Chaminade will no longer be a Maui Invitational regular

LAHAINA >> The old guard of the Maui Invitational has a stand to make before its shift change.

Chaminade, the longtime host school of the nation’s most prestigious early season tournament, opens the 2017 edition against No. 13 Notre Dame today very conscious of the fact that the Silverswords’ time as the event’s signature ingredient is drawing to a close.

After this tournament, Chaminade only will appear every other year, a decision announced by tournament runner KemperLesnik in October 2016. In the intervening years, the Silverswords will play two Maui participants on the mainland in the powerhouses’ own arenas, instead of the close confines of the Lahaina Civic Center.

Silverswords coach Eric Bovaird was wistful at the coaches’ introductory press conference Sunday in advance of the three-games-in-three-days slugfest.

“This tournament in particular, it’s what puts us on the map,” said Bovaird, who coached the ’Swords to an upset of Texas here in 2012. “Everybody in the basketball world recognizes Chaminade with the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. It means so much to everybody at the school, and I think it’s a great representation of the state of Hawaii. We’re hoping to make everybody proud, and hopefully get some wins.”

The tournament began in 1984, two years after Chaminade — then an NAIA school only a handful of years into its basketball existence — stunned the world by taking down top-ranked Virginia at the Blaisdell Arena.

Maui remains a rite of passage for blue-blood and up-and-coming programs. North Carolina claimed the Wayne Duke Trophy here last year and went on to win the national championship.

This year’s field is strong, as always. Notre Dame and No. 6 Wichita State are the favorites, while Michigan and Marquette are very capable squads. California, VCU and LSU round out the eight with first-year head coaches.

The only past champion is Michigan (1985, 1988) from the tourney’s early days.

The 2018 Maui field, the first without a Division II team, has been rolled out as its “strongest field in history.” Tournament chair Dave Odom previously told the Star-Advertiser the change was made in part to remain competitive with other nonconference exempt tournaments, which have beefed up their fields. TV partner ESPN also had a say.

But Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said Sunday he was more worried about facing Chaminade than any other matchup in the field — including Wichita State — because of the Silverswords’ history and crowd support.

Brey, a regular watcher of the tournament, recalled surprise when he first learned Chaminade was being switched out.

“They’ve got to be part of it. They’re the founding father of this thing,” Brey said. “I guess from business reasons, maybe, they’re rotating in and out. I just think the tournament’s better when Chaminade’s in it, because there’s that Cinderella that’s there on three nights. So, I’m glad they’re going to still be involved. It’s too bad it’s not every year.”

Chaminade, 7-90 all-time in the event, will go on the road to San Diego State and Arizona in 2018.

Athletic director Bill Villa expressed optimism that the new reality will work out, noting the arrangement can be revisited after one or two of the off-again, on-again rotations.

“Initially we didn’t want to leave, not playing the tournament in Maui every year,” Villa said. “But these changes, we’ve embraced it. So we’ll see how it goes. I think there will be some nostalgia … when it comes around (next) November, and our team isn’t here. It’s going to be a change but I think we’ll be fine.”

The ’Swords fielded one of their largest teams this year, with a 6-foot-6 point guard in Austin Pope and a host of bigs.

Matching up with the likes of Notre Dame’s preseason All-American at forward, Bonzie Colson, will be a tall task. But that’s what Maui has long been about — a dash of the unexpected.

“This is something I’ve been excited for since I decided to come to school here,” said junior forward Brett Reed, who’s preparing for his first and only Maui Invitational. “We got a big game against Notre Dame, and then either Michigan or LSU the next day. I’m just excited to play against the best of the best. It’s a great opportunity. I feel like we can win any game.”