Limping Coach Grant Looks To Healthy Bulldog Season

Wednesday - July 02, 2008
By Jack Danilewicz
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An injured knee may have forced Kelly Grant to slow down of late, but his Kaimuki basketball team is picking up its own pace this summer.

“We’ve been a low-post team for the last four or five years, but we’d like to play a little more up tempo with this team,“said Grant, who led Kaimuki to the 2007 state title. “Ryan (Kakitani) and David (Taulung) both have the ability to create, and we want to use that. They’re both good slashers, and they can really see the floor. We’ve also been on TV so much everyone knows what we do, so it’s time for some changes,“he added.“The other teams were calling our offense out before we did.”

In addition to fine-tuning their schemes, the Bulldogs also are redefining goals after missing the state tourney last February for the first time in seven years. Kaimuki had won the OIA championship in both 2006 and 2007 and was the state runner-up to Iolani in 2006 before its riveting run to the title the following year. Heavy losses to graduation and key injuries to upand-coming underclassmen helped to undercut the program’s momentum last season, but Grant is high on his current team, although he has relied more heavily on assistant coaches (Richard Miyasaki, Glen Jandoc and Kendall Ellingwood) this summer after tearing a tendon playing basketball himself.


“It’s part of realizing that it’s time for me to quit,” joked Grant, who helped lead Maryknoll to the 1984 state championship as a player. The Bulldogs co-host a summer league with Kaiser this month, which also features Kalani, University High, Farrington and a Hawaii-Select traveling all-star team. While Grant is not concerned with wins and losses at this stage, summer is often when teams develop cohesiveness. In Kakitani and Taulung as well as 6-foot-2 junior-to-be Desmond Tautofi, the Bulldogs return one of the better trios in Island basketball.

“Hopefully, the kids will be a little more hungry to try to get back to the state tournament,“Grant said. “I know many of them were disappointed. The more the kids are together as a group, the better they’ll play together.” The Bulldogs also hope for a clean bill of health for 2008-09. Last winter, Kakitani and Taulung were both enjoying stellar campaigns before ankle injuries limited their considerable abilities. Kakitani has started since the midway point of Kaimuki’s state title season of 2007 and will be a captain next season, according to his coach.


“He’s very confident and a leader by example,“Grant said.“He motivates the team through his effort, and he can carry a team when he needs to. David has unbelievable fight (within) on the floor, and he doesn’t lose his composure.“Tautofi will enter his junior season at the end of next fall with a full season as a starter under his belt. He also played with the Bulldogs during their post-season in 2007.

“He’s starting to mature and understand that he’s the focal point with his size. He’s been coming to practice regularly, and he’s definitely s bright kid who has the smarts.

Kaimuki continues Summer League play at 7 p.m. Thursday versus Farrington.

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