John Lujan | Special to SL

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This is something I don't do often, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this crazy and unpredictable boys basketball season.

This state tournament was special because it had its share of surprises, upsets and late game heroics. I remember Darren Matsuda and Dean Shimamoto once told me after a game, "It's like March Madness, only in February."

From day one and throughout the course of the season, it was hard to predict who would prevail week-in-and-week-out given the parity. It seemed like every week, we had a different top-ranked team in our Hawaiian Electric/ScoringLive Power Rankings and I lost count.

Midway through the season, one of my friends asked me, "Who do you think the clear-cut No. 1 team in the state is?" and I replied, "No one. Anyone could go down on a given night and everyone is beatable. I think we'll find that out on the last night of the season."

It was so true.

For a fleeting moment, it looked like Punahou had the opportunity to take the lead with a 3-pointer late in the game, but it hit back iron and Iolani corralled the rebound and sank free throws to win a state title. Had the ball bounced a different way, the Buffanblu, an unlikely contender to start the season, would've been celebrating and lifting that koa trophy.

The Interscholastic League of Honolulu was ridiculous, given that all six teams were in our Power Rankings for most of the season and each night was a playoff game. I covered a lot of ILH games and I had my share of barnburners. I couldn't predict who would represent the ILH in the state tournament because anything could happen.

Saint Louis was in the driver's seat for most of the season before imploding at the wrong time. Punahou struggled in their first five games, and it could've gone south, but they got hot at the right time. Kamehameha took down teams like Saint Louis and Iolani before falling to Punahou. It made me think if some teams matched up better than others. Mid-Pacific and Maryknoll loved to play spoiler for several nights. Iolani dropped a couple games, but given the culture of their players and coaches, they managed to peak at the right time. Who would've thought they needed a four team playoff to sort things out?

It also goes to show, Iolani took advantage of the right circumstances and opportunities and never really looked back—only to reflect how far they came to become state champions.

Even the OIA had its share of parity. Kaiser was on top for most of the season before dropping a head-scratcher to Roosevelt and was trounced by Kalaheo in the title game.

Kahuku was the most interesting team this season, given their internal drama and it was hard to predict which team would show up. It was and up and down regular season, until they ripped up Konawaena in the first round, and pummeled second-seeded Kalaheo in the quarters. They took Punahou all the way down to the wire and they proved a lot of people wrong (me included).

Let's not forget Division 2 because it was just as unpredictable. University Lab had to beat Damien in overtime to punch a ticket into the state tournament and breezed through the quarters and semis and to win a state championship. Everything came full circle for Walt Quitan, having won a title as a player and now as a coach.

How about Seabury Hall? When everyone thought top-seeded Saint Francis was going to pull away, the Spartans' sideline believed and they chipped away slowly to tie and send the game into overtime. They ran a beautifully executed play for Cameron Hanisch and he hit the 3-pointer in overtime and the rest is history. Unfortunately, the Jr. Bows played better that night, but the Spartans have nothing to be ashamed of because they made it further than other Seabury teams in the past and perhaps this will be the bar they set for future seasons.

Anyway, it was an amazing season and I am thankful I had the opportunity to witness it.