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Bulldogs’ Kakitani Eager To Bounce Team Back To The Top

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Ryan Kakitani keeps the ball close while his Kaimuki teammates try to deter his attempts to score during a recent practice. Photo by Nathalie Walker, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Fear of the unexpected won’t likely enter into Ryan Kakitani’s mind-set. To be sure, there isn’t much the Kaimuki senior hasn’t lived through during his first three years with the varsity basketball team.

As a freshman just called up in time for the post-season by coach Kelly Grant, Kakitani was part of a Bulldog team that won the school’s first OIA title in 13 years and was the state tournament runner-up to then four-time defending champion Iolani.

A year later as a sophomore, he and Kaimuki won both the OIA and state title. Equally vivid in his memory is the fallout from those successes that followed last year as the Bulldogs fizzled to 4-9 in an injury-plagued season.

Kakitani was among the injured, having sprained an ankle that kept him out of the OIA playoffs. As the team prepares for the Iolani Classic, where it’s guaranteed of playing four games this week and weekend, Kakitani and his team-mates have used last year’s struggles as motivation this preseason.

“We’re all hungry,” he said. “We were out in the first round (of the OIA playoffs) last year, and that’s new to Kaimuki to be eliminated so fast. We’re a lot deeper this year. I probably won’t have to play as many minutes.”

Kakitani is a key component in the Bulldogs’ hefty plans this year, along with fellow returnees David Taulung and center Desmond Tautofi. Labeled first as a shooter, Kakitani’s all-around game has improved steadily since his freshman year, by design.

“My sophomore year, I shot pretty well from the outside,” he said. “Last year, I scored a lot driving to the basket. I want to put together both parts of my game, be more of a threat, and be less predictable. Desmond will open things up a lot more. He makes it easier for the guards, and David will turn some heads this year.”

Cracking the lineup at Kaimuki is no small feat , especially as a sophomore, as Kakitani was. His case is even more unique in that he’d never played organized basketball before high school.

“Basketball had to grow on me,” he said.“I wasn’t really good when I started in fifth grade. I used to play at the Boys and Girls Club by Washington Middle School. After a year, I got better. I just started playing every day, and that was the main thing. I used to play baseball, but since middle school, it has just been basketball. I like the up-and-down (style). I like the tempo of basketball. It’s not slow like other sports.”

Since joining the Kaimuki program, basketball has become an all-consuming interest. His work ethic is unmistakable in his favorite sport,but he admitted he’s less motivated in his spare time.

“I’m pretty boring. I watch TV and play video games. Outside of basketball, I’m pretty lazy.”

During the summer, Kakitani, who is the second oldest of four children born to Satoe and Setsuo Kakitani, traveled to Japan by way of a group from his church and took a break from basketball.

“I was gone for three or four weeks, and I never touched a basketball the entire time.” If he has his way, he will continue to play basketball in college with hopes of someday becoming a psychologist.

“If I had a chance to play basketball, I’d pretty much go anywhere, although school will always be first,” he said. That is all part of the future, of course.

For the present, Kakitani and Kaimuki are preparing for a high-profile game with Putnam City High School of Oklahoma City at 6 p.m. Thursday in the opening round of the Iolani Classic, after having come out of one of the busiest weeks of the season academically and athletically.

“It’s still early,” Kakitani said. “Lately, everybody’s been trying to get their grades up.

With everybody back, we’ll have a pretty good team. Teams sometimes slow down as a season goes on, so we’ll see. Hopefully, we won’t die out.”

Putnam City is led by 6-foot-6 Memphis-bound forward Xavier Henry, who is currently the top-ranked shooting guard in the nation by the recruiting service Rivals.com