Boys basketball

The sight of Dan Hale in a red Saint Louis coach’s polo shirt is a bit shocking. Hale, the former Punahou standout player and state championship coach, is in his element as an adopted Crusader. With the new facility up and nearing completion sometime in mid-2020, the physical education teacher will also be involved in running the new gym. Saint Louis, awaiting the return of as many as eight players once the football season is officially over, got a glimpse […]

If there was ever a coach who brought blue-collar work ethic to his team every day, Byron Mello was one of them. Mello stepped down as boys basketball coach at Moanalua on Wednesday, on the eve of Thanksgiving. The news came as a shock to the prep basketball community as preseason is well underway. Na Menehune finished No. 5 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 last season with a 21-8 overall record. The longtime head and assistant coach conferred with administrators […]

The time is right, and Kihei Kapeliela is ready. The former Kohala Cowboy player is the new varsity boys basketball head coach, taking over the reins from longtime coach Donn Fernandez, who retired recently. Kapeliela was a junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant for 11 years under Fernandez. Expectations for a small school with a strong basketball tradition are high. All but two of last year’s varsity players will return from a team that was 13-5 and reached the […]

The crown never comes before the coronation. Damien’s move to Division I, along with a No. 3 ranking in the final Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10, made it quite feasible that the Monarchs would be the top team in the state for the 2019-20 season. A Division II state champion moving up to D-I and winning the title immediately is rare. Damien fit the bill. However, the departure of their junior point guard, Jydon Hall, could be a setback for […]

Jason Justus’ time as Lahainaluna boys basketball coach has come to a close. Justus has resigned as head coach, effective immediately. He led the Lunas to state-tournament berths in each of his five years, developing a rigorous offseason program that lifted them to new heights. Justus, 44, is recently married and sensed that the time for change was here. “It’s a great program. I already miss it. There’s things in my life that changed. Rachel Kane, my assistant, we just […]