Norman Ching (’58) Boys’ Basketball Invitational

The newly renamed 2025 Norman Ching (’58) Boys’ Basketball Invitational was a resounding success! Held over a four-day period, a total of 22 ILH teams competed against one another in the newly refurbished Mills Gym on the Mid-Pacific campus.  

Norman Ching, along with his wife Chickie and their son JR, flew in from their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the tournament. He shared powerful messages about leadership, sportsmanship, determination, and “thinking outside the box” with players and coaches alike.

From humble beginnings in Kalihi, Norman was a Mid-Pacific honor student, three-time class president, and a first team ILH basketball all-star for two years. After graduating from Mid-Pacific in 1958, Norm continued his success at the University of Hawai‘i, where he was a four-year basketball letterman, student body president, and the basketball team captain in his senior year.  

Norman went on to play professional basketball in the Philippines for a few years before returning to Honolulu to serve as head coach for the Mid-Pacific Varsity Boys’ Basketball team in the late 1960s. He then moved his family to Atlanta, where had a long and successful career as an IBM executive.