The Advertiser continues a summertime feature today, looking back at some of the more memorable events and teams that still hold a place in Hawai'i high school lore. If you have a suggestion, e-mail us at preps@honoluluadvertiser.com

Around two towers, Saint Louis built a dynasty and a legacy.

Before it became known for its numerous football titles, Saint Louis had one of the first basketball powerhouses in local prep history from 1966 to 1968. The team had unbelievable height, shooters who could hit from anywhere, great athleticism and a legendary coach named Walter Wong.

There were post players — Jim Nicholson, at 6 feet 7, and Howie Dunnam at 6-5 — who filled the lanes, and given their height, were unstoppable. Raymond Lum and Larry Frank were deadly from the perimeter and Frankie Gonzales was a skilled point guard. The Crusaders won three state titles during that time and some say they could have easily matched up with any local prep team since then. Pit them against Derrick Low and the 'Iolani squads that won five straight state titles from 2002 to 2006, or Pete Smith's Kalaheo squads of the 90s? Bring it on.

"Part of being fun was motivating each other and we were motivated to be the best," said Frank, the state player of the year as a senior in 1968. "I coached at Moanalua for 12 years with Eddie Maruyama. I saw the caliber of play, I saw Derrick Low and 'Iolani had outstanding talent. Kalaheo had outstanding talent. I think we can still compete."

Coupled with two league titles in football and a state baseball title that capped off its Triple Crown year in 1967, it was a proud time for Crusader athletics.

DOUBLE POSTS

Together, Dunnam and Nicholson couldn't be beat. The focus of the Crusaders' offense, the two had hook shots nobody could stop. Nicholson once scored 60 points as a sophomore against Mid-Pacific. The next year, when they were juniors, Dunnam scored 59.

"It would be hard for the other teams," said Dunnam, who lives on Moloka'i. "If they double-teamed Jimmy, they put one on me. If they double-teamed me, they have one on Jimmy. We lived off each other that way."

A baseball and football player growing up, Nicholson never played basketball until he arrived at Saint Louis. Given Goo Sr., the junior varsity coach, worked countless hours with Nicholson to develop the hook shot.

"On Sundays and Saturdays, he'd take me to the gym and we'd just do drills," Nicholson said. "He was really the one."

Dunnam and Nicholson also could run the floor, as did everybody else on the team.

"Nicholson and Dunnam filled the lane on fast breaks," said Frank, 57, a customer service manager for American Airlines. "It tells you right there they were not just inside people. We liked to run the floor. We were a very competitive team, even in practices. When we got to game situations, we were already uptempo."

Though the first option was Dunnam and Nicholson, there was more to the team.

"They (defense) collapsed and we still had guys like Larry Frank, Henry Mahi, Ray Lum who could shoot," said Nicholson, who played for Kansas City in the NFL and is the chairman of the Hawai'i Labor Relations Board. "They couldn't collapse three guys on two so to speak. You couldn't do that, even if they tried to. Those guys could shoot from outside."

"Everybody could run, everybody could play defense, everybody loved to shoot the ball," Frank said. "Scoring was easy."

WINNING

Before the Crusaders finished at the top in 1966, it had to start from the bottom. After a 3-0 start, the team had to forfeit all of those games because of an ineligible player. Down at the bottom of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu standings, the team rallied, beating Kamehameha to win the league crown and again to win the state title. The 69-49 win marked the fifth victory over the Warriors that year. Had it not been for the forfeits, Saint Louis would have won 26 straight games that year.

"The first one (championship) was the best," said Nicholson, who was named player of the year as a sophomore in 1966. "The other two were expected. I don't think anybody on the team even doubted."

Saint Louis reloaded in 1967. Forward Henry Mahi graduated, but was replaced by Frank. Saint Louis went 22-1 that year with its only loss to host Bishop O'Dowd of California in a preseason tournament. The Crusaders defeated Hilo, 48-40, in the state tournament final.

"Our best team was our junior year," Nicholson said. "You had Ray Lum, who was the shooter, and you had Frankie Gonzalez, who could bring down the ball. You just threw it to Frankie and ran. You didn't even have to worry about the ball."

That was also the famed Triple Crown year when the Crusaders won state titles in basketball and baseball and the ILH title in football (there was no state football tournament). Buddy Los Banos and Gary Ho'okano played on all three championship teams.

"I wasn't surprised because we had a bunch of athletes who were multi-athletes," said Los Banos, a quarterback on the football team who now has a physical therapy practice in Kahuku. "A lot of guys in our era played several sports. You actually could see it coming. When we entered Saint Louis as freshmen, Saint Louis started winning freshmen, JV championships."

The dynasty climaxed with a 60-36 win over Punahou in the 1968 state basketball championship game. Frank was named state player of the year, the third straight Crusader to garner such honors following Nicholson and Dunnam. Los Banos said his teammates "ushered back prominence to Saint Louis." While Wong's basketball teams were successful at the school, football wasn't as competitive until then.

"It's not surprising that we did win in football, basketball and baseball," Los Banos said. "Each of us, in all of us, had that competitive drive. We learned how to win and we never liked to lose. We knew what it took to win."

"We played as a team," said Gonzalez, head of the religious studies department at Maryknoll. "We were willing to give up the ball to the person who had the better shot. That was the key. We were just unselfish. Whoever was open, we'd pass the ball to."

LEGENDS

Behind the success of Saint Louis' basketball teams was the late Walter Wong. He was a teacher of the game with a commanding presence on the floor that elicited respect and motivated players. Wong, who became the first coach to win three straight state titles, died in 2002 at age 90.

"He wasn't the type that would yell," Dunnam said. "He was the man that you just respected. He was that type of person. He had that overall ability. His presence would be enough to get you going."

Players recall the intense conditioning and practices Wong put them through. There were the ducks walks where players had to walk the length the court while squatting. He had players play volleyball or high jump to develop skills for basketball. He even had them take up boxing in the offseason.

"We had to do some boxing just to hone our skills in terms of speed, reaction and development," Gonzalez said.

Before joining the varsity squad, Frank remembers being "deathly afraid of the legend."

"He would challenge all us to arm wrestling and he would beat all of us," Frank said. "Growing up in Kalihi, he would tell us how tough he was. In some games, he'd punch the first guy next to us. It was motivating. He was a hardcore coach and I enjoyed playing every single moment with him."

Players also have fond memories of George Helm, a player Wong almost cut from the team. Before Helm was remembered as a Hawaiian musician with a great falsetto or as an outspoken Hawaiian activist who mysteriously disappeared during a water run off Kaho'olawe, he was the player with the calming influence on everybody.

"He made us laugh and played music," Los Banos said. "That used to be a calming effect on the team. Not only were there athletes, there were guys like George who would put the team at ease. Those were the intangibles that made that team a good team. Not only athletic competitors, but guys like George Helm."