The City and County of Honolulu's Parks and Recreation adult basketball leagues are filled with former high school players, and even some ex-college standouts.

Competition can get pretty stiff.

It's usually a place where guys in their 20s and 30s can stay in shape while recapturing some of their glory days, but for 1985 Interscholastic League of Honolulu Player of the Year Kui Ostrowski, it also was a place to develop his young son, Miah, into a local hoops phenom.

Miah Ostrowski, a Punahou School senior point guard who will lead the No. 1-seeded Buffanblu into this week's state tournament, has been playing with Kui in the park leagues since he was in the fifth grade.

"It's the best thing to do, the only way to get better," said Kui, who helped Maryknoll win its only state championship in 1984. "The biggest thing is the game experience, because you can practice all you like, but if you don't have the game experience, it's different."

Miah Ostrowski probably has more game experience than any other high school player in Hawai'i. After beginning formal training at Dennis Agena's Kalakaua Foundation Clinic at age 7, he played youth leagues in Manoa, Pearl City, Kalanianaole Athletic Club and the Boys and Girls Club of Hawai'i.

"I played all-year 'round," Ostrowski said.

Eventually, he would join Kui in playing pick-up games at Kailua Recreation Center's outdoor courts, and then finally joined one of Kui's park league teams in the fifth grade.

"At first, I just told him to stay outside (the key) and shoot," Kui said.

But Miah soon could more than hold his own against the men, and ended up scoring 20, 30 or even 40 points in some games.

"He played in the Wahiawa league, against military guys," Kui said. "In the Mililani league he played against (future Brigham Young University starting point guard) Rashaun Broadus. He's played against (former Hawai'i Pacific standout) Llewellyn Smalley."

Later, beginning with the summer after eighth grade, Miah would travel with some of Hawai'i's top high school players to Las Vegas to play in prestigious club tournaments.

BASKETBALL FAMILY

Kui knew first-hand the advantages of playing against older competition, because he and brother Dominic, who is one year older, would often tag along with oldest brother, Miki, an ILH all-star guard for Maryknoll in 1978.

Oldest sister Robbie also was a basketball standout at Maryknoll in the mid-1970s.

"I don't think people realize how hard it was for Miah to live up to the expectations, coming from the Ostrowski family," said former longtime Maryknoll coach Tony Sellitto, who coached Miah's dad, aunt and two uncles. "(Robbie) was a great player, and Miki was tremendous. Dominic was terrific, as good or better than his brothers, but he got hurt and played on a bad knee. Kui was ILH Player of the Year, so I never thought Miah would be that good. But Miah is special."

The Spartans were an ILH boys power in the late 1970s and early '80s, but always seemed to come up short in the state tournament against other powers like Punahou, University and Kailua. It finally came together in 1984.

"We were losing at halftime (against Maui in the championship game)," Kui said. "But Coach Sellitto took us into the locker room, and that was the only time he ever took us inside for halftime."

The Spartans won, 55-44.

"Everybody banded together for that goal," Kui said. "To finally win the state title, we could walk around proud. I told Miah, just take it one game at a time."

A DIFFERENT YEAR

Miah Ostrowski burst upon the high school scene as a 5-foot-6 freshman, leading Punahou to a third-place finish in the state tournament and becoming only the second ninth-grader (after 'Iolani's Derrick Low) to be named to The Advertiser's All-State first team.

He led the Buffanblu to the state tournament the following year, but they were upset by Baldwin in the quarterfinals.

Last season, Ostrowski was named first-team All-State for the third time but Punahou lost to Saint Louis, 77-74, in triple overtime for the ILH's third and final state tournament berth.

This year, however, Ostrowski and the Buffanblu have taken things to the next level. He averaged 19 points per game in the ILH, and scored 26 points, dished out seven assists, made four steals and grabbed two rebounds in the regular-season finale, a 60-46 victory at 'Iolani which snapped the Raiders' six-year stranglehold on the league title and gave Punahou its first ILH crown since 1999.

"That was a big confidence boost," Miah Ostrowski said. "We've definitely had good teams and good seasons, but that one game changed everything, and now everybody's talking about us as the one to beat."

HARD TO GUARD

The word that best describes Ostrowski's style of play is "explosive."

He's still on the smaller side at 5-9, but no opponent this season has figured out a way to contain his quicksilver bursts to the basket. Ostrowski has even managed to dribble around double- and triple-team coverage designed to trap him or make him pass.

"(Ostrowski) is an outstanding guard; he reminds me of Derrick Low, who is doing a great job in college now," said Stu Vetter, whose Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) team was ranked No. 14 in USA Today when it held off the Buffanblu, 69-57, in the Merv Lopes Classic semifinals. "He's very quick, and we had to make adjustments at halftime and tried to trap the ball in the second half, because we couldn't guard him (one-on-one)."

Ostrowski often finishes the explosive drives with spectacular reverse layups using either hand.

"That's what I learned from the park leagues, is instincts," Ostrowski said. "I don't really plan on doing some of that stuff; it's all instincts."

Ostrowski, a two-time All-State receiver who signed a letter of intent to play football for UH, said he wants to play both sports in college.

It remains to be seen how that will work, but Sellitto said Ostrowski's basketball talent alone is worth the price of admission.

"People double- or triple-team him, but he still outruns them," Sellitto said. "He has that third gear that nobody else has. He's just a joy to watch."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.