The rise of Kamehameha-Hawaii, now ranked No. 3 in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10, hasn’t been without its sacrifices.

The Warriors (15-1) learned recently that guard Adam Andrade will be out for the season with an injury to his left knee suffered in a win over Kailua two weeks ago. The senior guard was beginning to emerge as a difference-maker off the bench with his 3-point shooting and all-out defense. Without him, KS-Hawaii has stayed on track with wins over St. Joseph (65-43) and Waiakea (57-39), but its depth will be tested come postseason time.

In and out hoopsters

Once again, Moanalua’s boys are riding a roller coaster in and out of the Top 10.

In 20 games, eight of Moanalua’s foes have been teams that have been ranked, making the schedule one of the state’s toughest.

In their place, Radford zoomed into the poll at No. 8. The Rams are on a six-game win streak, including victories over Campbell, Mililani and Leilehua last week, thanks in part to a scoring surge by T.J. Reid.

Meanwhile, Kamehameha’s girls team is back in the Top 10 following a win over Mid-Pacific and a close loss to No. 3 ‘Iolani. University dropped out after a brief stay at No. 10. The Junior Rainbows lost to Lutheran last week as leading scorer Quynne Eharis sat out with a stomach flu.

High expectations

There’s a reason why Aiea coach Rick Williams can smile, even as the boys and girls wrestling teams dwindled from 70 to 22 wrestlers during the holiday break.

"I really believe that every kid on the team will place in this year’s tournament," he said of Na Alii. "In my 45 years of coaching wrestling, I have never been able to make that statement before."

Williams credits parents, athletic director Blake Moritsugu, and his coaching staff, but it’s probably Williams and his refusal to compromise standards who deserves some credit. Girls coach Ason Abe worries about low numbers among the younger wrestlers, but for now, it’s quality over quantity.