Merv Lopes steals show at Chaminade Hall of Fame ceremony

As a plaque was unveiled commemorating the greatest upset in college basketball history, Merv Lopes was lost in time, lost in emotion.

“Oh, man, what can you say?” said Lopes, who was the head coach of the Chaminade team that astonished No. 1-ranked Virginia on Dec. 23, 1982. “It’s amazing. I’ve coached in 20 countries. I’ve been blessed. A guy from Nanakuli? Come on, man, how did that happen? Look at all these people here. I’m speechless. There’s so much emotion.”

The plaque — commissioned by Thomas Shieh, a Chaminade graduate — honored Lopes and that 1982-83 team as part of the new Chaminade Hall of Fame. In a setting befitting Chaminade’s unpretentious tradition, the Hall is in a hallway also occupied by two vending machines.

“Coach (Lopes) always taught us about being humble,” said Tony Randolph, who played a key role in that upset. “He’s a humble man.”

Lopes, 90, grew up in Nanakuli and attended Waipahu High as a freshman and sophomore. His life changed after meeting Father Kenneth Bray, a priest and ‘Iolani School teacher and coach. Father Bray helped Lopes transfer to ‘Iolani. “Father Bray saved my life,” Lopes said.

Each morning, Lopes would hitchhike to a terminal near Pearl Harbor, then catch a bus to ‘Iolani. “I always wondered who was going to give me a ride back to Nanakuli at night or from Nanakuli early in the morning,” he said.

It was a struggle that would impact Lopes years later. Lopes was fired as Kalaheo High’s basketball coach, in part, because he gave a player a ride to school. That led to Lopes being hired as Chaminade’s coach.

“I started at $2,000 a season,” said Lopes, who eventually received financial help from attorney David Schutter and car dealership owner Jerry Cutter. “I didn’t care about the money. I was doing something I enjoyed doing,”

Lopes built a program based on athleticism, unity and fearlessness. That led to the night in December when the Silverswords, who were competing in NAIA District 29, faced the nation’s top-ranked team.

“We didn’t converse with one another about what we were going to do in the game,” Randolph recalled. “We went through our ritual of meditating before the game and clearing our minds up so we could be focused once that opening tip came. We were focused, we were in that zone, which most athletes can relate to.”

Randolph was assigned to guard 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson. Listed at 6 feet 7, Randolph conceded, “I probably was 6-5. It didn’t affect us. Our mindset was we weren’t going to be blown away by their height. Coach did a great job of keeping us grounded and focused in the moment. That was what worked for us.”

The Silverswords went with a so-called “special” defense, in which they were in a man coverage until the ball was dropped to Sampson in the low post. A second defender would tag-team on Sampson. “The guards would come down and pressure and harass (Sampson) so he could kick the ball out,” Randolph said. “Fortunately for us, they weren’t hitting the outside shots that night.”

Earnest Pettway, Richard Haenisch and Jasen Strickland — each 6 feet 6 — also stormed the low post for rebounds and putbacks. “It wasn’t the size,” Randolph said. “It was the heart. What you can’t measure is our heart. That’s what we were all about. And the fans embraced us. We got more confident in the battle.”

The Silverswords won in the Blaisdell Arena in an outcome scribe Andy Yamaguchi described as the “Miracle on Ward Avenue.”

In the ensuing seasons, the Silverswords would go on to upset Louisville twice and SMU. They also inspired Shieh, a student with a 2.2 GPA who dared to dream about becoming a physician. Shieh fulfilled that goal, and in a pay-it-forward act, established a scholarship in Merv Lopes’ name.