Maryknoll is top seed

There aren’t any surprises, but the brackets announced on Sunday for the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships are stirring up the masses anyway.

Maryknoll, which won the ILH title on Friday, was granted the No. 1 seed by the seeding committee, while OIA champion Kalaheo has the No. 2 seed. Kalaheo is in the same bracket with King Kekaulike, the MIL champ, and No. 4 Konawaena is in Maryknoll’s bracket.

The tourney tips off on Wednesday with games at McKinley and Moanalua. The opening round is where things get a little more interesting. While seeded teams (league champions) have a bye in Division I, the pairings for unseeded squads are intriguing.

Baldwin, the MIL runner-up, will face the OIA’s third-place team, Kapolei. That winner will match up with Maryknoll.

"I think the Baldwin-Kapolei matchup is going to be a tough one. They both gave us a hard time during the Christmas break tournament," Spartans coach Kelly Grant said. "I think everybody’s got tough teams on both pools. I don’t think I got a poor (bracket) or not a fair shake. It is what it is. I got Kapolei and Baldwin and they’re both good teams. That’s really scary."

Getting a top seed meant less to Grant than winning the ILH title.

"It didn’t really matter to me, as long as we got a bye. That gives us a chance to go down and watch (the opening round). That makes a difference. And you play only three nights instead of four nights," he added.

Two OIA squads face off in another first-round game: Moanalua and Pearl City. Moanalua pushed Kalaheo to overtime before losing 56-52 in the league final Saturday. Pearl City spent much of the season in a battle for the top spot in the OIA West.

Shaun Kagawa, arguably the best athlete in the state, is the leader for Kamehameha-Hawaii, the BIIF runner-up. The Warriors will play Mililani, which took fifth place in the OIA. That winner plays coach Alika Smith’s Kalaheo squad.

Punahou, which finished second in the ILH and has been in the top three of the Star-Advertiser rankings most of the season, will play Farrington in another intriguing matchup. The winner takes on MIL champion King Kekaulike.

In D-II, ILH champion St. Francis has the No. 1 seed.

"We’re ready. We’ve had to sit for two weeks, but it’s OK. We’ve had an opportunity to heal," coach Sol Batoon said. "The top seed doesn’t mean too much. All the teams are competitive. Being No. 1 does mean we’re representing the ILH well."

Every D-II state champion has come from the public-school leagues since the format began in 2007.

"That’s a credit to the public schools. Hopefully, this year, we change that," Batoon said.

St. Francis lost to Seabury Hall last year, but returned its entire roster and has its first senior class.

"It’s an emotional game when you play at this level," Batoon added. "The main thing is we keep our composure and concentrate on what we do."

Second-seeded Kailua has emerged as a surprise contender. Coach Wally Marciel doesn’t hesitate, though, to name St. Francis as a deserving No. 1 seed.

"They’re a good team with very strong players," he said. "They would’ve given Punahou, Kamehameha and ‘Iolani a good game if they were in Division I. We’re where we want to be, opposite of St. Francis."

St. Francis will play Waianae, which lost to Kailua in the OIA final on Saturday. Kailua will play Pahoa, which features one of the state’s top scorers, Nick Fisher.

MIL champion Seabury Hall, featuring Caleb Palmer and Rocky DeLyon, is the No. 3 seed and will play ILH champion University.

Hawaii Prep, the BIIF champ, will play KIF champ Kapaa.