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Bulldogs No. 1 After Exciting Finale At State Tournament

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Kaimuki’s Beau Albrechtson attempts to shoot over Kalaheo’s Clifton Pires. Photo by Byron Lee
Kaimuki’s Beau Albrechtson
attempts to shoot over
Kalaheo’s Clifton Pires.
Photo by Byron Lee,
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Kaimuki head basketball coach Kelly Grant was discussing senior Keone Reyes when he acknowledged his star forward had played with a chip on his shoulder in the recently completed state tournament, but he might as well have been referring to the entire Bulldog team.

In prep basketball circles, old reputations live on, after all.

“Keone likes the spotlight, and he likes people doubting him and the team,” said Grant, whose Bulldogs gave the Oahu Interscholastic Association its first state champion in six years on Feb. 23 with a 61-53 win over Punahou.

“There’s always been a mystique that the ILH is better than the OIA. I was really happy for our league. It was neat to hear the crowd chant, ‘OIA’ in the last few minutes of the game.”

Since that night, the Bulldogs have been in the celebration mode.

“It’s a supportive community in general, and the people have really been great to us,” said Grant.

In the coming days, Big City Diner will host the team for a luncheon, while a Kaimuki alum will also take the team and its coaching staff to Sam Choy’s for a celebration. An event is also in the works for unveiling the state championship banner that will hang in the school gym.

Kaimuki’s state championship is its first in basketball since 1994 and the OIA’s first since 2001 when Kalaheo won its third under the late Pete Smith.

Although the Bulldogs had won the OIA title last year, they looked like they would be hard-pressed to repeat it this winter. They finished the regular season tied with Kailua and Moanalua for second in the East behind Kalaheo, which had beaten the Bulldogs in both meetings between the teams. Kaimuki’s season turned in the last week of January, when it began a run that would see them win 10 of 11 games, seven of them in a row. The Bulldogs beat Kalaheo 56-45 in the OIA title game Feb. 16, and went on to beat Saint Louis, Kamehameha-Hawaii and Punahou in the Division I state tournament. The state tournament runner-up to Iolani last year, Kaimuki entered this year’s tour-ney as No. 2 seed.

“The kids began to turn it on in practice, and our concentration was much better as we got closer to the playoffs,” said Grant, whose coaching staff included Kendall Ellingwood, Glen Jandoc, Matafaga Loa and Jeff Rhode. “As much as they knew the regular season would set the seedings; the playoffs were what they were really interested in. I could tell (in the post-season) that we were really relaxed. Whenever you win a championship the year before, you lose some of the pressure (the next year).”

The Bulldogs had lost five of their top eight players from a year ago in terms of minutes played, but the three returnees had been the team’s leading scorers last season. Along with Reyes, Kaimuki also welcomed back guard Daniel Colon and 6-foot-6 forward Beau Albrechtson. All three shot better than 70 percent from the free throw line on the season with Reyes and Albrechtson combining to convert 18 of 19 in the state title game.

“Daniel was our most consistent player throughout the season,” Grant said. “He really worked on his jump shot, and that made him more of a threat because opposing teams had to pay attention to his shooting.

“Beau really benefited from playing with Keone and Daniel,” he added. “He learned to move well without the ball.”

The Bulldogs also featured Chezz Ramos-Dias, Craig Cabudol, Brandon Madamba, Bryan Lim, Chauncey Nicola, Jamari Hamilton, Kamahoi Cookman, Makali’i Nahinu, Ryan Kakitani, Perry Faleao, Tyler Fessenden-Batis, Desmond Tautofi and Preacher Namdrik.

For his part, Grant joined Daryl Gabriel and the late Pete Smith in becoming only the third individual in Hawaii to win a state title as a player and a coach. Grant was a member of the 1984 Maryknoll team that won the state under Tony Sellitto. He vividly recalled the rivalry that festered with Punahou, located only a couple of blocks away. Grant is still bound to Punahou through his wife, Mia, who graduated from the school.

“When I was in high school, we would walk to the game when we played them,” said Grant of his Maryknoll days. “This year, when we played in the Iolani Classic, we walked through the community as a team to our first game. It brought back a lot of memories.”

As he looked ahead to next season, Grant was very much back in workmanlike mode. Although he loses Colon, Albrechtson and Reyes to graduation, the foundation is solid for the Bulldogs. He made it clear that complacency wouldn’t be an issue.

“It will be interesting this summer - (the kids) and I will be spending a lot of time together,” mused Grant.

“We’re going to find out right away who’s willing to put the time in. The last thing I like to hear is that this is a rebuilding year. We have talent on campus, but as far as playing time goes (at the varsity level), we don’t have that.”