From Moloka'i to the Mavericks
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Jarinn Akana is in tight with the Dallas Mavericks.
How tight?
Advertiser library photo
Tight enough to confirm that Mavericks guard Steve Nash has, indeed, dated actress/model Elizabeth Hurley and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
Jarinn Akana, a former University of HawaiÎi standout, joined the Dallas Mavericks last year as an assistant for player development.
"Steve is sly about it, but I saw him with them," said Akana, a former star guard with the Hawai'i men's basketball team and now an assistant for player development with the Mavericks.
Akana was back on O'ahu this week, in part to visit with youth players at the UH Men's Rainbow Basketball Camp, but mostly to reunite with family and friends and take a break from his whirlwind inaugural season with the Mavericks.
After growing up on the dusty roads of Kaunakakai, Moloka'i, Akana is now living the NBA life in one of America's biggest cities with one of the league's most exciting franchises.
"It took a while to get used to it," said Akana, 31. "I'd be sitting behind the (Dallas) bench watching Shaq (O'Neal), Allen Iverson, Karl Malone, all these guys I used to watch on TV, and be kind of in awe."
Developing young players
Now, it is Akana's duty to develop Dallas' young players into future Shaqs, Iversons and Malones.
This past season, he worked primarily with the rookies, including Zhizhi Wang, a 7-foot-1 center from China who joined the Mavericks late in the season. At times, he also worked one-on-one with Dallas' star players, including Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley.
"It's like anything else," said Akana, a captain on UH's WAC championship team in 1994. "You have to earn their respect. I was out there working with guys for hours before and after practice. It got to the point where I think everybody felt comfortable with me and I felt comfortable with them."
That work ethic has already paid off. Later this summer, he will assist Wang and the rest of the Chinese national team when they train in Dallas.
He will also return to Hawai'i in August to help Pete Newell at the annual Big Man's Camp — where his unlikely journey to the NBA sidelines started. In seven years of working at the camp, Akana developed a working relationship with former NBA all-star Kiki Vandeweghe.
"Kiki is pretty much a guru of player development," Akana said. "I tried to learn as much as possible from him."
Vandeweghe, the director of player development for the Mavericks, called Akana when an assistant's position opened last year.
"I had to take a shot at it, even though I had no clue what I was getting into," said Akana, who was an assistant coach with Brigham Young-Hawai'i at the time.
On the way to a playoff appearance (Dallas beat Utah in the first round, then lost to San Antonio in the second round), Akana was treated like any other member of the Mavericks. He did not want to reveal his salary, but said he received "a bunch of perks" outside of his paycheck.
'What's up J?'
For example, he traveled on every road trip on the team's chartered plane, and received his own room at the ritziest hotels, all courtesy of billionaire owner Mark Cuban. He was also invited to team meals after every home game and practice. On the road, he received $110 in meal money per day — the same amount as the assistant coaches.
In Dallas, his Lincoln Navigator (complete with a state-of-the-art sound system, television, and DVD player) and two-bedroom apartment are covered by the team. Perhaps most notable, he sits next to Cuban at many of the games, allowing for ample photo ops.
"I got calls all the time telling me I was on TV," he said. "But I don't sit by Cuban just for that. He's actually a cool guy. He always tells me 'what's up J?' when I see him and we bump chests when we win. He's just like one of the guys."
Akana will return to the Mavericks next season, and is hoping his experience leads to an assistant coaching position in the NBA. Regardless, the player once known as "The Moloka'i Flash" has made a quick run from Kaunakakai to Dallas.
"Yeah, I made it from Moloka'i, but so what?" he said. "I just think you have to make opportunities for yourself no matter where you come from. I never used being from Moloka'i, or Hawai'i for that matter, as an excuse."
