Merv Lopes was everybody’s BFF.
“He was a loyal and good friend,” said Chuck Williams, who had known Lopes for nearly five decades.
Lopes was a philosopher who dispensed advice in non sequiturs. He was an intense competitor who overcame serious medical issues in his later years.
And Lopes, who died Thursday at age 92, was remembered for coaching Chaminade University to what has been widely described as the greatest upset in college basketball history.
“His name will be etched forever in Hawaii sports history,” sportscaster Larry Beil said of the Silverswords’ 77-72 victory over No. 1-ranked Virginia on Dec. 22, 1982, in the Blaisdell Arena. “He was a legendary figure in coaching. … The upset of Virginia represents that very clearly.”
Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959. But that night in 1982, Chaminade was put on the basketball map. The Silverswords, who competed in NAIA District 29, were indisputable underdogs.
Virginia, a member of the blue-blood Atlantic Coast Conference, relied heavily on 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson, a consensus All-American. Sampson was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. But against Chaminade, Sampson was hounded by 6-5 forward Tony Randolph.
The Silverswords went with a so-called “special” defense, in which they were in 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 during a 2022 interview. “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 game was not televised, but reporters from the Washington Post, including Michael Wilbon, now co-host of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption,” were in town to cover the Aloha Bowl. With free time, they decided to attend the basketball game. The Post’s reports helped accentuate the national attention on the Silverswords. CNN had a breaking-news update. A picture of Haenisch sitting on a basketball rim went, for that time, the equivalent of viral. Honolulu Advertiser sportswriter Andy Yamaguchi described the outcome as the “Miracle on Ward Avenue.”
Jerry West — the “logo” for the NBA — said Lopes would be a successful coach at any level.
In the ensuing seasons, Chaminade would upset Louisville twice and SMU.
“He was successful despite having almost zero resources,” Beil said. “This was a university that did not even have their own facilities.”
The Silverswords’ home arena was Saint Louis School’s gym. Their athletic department office was fittingly known as “The Shack.” Mike Vasconcellos, who was the athletic director at the time, “borrowed” towels from Waikiki hotels to use during games. Williams, a prominent official in international boxing organizations, volunteered to be the PA announcer … and chauffeur. Curly Fujihara served as manager, trainer and organizer — positions he previously held when Lopes coached at Kailua High. Lopes filled the Chaminade roster with under- recruited players and “gym rats,” Haenisch said. “We had a motley crew.”
Tim Dunham, a former Chaminade guard, and point guard Mark Rodrigues said the players meshed under Lopes’ stern style.
“He had a level of intensity that I have not seen in many other coaches or humans on the planet,” Beil said. “He was just so driven. Merv would walk into practice with no shirt, completely jacked like he was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Such an intimidating presence because he looked like he could break us all in half if he wanted to. He was a disciplinarian. They were going to do it his way, and his way required a level of intensity throughout the game that was unrelenting.”
Although Lopes had a maniacal demeanor on the sidelines during games, his messages to the team were delivered in pointed but soft-spoken tones. “What I like about Coach is he never lost his temper (with the players),” Haenisch said, “even though he could go ‘graaaah.’ He said it in a fatherly fashion. And then he would spout off some philosophical phrase here and there. And then you’d agree: ‘That makes sense.’”
Rodrigues said “Merv-isms” were about self- confidence, living in the moment and to “really grind as a player. A lot of the things he told you pertained to real life.”
After retiring from Chaminade, Lopes coached in the United Arab Emirates, then he and his wife, Cheryl, moved to Waikoloa on Hawaii island. “He didn’t talk about basketball too much or big wins,” son Cameron Lopes said. “He talked about fishing more than anything else.”
The younger Lopes said his father was an accomplished throw-net fisherman. For a while, Lopes would puff on a cigar while watching the fishing poles and chatting with tourists. It evoked a tradition of a celebratory cigar during his coaching career. “With his win-loss record,” Cameron said, “he smoked a lot of them.”
