Posted on: Sunday, March 2, 2003
Nash's steady play a boost to Iolani
By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer
Bobby Nash's father wasn't at the Blaisdell Arena last night to witness the biggest high school game of the season and his son's final game with Iolani.
The elder Nash — University of Hawai'i legend Bob Nash — missed his son put on quite a show.
Bobby Nash, a 6-foot-6 forward, scored 15 points and led an 18-3 run in the third quarter as Iolani defended its state title by beating Interscholastic League of Honolulu rival Saint Louis, 61-37, in the final of the Hawaiian Airlines State Basketball Championship tournament.
"This is what you live for; this is a dream come true for me," Nash said. "To do it twice is the cherry on the top."
Bob Nash, the associate head coach with the UH basketball team, was in Houston yesterday for a game against Rice. But his mother and older sister, Erika, who flew in from Las Vegas, were there to support him.
"I always know he's with me in spirit," Nash said of his father. "I love the guy. He's not only my father, but my friend and he's a beautiful person."
Nash, who was named to the all-tournament team, also had a team-high six rebounds against a Saint Louis team that muscled its way over three opponents en route to the title game.
"He's always been our guy on the inside," Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi said. "He's more of a perimeter player on offense, but he sure does the job on the boards. And we needed that today; if we got beat on the boards we weren't going to win this game."
When asked if he wanted to prove himself against a physical team like Saint Louis, Nash said: "I don't have to prove myself to anybody. I just know I have to go out there and do my job. My coaches believe in me that I'll get it done."
Junior guard Derrick Low added 13 points and three assists for Iolani (17-0), the tournament's No. 1 seed. Low and Nash have played in the past three state championship tournament finals.
"I don't really care if other people don't appreciate Bobby, but I, myself, appreciate him a lot," Low said. "He has taken so much pressure off of my shoulders and made it easier on me. You can't judge him by one game. You have to look at all the little quality things he does like playing defense and taking charges."
After Saint Louis (14-4) cut Iolani's 18-point lead to 29-22 with 5:50 remaining in the third, Nash started the big rally with a field goal and capped it with three more to put the Raiders up 47-25 with 1:20 left in the quarter.
"The scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, whatever; that's something the team asks me to do," Nash said. He also had a dunk in each half.
Nash will follow in his father's footsteps and play for the Rainbow Warriors next season.
"He's had a great career at Iolani and he's definitely a Division I player and the University of Hawai'i is fortunate to have a player like him," Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan said.
Said Nash: "My heart bleeds green all the time."
