the overall championship on May 10, unless it is Mid-Pacific.

SHORT SUBJECTS

• Tough Toyama: Dwight Toyama, executive secretary of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association, underwent surgery the week before last to graft two pieces of bone from his hip to his neck, shoring up his cervical 5-6 and 6-7 vertebra. He was back at his desk in three days, preparing to deal with what is going to be a hellish aftermath of the teachers' strike.
• Outdoor type needed: Maryknoll is seeking a new director of boys' basketball, who would also coach the varsity Division I team. The school that earned a reputation under HPU's Tony Sellitto in the '70s and '80s for winning titles without a gym hopes to have one before long. Send resumes to the athletic department, 1523 Alexander St., Honolulu 96822, by next Tuesday. No phone calls.
• Arnold stays: Former Punahou all-state basketball player Gib Arnold yesterday was retained on the Pepperdine University staff by new head coach Paul Westphal. Arnold served as an assistant at Pepperdine the past two seasons under Jan van Breda Kolff.

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Mike Okimoto, Mililani High softball coach, on 'Iolani all-state shortstop Noelle Izumi, who has signed to play for the University of Hawai'i next year:

"She deserves a Golden Glove award for her hustle and major-league plays through the season and postseason."