Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Lopes, Akana and Benoit will coach in NIKE All-Taiwan Camp

The first edition of NIKE All-Taiwan Camp will take place in Taipei from August 24-27. 60 players from age 14 to 18 will be coached by Merv Lopes, Jarinn Akana and David Benoit in the camp.

Merv Lopes, former Chaminade head coach and the director of Pete Newell’s Big Man Camp for more than 13 years, was best known for leading “the greatest upset in college basketball history”. He led little-known NAIA school Chaminade shocked No.1 Virginia in 1982. Virginia featured All-American center Ralph Sampson and was ranked No.1 nationally at the time.

Jarinn Akana, 34, enters his third season with the Denver Nuggets and the second as an assistant coach. A natve of Molokai, Hawaii, Akana played for coach Riley Wallace in the Unversity of Hawaii from 1991-94. He began hs collegiate career in 1988 at BYU-Hawaii. Akana was an assistant at Hawaii from 1995-97 before joining BYU-Hawai coaching staff from 1997-2000.

6-8 David Benoit is an eight-year NBA veteran and enjoys successful professional career in Asia. He played in China and Japan later in his career after short stints in Spain and Israel. Benoit spent most of his NBA career with Utah Jazz, complementing Karl Malone and John Stockton.