“It’s unbelievable that we’re back here after last year,” said college basketball reporter Andy Katz, who moderated a Maui Invitational press conference Sunday, one day before the start of the three-day tournament. “The island is still obviously recovering after the horrific fires in August of last year. It’s important for the island for us to be back here for tourism and for everything else, but to still consider what is happening over in Lahaina.”
Roads into historic Lahaina are closed. The area will slowly be rebuilt in the coming years. The city is still mostly vacant lots at this point.
The Lahaina Civic Center, located just north of downtown, was not touched by the fire. According to the Maui Invitational media guide, it served as a “critical community hub for Maui’s wildfire recovery efforts.”
The tournament brought 6,500 visitors and $24 million in spending to Maui in 2022, according to a recent Associated Press story. The event moved to Honolulu in 2023 after the fires. Event organizers announced in February it would return to Maui this year.
“As a long-standing community partner, we are looking forward to welcoming the Maui Jim Maui Invitational back to Lahaina,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said then in a press release.. “We appreciate their unwavering support and sensitivity in navigating this difficult time and appreciate their commitment to bringing this much anticipated event back to Maui’s community.”
One of the coaches in the 2024 field, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, talked to MauiNow.com earlier this month about the importance of bringing the games back to Maui.
“We try to do what we can to help and I think our fans will be over there and hopefully do a lot of things that help the economy and just keep the whole entire atmosphere to be as upbeat as it possibly can be considering what people have lost,” Izzo said. “I’m going to be very conscientious of the people that are there.”
The 2,400-seat Lahiana Civic Center hosted its first Maui Invitational tournament in 1987. Iowa won the championship that year, and the entire team was named MVP. Bruce Pearl, the head coach of Auburn, which is playing in Maui this year, was on Tom Davis’ staff at Iowa that season.
Most of the coaches in Maui this season have connections to past tournaments. Connecticut’s Dan Hurley’s brother Bobby was the co-MVP of the 1992 tournament with Anfernee Hardaway, who is now the coach of Memphis, UConn’s first-round opponent.
“I don’t really remember much when I was a player,” Hardaway said Sunday, “but I do remember telling myself that I wanted to come back one day because it was so beautiful. As far as that tournament, losing in the second round to BYU will always stay with me. That’s my competitive nature. Coming back as a coach, it’s just an honor and a privilege to be here with all these Hall of Fame coaches.”
Dayton Flyers coach Anthony Grant will make his second appearance in the tournament. Dayton lost to Kansas in the championship game in 2019.
“We understand the importance of these opportunities,” Grant said. “The main thing for us is being true to our identity and just trying to play the way we play. This early in the season, you’re going to find out where you need to get better. The games will come really quickly. We’ve got North Carolina first, and then you go three days in a row. You’ve got to kind of rely on your habits.”
Credit: David Jablonski
About the Author
