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iter, Mt. Carmel, IllinoisPolynesian Paralysis?Chaminade becameare divided equally between local products and California kids, which is also essentially the makeup of the 900-member Chaminade student body.Full athletic scholarships have only been granted for the last three years. Because home games are played in McCabe Gym, essentially a high school facility which seats only 2,200, the basketball budgetshows a loss — which is made up by contributions from a local boosters club.Mike Vasconcellos has only one secretary and a student aide to administer athletics (which also includes golf and tennis) at Chaminade.Mike Vasconcellosprogram on a budget of $50,000 — which wouldn’t even cover the cost of Ralph Sampson’s education.Chaminade basketball coach Merv Lopes is a guidance counselor at Kala-kaua intermediate school in Honolulu during the day. So the team practices at night.And where did the players come from? Well, center Tony Randolph, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Staunton, Va., happened to compete frequently against Sampson in high school — and he held his own this season against the big man. Randolph had gone to Panhandle State in Oklahoma, but transferred to Chaminade after visiting his brother who was stationed at nearby Hiekam Field.His plans are grandiose. Playing the basketball powers of the mainland is nothing new for the Swordsmen. They had met Virginia twice in previous years. This season, they also whipped the University of South Carolina. Projected next year is a home-and-home arrangement with Stanford. Around the New Year, Vasconcellos plans an invitational tournament on the island of Maui, with Louisville, Virginia or North Carolina as possible entrants.“We have no trouble luring Division I schools from the mainland,” says Mike. “They all want to come to Hawaii. And we’re not afraid to play them. Once they land in the islands, they get Polynesian Paralysis.” Not to mention blistering sunburns from the beaches which sometimes limits their physical exertions.Guard Tim Dunham, the leading scorer for Chaminade, is from Stockton, Calif. He didn’t have the grades to qualify for a Division I school, but could make it at the NAIA level.Richard Haenisch, an effervescent 6-foot-6 forward, was born in Germany but finished school in Honolulu. At the end of the Virginia game, he climbed the backboard and perched victoriously in the rim of the basket.The other squad membersMike’s competitive juices are unrequited in only one area. The last seven years at Chaminade have given him a chance to really work on his tennis game. He wants to get me back on the court there.No way. Let him schedule Virginia instead.(NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN.)
Newspaper Details
Mount Carmel Daily Republican Register
Mount Carmel, Illinois, US
Fri, Mar 18, 1983
Page 13
Full Page
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WV, USA 25 Apr 2020
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