Of the new faces in old places throughout the prep basketball universe, the largest of expectations might be on Kamehameha.

The boys program has history and lore, but the Warriors also play in the most competitive league statewide. Larry Park understands the blessing and the pressure well. The longtime assistant coach inherited a fairly young team, then added some youth to go with an intriguing roster.

The Warriors were ranked in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 from Week 1 through Week 5, reaching as high as No. 8. Christmas Togiai has been superb as a primary ball handler, a junior strong enough to play in the post, but savvy enough to run the point.

Kamehameha (12-7) may seem to be overmatched in league play at 1-3, but the eye test says otherwise. Last week alone, the Warriors played No. 1 Punahou, then No. 2 Maryknoll and No. 3 ‘Iolani. They led Punahou in the fourth quarter before falling 64-54 on Tuesday. On Thursday, they traveled to Maryknoll and stunned the Spartans 34-33. On Saturday, they kept it close and lost at ‘Iolani 64-58.

“They’re growing every week. Everything we’ve asked them to do, they’re responding. The boys have been so good,” Park said.

Park is a disciple of James Winchester, who deployed aggressive, unpredictable pressure out of full-court man-to-man defensive looks when Kamehameha won the state championship in 1992.

Another Winchester disciple, Jesse Nakanishi, put the same principles into play when the Warriors won state titles in ’09 and ’11. This year’s squad has the athleticism to replicate that success, but time is required to master the rotation, the technique.

“We start our summer and preseason with those foundational concepts,” Park said. “Trap from the front, from behind the dribbler, we rotate, but it’s based on personnel, our rotation, and our opponent. As our program develops these next few years, it’ll be more and more visible, maybe.”

In the low-scoring win over Maryknoll, Park’s squad eschewed its faster tempo and went with a matchup zone defense to thwart the Spartans. It was a big change from their 60-35 loss to Maryknoll a month earlier in the Kaimuki Invitational final.

“Brandon Dumlao, our assistant coach, calls a great game, mixing it up,” Park noted. “We’re growing as a coaching staff, coordinating that in-game. Are we going to switch defense? Sub guys in?”

If Park seems old school, he’s not apologizing. The Warriors can go inside to 6-foot-4, 290-pound Lokahi Pauole for high-percentage buckets. At times, Pauole and another football lineman, Bailey Lee, team up for high-low passing. Lee’s versatility as a 3-point shooter gives the team more options.

Preston Ponteras adds an ability to slash and hit the 3, and sophomore Paliku Kamaka is a deep threat. The junior-heavy roster includes three more 10th graders who saw significant playing time in preseason: Nawelo Rowland, Oni Pung and Xavier Lever.

They can go bigger with 6-6 senior Kaneen Muldrow, or faster with junior guard Skyler Ramos. Then there’s Togiai, the football quarterback who has a motor matched by few. He’s averaging more than 20 points per game in league play.

“Chris does everything and he’s such a competitor,” Park said. “From the beginning, they’ve really tried to understand what we were telling them all the way back to the Kalani game at the McKinley tournament. One of the things I said was, ‘Share the ball. Move the ball to the open guy.’ ”

In Kamehameha’s first possession of that game, Lee was double-teamed on the block, passed to Togiai on the top, and he drove and dished to Pauole for a layup.

The Warriors have another ILH-gauntlet schedule this week with St. Francis and Mid-Pacific at home, and a road game at Punahou.

“They’re sticking together and playing together, and improving each week,” Park said.

Waiakea ends Konawaena’s streak

It took a concerted defensive scheme to end Konawaena’s magnificent 124-game win streak in Big Island Interscholastic Association girls play on Thursday.

Waiakea’s 54-25 homecourt win required constant attention on Konawaena’s All-State wing/post Caiyle Kaupu and standout freshman Kaliana Salazar Harrell. The two combined for seven points as Waiakea (7-1) threw a big wrench into the BIIF standings.

“Our biggest goal was to take away their top two scorers. We had a mixture of Keeli-Jade (Smith) and Bethany (Honma) on Kaupu. We would front her. They never really had opportunities,” Kauhi said. “We denied her fully. When she did get shots, a lot of them were forced.”

Senior guard Zaelynn Lui-Cabinatan led No. 9 Waiakea with 16 points and Kelsi Imai added 11.

Hilo and Konawaena also have one loss each now, but the lopsided win for Waiakea means it has the tiebreaker advantage — point differential — in case of a three-way tie at the end of the regular season.