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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Lopes led 'Swords' Giant Killers


By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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MERV’S MASTERY

Merv Lopes, a former football standout at ‘Iolani School, Compton Junior College and San Jose State, found his coaching niche on the basketball court:

Kailua H.S. — State championship, 1972

Kaläheo H.S. — OIA championship, 1976

Chaminade University — 12 seasons, 247 wins, 130 losses (.655 pct.)

Giant Killings — No. 1 Virginia (1982), No. 3 Southern Methodist (1984), No. 14 Louisville (1983), Louisville (1984)

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WHO’S YOUR TOP 50?

To celebrate 50 years of statehood, The Advertiser is running our list of the top 50 sports people/teams who helped change or shape the landscape in Hawai‘i sports since 1959. Disagree with our choices? Vote for your own at www.honoluluadvertiser.com. The series started July 3 and ends Aug. 21.

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The architect of college basketball's greatest upset was born and raised in Nanakuli, and until his late 20s was known mostly as a football player.

That just proves what Merv Lopes showed the sports world on a magical night Dec. 23, 1982, and then again in the next two seasons:

Anything is possible.

Lopes, who will turn 77 in September, still has that spring in his step and upbeat personality that made him one of Hawai'i's most dynamic sports figures in the 1970s and '80s. And nearly 27 years after guiding tiny Chaminade University to a shocking 77-72 victory over No. 1-ranked Virginia, the fire that inspired an upset of biblical proportions still burns bright.

"What is the definition of an 'upset?' " Lopes asked rhetorically during an interview two weeks ago. "Why can't — on any given day — one team beat another team? That term, 'upset,' it's loosely used. A win is a win."

But then, what would Lopes call Chaminade — then an NAIA school with an enrollment of about 1,000 in just its seventh year of basketball — toppling Virginia, which was led by 7-foot-4 center and three-time NCAA Player of the Year Ralph Sampson?

"To me," Lopes said, "that's a miracle."

OPPORTUNITY THE KEY

Lopes learned about human potential as a teenager, when legendary 'Iolani football coach Father Kenneth A. Bray brought him in as a 120-pound scrawny kid from Nanakuli.

"Father Bray gave me an opportunity," Lopes said. "Without an opportunity, it's hard to accomplish things."

Lopes grew into an all-star end for the Raiders and then played at Compton (Calif.) Junior College and San Jose State. One of his teammates at San Jose State was Bill Walsh, who went on to coach the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl championships.

Lopes later returned to Hawai'i and joined former 'Iolani and Compton teammate Joe Kahahawai on the Kailua High School football coaching staff.

"I coached receivers, but I wanted to be a head coach," Lopes recalled. "Joe said, 'Well, you cannot have the football job; that's mine. Why don't you coach basketball?' "

In 1960, Lopes was working as a maitre d' at Duke Kahanamoku's when future University of Hawai'i basketball coach Red Rocha walked up with NCAA Coach of the Year Pete Newell of California.

"Red said, 'Can you get us in?' " Lopes recalled. "But there was a long line ... so I said, 'Tell (Newell) if he comes to talk to my team, I'll let you guys in.' "

The next day, Newell showed up in Kailua, and thus began a close friendship that lasted until Newell's death last November.

"Pete taught me humility, and how to treat people right without expecting anything in return," Lopes said.

In the mid-1970s, Newell began his "Big Man Camp" to help NBA and college players with their footwork, and he asked Lopes to join his staff. Lopes has since taken over as coordinator for the camp, which will be held in Honolulu Aug. 2 to 7.

PROGRAM BUILDER

Lopes eventually built Kailua into a powerhouse program, and in 1972 — helped by league Player of the Year Pete Smith — guided the Surfriders to their first state championship.

Lopes later moved to Kalaheo and led the Mustangs to the 1976 O'ahu Interscholastic Association title, in just their fourth year as a program.

In 1976, Chaminade started its basketball program and a year later needed a head coach. Lopes, then a full-time counselor at Kalakaua Intermediate, interviewed for the job and was hired by athletic director Mike Vasconcellos.

His first salary was $2,000. McCabe Gym, Chaminade's home court, actually belonged to Saint Louis School and Lopes had to borrow it for evening practices.

But in his second season, the Silverswords went 24-5 and reached the NCAA Division III quarterfinals.

"He had passion and intensity, and an attention to detail," said Chico Furtado, who was Chaminade's starting point guard from 1977 to 1980. "Our practices were intense, and we were conditioned to outlast other teams."

With barely any recruiting budget, Lopes built the program around local prep standouts like Furtado ('Iolani), Roy Villanova (Kalani) and Kailua's Willie Pearson and Allan Silva mixed with under-the-radar Mainland prospects like hefty center Will Pounds.

"He had a heart for the local kids," Furtado said. "We were smaller than everybody, but he said there was no replacement for hard work. He had the fire to succeed and win, and he pushed us emotionally and physically. But that's exactly what I needed, and off the court, he was mellow and funny, and he took care of you. It was the perfect fit for me."

GIANT KILLINGS

Lopes' Silverswords entertained local fans and built a steady small college following along with Jimmy Yagi's UH-Hilo Vulcans.

But Lopes and Chaminade were forever immortalized Dec. 23, 1982, when they pulled off what is widely regarded as the biggest upset in college basketball history.

"After that," said center Tony Randolph, "we were the champion of the underdogs."

Five days earlier, the Silverswords scored what was considered to be another huge upset when they knocked off UH, 56-47. But on Dec. 21, Chaminade suffered an upset loss to Wayland Baptist (Texas), 64-61.

"That turned out to be good for us," Lopes said. "(Virginia coach) Terry Holland was there watching."

Virginia was 8-0, including victories over Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown and Houston's famed "Phi Slamma Jamma" team featuring Clyde "The Glide" Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.

But at halftime, Chaminade and Virginia were tied at 43.

"We said, 'If we get a chance to get ahead, we're gonna go for it,' " said Randolph, a 6-foot-6 center who scored a game-high 19 points. "We had guys with big hearts, and we made the most of what we had. Everybody was unselfish, and even now when I watch the tape, you can see every player did something important, like setting picks, diving for loose balls — a lot of things that didn't show up in the box score."

With 9:11 remaining, 5-10 guard Tim Dunham slam-dunked an alley-oop pass from Saint Louis grad Mark Rodrigues to tie it at 58, causing the Blaisdell Arena crowd of 3,383 to erupt and realize the impossible suddenly was possible.

"That let us know we can do this, and it was time to shut the door," Randolph said. "We had the killer instinct."

The victory sent shock waves across the nation, and Chaminade and Lopes became known as college basketball's "Giant Killers" after knocking off No. 3 Southern Methodist and No. 14 Louisville in 1983, and then Louisville again in 1984.

"We had a mystique, and it's taken on a life of its own," Randolph said. "People still remember the excitement we brought to the game."

Today, Lopes finds his excitement catching fish in Kona and playing golf at Waikoloa.

After conquering some of college basketball's royalty, somehow that elusive papi'o or birdie may not seem so out of reach.

"Man can do amazing things," Lopes said shortly after the Virginia game. "He can go to the moon. He can do anything, and that's how I feel about it."