COMMANDER, FLEET ACTIVITIES YOKOSUKA, Japan (February 13, 2025) -- Yokosuka’s Nile C. Kinnick High School boys basketball defeated Setagaya’s St. Mary’s International 76-70 in double overtime Wednesday, February 5 in front of a home crowd onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan.
Tournament MVP Isaiah Kimbrough led the 21-7 Red Devils with 22 points and Tournament Defensive MVP Gregor Tolar displayed his two-way versatility pitching in 17 points to push the YoHi boys to their second consecutive Far East Tournament Division I title.
The impressive season record, convincing victories, and the ability to muster enough grit to outlast a hot-handed Titans squad, were all from the lessons learned throughout the 28-game season.
The defending champs looked rusty coming out the gate and picked up unexpected early losses in the process.
“It felt like we had a target on our back the entire season. Everyone played harder [against us] this year than last year,” Kimbrough said during lunch while sitting in head coach Robert Stovall’s classroom. The entire classroom is full of both varsity and junior varsity basketball players. Kimbrough and several of the team’s core players are in the middle of the room eating lunch and reflecting on the season.
“Getting the team chemistry right was the hardest part early on,” he said. “It’s an entirely different set of players. Some were called up from JV and others had to step up from last season even though they didn’t get a lot of playing time last year.”
The junior continued saying the team “spent a lot of time at Fleet [Recreation Center] playing five’s and ran conditioning drills.” Some of those events were scheduled and some were during the players’ off-time.
“You know, we spend a lot of time together off the court just hanging out, studying, playing video games,” Kimbrough added.
Kinnick’s bumpy early season start wasn’t seen as a roadblock, but instead treated as a detour.
Taishi Boye, one of the team’s returning players, said everyone’s willingness to be open about their own mistakes helped the team mature as a unit and as individuals.
“For me specifically, it was turnovers,” said Whyte. “I needed to slow down to cut those down. We used that time to analyze the problems, set in game goals to work toward, and reflect on the plan’s success or what to fix.”
Those goals seem small in the beginning. Fundamentals like turning the ball over one less time this game compared to last, collecting one more rebound than last game, committing one less foul.
“It doesn’t sound like much, but it helped me focus on the right things,” Boye said.
“We also took advantage of open gym time to rework the mistakes that came in losses, and even in ours wins,” Kimbrough said. “We tried to replay the mistakes. Figure out what we did wrong. Just get more repetitions.”
Those extra reps became extremely important by January.
Choufu’s American School in Japan hosted the 7th Annual Kanto Classic, a mid-season tournament held almost immediately after the area schools' winter break. Kinnick finished fourth ending the tournament on a sour note with losses to eventual Classic champion Father Duenas Memorial High School from Guam and a 41-29 loss to Okinawa’s Kadena High School. Kinnick was held to single-digits in the first, second and fourth quarters.
“The Guam game was the eye-opener,” Kimbrough said. “We watched and learned from them; their movement, their chemistry, the plays the called, when they called them. We had a lot of injuries, but this is the level we gotta be at for Far East.”
The injury bug bit the Devils hard after the holidays. Several starters sat during the Tokyo tournament forcing the bench players – some who had not logged a single minute against any team’s starters – to step up. While the results that weekend were disappointing, the in-game experience for the younger players became invaluable.
“[The bench] played the top players from the top teams. It was a real challenge for a lot of them. The other teams were older, more experienced, had better chemistry, but our younger players saw they can keep up. We knew we had a deep bench,” Kimbrough said.
By the time Far East rolled, Kinnick had established they were the favorites. The starters had healed in time and the bench kept growing through their unexpected boost in playing time.
Most importantly, Kinnick was the host and had the advantage of the home crowd.
“The energy was amazing!” Kimbrough said. “The student section was loud and a lot of our parents were able to be there to support.”
Most of the group around Kimbrough remained quiet letting their captain do most of the talking. But Boye jumped in between bites of sandwich to say, "Thanks mom!" for the support.
“Last year, I think we only had like five parents who were able to travel with us to Okinawa,” the cool-headed Nicholas Whyte said. Whyte said he didn’t feel a lot of pressure this year and tried to think of each Far East Tournament game as if they were just like any other game. And focus on each game one game at a time. “This year, it was so loud. I could feel the energy. I think everyone could. I had so much motivation.”
“There was a lot of expectations coming into Far East,” Kimbrough continued. “It was always energetic. Obviously, it gives all of a little boost. You know, confidence. I was like, ‘Yep. This is the time. It’s ours. We can’t mess it up.’ We have so many people here rooting for us. Let’s show them who we are. I loved it, but I also felt the pressure.”
The Devils stormed through the two-day season-ending tournament with a 90-78 victory over Humphreys High School, a DODEA school from Camp Humphreys in South Korea.
They followed that with an 83-56 win over American School Bangkok before being locked in a defensive bout with the Titans for the crown.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” Stovall said. “They truly bonded over the year and overcame every obstacle thrown at them. They did everything and earned the right to be champions.”
| Date Taken: | 02.13.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2025 20:15 |
| Story ID: | 490789 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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