Point A to Point B
By JORDAN IKEDA
RAFU STAFF WRITER
Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008

Eron Iki and Brandon Miyano split point guard duties for a North squad that’s ready for round two.

JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo
Seniors Eron Iki and Brandon Miyano split time at point for the North High School Saxons. When asked about possibly playing college ball, Iki said grinning, “We’re little and Asian, so I don’t know how that would go.” Laughing, Miyano added, “It would help if we were like 6’3.” North opens the playoffs tonight against Long Beach Poly.

TORRANCE.–The varsity boys basketball team of North High School is facing off against Long Beach Poly tonight, the same team that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs, in a nail-biting overtime game—by two points.

Talk about a ready-made, builtin storyline. If that doesn’t get the hoop fever going, pulses should be checked.

This year’s squadron of Saxons is looking to even the score, after finishing the season with solid victories against South and Lawndale. While their overall record might not impress at 13-13 (the team did endure two four-game losing streaks) they have managed to get hot at the right time and ended up winning league.

“Preseason was rough,” Coach Gary Duperron, a 13-year-North veteran told The Rafu Shimpo. “But we settled out our team right before league started and got really competitive.”

“Settling the team” has nothing to do with chemistry issues. As Coach Duperron candidly relates, “Teamwise, nobody touches them [this year’s team]. Last year’s squad was really talented, but just didn’t have the team effort that this year’s group of guys has. They play really well together. They all love each other and they work hard all the time. They’ve done a great job.”

What Coach Duperron means by settling the team has nothing to do with a lack of nerves and everything to do with the style of ball the Saxons play. There is a lot of fast-breaking and pressure defense. “We play two groups of five,” Dupperon said. “Both squads are in and out going about a minute and a half to two minutes each.”

Enter Brandon Miyano and Eron Iki, both returning seniors, both Torrance natives, both point guards. Iki moved to the one this year after playing shooting guard last season and now fills the backup duties behind Miyano, who assumed the starter’s role. They usually play equal minutes and they both lead their own squad.

Miyano has a solid game, a deadly shot, and can really drop dimes (b-ball speak for making great passes). His game reflects a meshing of Steve Nash’s court vision and Dwayne Wade’s ability to get to the rim—his two favorite players.

Iki doesn’t have any particular person he models his game after, he just plays.
“Eron takes more chances,” Duperron said of his first-year point guard. “So in some games Eron looks great, but in some games he struggles a little bit. But he usually reels it in. He’s done a great job.”

Iki and Miyano think highly of their coach as well. “He’s a very intense person, yelling on the sidelines and stuff,” Miyano said. “But that’s just his nature. Off the court, his personality, he’s a really caring guy who always asks us how we’re doing in school. He really cares about us off the court.”

One of his mottos is to be a better person first, before a basketball player. He wants us to become men and mature.”

“We’ve been playing for him for a while, since sixth or seventh grade,” said Iki, who might pursue baseball after he graduates. “We played on the Northstars, an AAU team. He worked with us because we were all going to come to North.”

Six years later, and Coach Duperron continues to work with them. During shooting practice, Coach Duperron assigns groups of players different baskets. Miyano and Iki make up half of the red basket group. They are the shooters, the group Duperron “tries to keep on the floor as much as [he] can.” So, despite splitting time at the point, both Miyano and Iki usually find themselves on the court together during crunch time.

“Eron and I grew up together,” Miyano said. “We’ve been going to the same schools since preschool. We’ve been good friends. So it’s been fun.”

Together, the friends have played a lot of basketball. They’ve participated in numerous FOR tourneys. Played Jleague. Played for the Northstars. Now they play for the Saxons.

They maintain there is no rivalry between them. Just a common desire to win. It helps that the style of basketball they play allows enough minutes for both players to be effective. They both play point, they both have their own teams to run, and they both finish games.

“It’s pretty good, “It works out sometimes where my group’s not doing very well so Eron’s group will step up and vice versa. Our philosophy is to give it your all for two minutes, get a sub, get a breather, then get back in.”

“It’s a lot easier,” Iki, who wants to pursue business after school, added “because we don’t get tired as much and you can give 100 percent all the time.”

That sort of all-out-effort will be important tonight against Poly. The sting from last year’s loss lingers like an annoying, unwanted houseguest.

“That was upsetting,” Miyano said as if revisiting the disappointment all over again. The good news, however, is that they still have an opportunity to avenge last year’s loss.

“It’s kind of a little rivalry,” Iki said with a grin “because we had some summer games against them and…there were some issues.”

What those issues were, have been left under the table, but the desire to not repeat last year remains the main course.

When asked how he will approach tonight’s game, Iki said, “Just come out hard. Whatever happens, happens.”

“It’s one thing to lose at their gym, at their home, in front of their crowd,” Miyano added. “But we’ve played really well this season at home. We have high hopes for this game.”