Relocation of 2023 Maui Invitational to Oahu was no easy task
HONOLULU — Mark Few is always amazed at how few of his players have been to Hawaii, or have even been in the ocean.
Trips to Maui are an annual Few family tradition in addition to the once-every-four-year excursions he takes to the Valley Isle with his Gonzaga Bulldogs for the Maui Invitational basketball tournament.
Whether it was Front Street restaurants he’d visit for team dinners or stops at gelato shops with his family, Lahaina held a special place for him for decades. Slightly north, jumps off Black Rock in Kaanapali have endured as a team rite of passage.
When Lahaina was devastated on Aug. 8, so was Few.
“I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it,” he recalled of his reaction to the sudden wildfires that destroyed thousands of structures, killed 100 people and left countless other souls scattered. “It was all the places, so many places that we’ve been and walked through.”
