Boys basketball

Defense is no cliche in 2019. The Maryknoll Spartans proved it, capturing the boys basketball state championship and closing the season at No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10. Only four times in 32 games was an opponent able to reach the 50-point mark, and only one of those teams still managed to beat Maryknoll. The Spartans limited Punahou to a season-low 34 points in the state final on Saturday. Maryknoll (30-2) held the pole position in the rankings for […]

There are trees and there are basketball trees. Tony Sellitto got to witness and enjoy two former players guide their basketball teams to state championships on Saturday night. It was, he said, a greater thrill than winning a small-college national title. Kelly Grant, who played on the first and only Maryknoll state championship team under Sellitto in 1984, guided the Spartans to a 30-2 season, beating Punahou 50-34 in the final. Alvin Stephenson, recruited by Sellitto to HPU out of […]

The distance from Southern California to Hawaii is far enough. For Alvin Stephenson, the day he set foot in the islands three decades ago might as well be an ocean away, too. Coming to the islands after turning down an offer from UCLA to play basketball was in his gut. Once he began playing for Tony Sellitto, he may have had second, third and fourth thoughts about the rigorous, demanding persistence of his new coach. After eight seasons as Damien’s […]

The day after, it was more of the grind for Maryknoll boys basketball coach Kelly Grant. Or more so, for his son Payton. Eighteen hours after Maryknoll won its first state championship in 35 years, Grant was at a batting cage as his son got some swings in. Baseball season is in session. For one unforgettable night, Grant and Damien coach Alvin Stephenson aligned in the coaching tree — a small, but powerful universe — of legendary Tony Sellitto. Grant […]

The Maryknoll Spartans usually learn from wisdom. Between last year and this year, however, they learned from pain. From experience. A loss to Kahuku in the state-tournament semifinals was more than a wake-up call. It sparked a movement to become more. As in more physical. They hit the weight room with a dedication rarely seen in the storied lore of Spartan basketball history. That muscle and leverage turned a team of tall, long and thin hoopsters into one of the […]

Maybe they should’ve jumped Division I after all. There won’t be any complaints from Monarch nation, though. Top-seeded Damien imposed its will from the opening tip and ravaged Farrington 73-50 to capture the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball Division II State Championship on Saturday night at Stan Sheriff Center. The teams entered the state tourney ranked No. 3 (Damien) and No. 10 (Farrington in the Star-Advertiser Top 10. For a supposed lower-division matchup, it played out with the kind of electricity and […]