Maryknoll's Hayato Kamata, a 6-foot-4 senior swingman, scored 42 points in three games for the Spartans in wins over Kalani, Kahuku and tournament-host McKinley over the weekend. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Male Athlete of the Week: Hayato Kamata, Maryknoll basketball
Last season Hayato Kamata was the understudy to one of the state's best in Justice Sueing, Jr.

This year, with Sueing gone, Kamata will be looked to by Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant to fill that void.

Kamata, a 6-foot-4 senior swingman, is off to a nice start in 2015. He scored 42 points in three games for the Spartans in wins over Kalani, Kahuku and tournament-host McKinley over the weekend.

"He was playing really good during the summer, so he's just continuing it over (into the preseason)," Grant said. "He started using his height, he drives to the basket, he can shoot, he can attack the basket and he likes to get out on fast breaks."

Kamata led his team in scoring in a 63-37 blowout of Kalani (15 points, three 3's) Thursday and a 49-41 victory over Kahuku (17 points, four 3's) Friday.

"He came up really big for us in that Kahuku game," Grant said. "He hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter and kind of just pulled us away."

The Spartans trailed the Red Raiders 21-18 at halftime, but outscored them in the third quarter, 22-8.

All of Kamata's field goals came from behind the arc, where he shot 4 of 6. He also grabbed five rebounds and was 5 of 6 on free throws.

Grant said that Kamata, along with sophomore post Brian Washington and sophomore guard Jaylen Cain, will be expected to produce.

"We're going to ride him extremely heavy this season," Grant said of Kamata. "Every year I analyze what type of personnel I have and with him, Brian and Jaylen — those are our three future players, so I try to build schemes for those guys. Brian broke out one game, Jaylen hasn't turned up yet, but Hayato has been steady."

Kamata, mostly a reserve player in his first two varsity seasons for the Spartans, is the lone captain of the team.

"He's a quiet leader. He's out captain, he leads by example," Grant said. "He's always been a smart kid; I think he has a 3.75 GPA. He's always on his computer or in his books."

Grant said it wasn't just Kamata that benefitted from having Sueing on the team last year.

"Everybody learned from Justice and just watching his work ethic, how he approached the game, how he approached practice, how he approached his studies," Grant said. "Even though we only had him for one year, it was one year worth having because everybody got to see him work, even my own sons."

Kamata worked diligently in the weight room during the offseason, Grant said.

"Even though Hayata's body doesn't look like he's gotten stronger, he's spent a lot of time in the gym and lifting also," Grant said. "If not for volleyball, he would be there all year, but during basketball we try to squeeze in weight room and if not, heavy ropes."

Maryknoll will also be counting on 6-foot-8 junior Andreas Jankovic, the younger brother of University of Hawaii big man Stefan, and 6-foot-11 junior center Tenchi Robinson.

"For the most part the kids work hard in practice, but we definitely have guys that don't like to practice too hard, but when we go in games they play decent," Grant said. "That was the focal point of my speech today in our meeting before practice. I said that we cannot go half speed in practice and expect to play well every game; We have to go hard in practice."

The Spartans are 5-0 headed into this week's Castle Preseason Tournament, where they open with Radford Thursday.

Maryknoll will host the First Annual Tony Sellito Challenge which includes four teams from Canada and runs from Dec. 21-23 at its Clarence T.C. Wong Gymnasium.

Female Athlete of the Week: Jessica Hanashiro, Sacred Hearts basketball
The Sacred Hearts basketball team is off to a hot start with an unblemished 8-0 record in the preseason and a big part of its success can be traced to Jessica Hanashiro.

Hanashiro, a 5-foot-9 senior post, played a big role in the Lancers' latest win: a 53-50 victory over Roosevelt Wednesday. She scored a team-high 19 points, with a lot of it coming against the Rough Riders' standout forward Keala Quinlan.

"She went right at Quinlan in the post," said Sacred Hearts second-year coach Ryan Hogue, who also doubles as the school's athletic director. "She was able to score on her in the post, which was impressive, and she gets out and she runs. That's her benefit from being an undersized, but athletic center. She got points around the basket, she was filling lanes, grabbing loose rebounds and just kind of battling."

The Lancers have nine players on the varsity roster, which includes two juniors, three sophomores and one freshman. Hanashiro is one of three seniors on the team. The others seniors are Rachel "Mele" McDaniel — who had eight points against Roosevelt — and Zoe-Ann Yamamoto — who, like Hanashiro, is a fourth-year varsity player.

"They're three great kids that have really taken a leadership role and have opened their minds up to what do we need to do to have a great season," Hogue said.

Another key contributor for Sacred Hearts this year with be freshman forward Dallas Martinez, who netted 16 points against the Rough Riders.

"She's also very talented; she's the daughter of a coach so she's grown up in the gym and she's got a very high basketball IQ," Hogue said. "She's an undersized forward, but also sees time at (point guard). She creates some mismatches, she's very versatile, she can do a lot of things, she's naturally strong and she finishes well."

However, Hogue knows that he will lean on no one player this season as much as he will on Hanashiro.

"She's going to be very important," Hogue said. "We'll need her to stay focused and stay on task with what she's done so far this year and being able to contribute around the basket. She's a versatile threat so we need her to be a post presence and also a mismatch issue on offense. Plus, her leadership grows week by week. She's more committed to learning, she's working harder and the girls around her see the change and they know that they themselves can make the changes and find success."

The Lancers' average margin of victory this season has been nearly 21 points. They are holding opponent just 32.7 points per game, while scoring 53.4 offensively. Their largest blowout came in a 63-22 win over Kailua.

Hogue is hoping to parlay the early success into the regular season in the always-tough Division I circuit of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, with Iolani, Kamehameha, Maryknoll and Punahou all looming.

"I tell the girls, ‘Why not us? Why can't we not have a great season?' We're a small school and that's been the biggest challenge last year and going into this year," Hogue said. "If we go out and fight we can compete with these teams and our girls now believe it."

Hogue's squad had to rally Wednesday, outscoring Roosevelt 19-9 in the final quarter.

"We stuck with it, we trusted each other, we moved the ball well. They went up nine (points) on us and we just stuck with it. I think we cut it from nine to four in a matter of 20 seconds," Hogue said. "Our girls battled, they played hard, we had good shot selection, but I think a lot of our success comes from the girls trusting each other and playing together. I think Roosevelt was the way more talented team and we know we're going to see that in the ILH, so our philosophy is to trust each other and pass the ball."

The win over Roosevelt — the reigning two-time Oahu Interscholastic Association D1 champion — was a monumental confidence-builder for Sacred Hearts.

"I think that was the biggest thing that came from that game: the belief that we can compete with anybody and that the outcome will be a matter of heart and who wants it more," Hogue said. "The girls really believe in each other and so we expect to have a great season in the ILH."

Hanashiro and the Lancers will open the ILH season at Kamehameha Friday.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Keinan Agonias, Pahoa — Scored 28 points in a win over Kealakehe and scored 19 points in a win over Hilo

Sam Balantac, Baldwin — Scored 17 points in a win over Waianae and scored 15 points in a loss to Saint Francis

Brandon Campbell — Scored 16 points in a loss to Honokaa and scored 15 points in a loss to Saint Louis

Airon Castaneda, Waipahu — Scored 16 points in a win over Campbell and scored 15 points in a loss to Punahou II

Justin Daise, Mid-Pacific — Scored 21 points in a win over Saint Francis

Major Davis, Mid-Pacific — Scored 17 points in a loss to Kailua

Warren Feike, Baldwin — Scored 17 points in a win over Waianae

Manato Fukuda, St. Joseph — Scored 21 points in a loss to Keaau

Anterrio Gainwell, Jr., Leilehua — Scored 19 points in a  loss to Saint Louis

Joseph Gouty, Leilehua — Scored 26 points, including four 3-pointers, with four rebounds, four assists and two steals in a loss to Punahou and scored 15 points in a win over Lahainaluna

Todd Gruebner, Punahou II — Scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, in a loss to Kailua

Kobe Ikari, Kalani — Scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers, in a loss to Maryknoll and scored 16 points, including three 3-pointers, in a loss to Kamehameha

Jacob Flores, Kau — Scored 19 points in a loss to St. Joseph

Chance Kalaugher, Kaiser — Scored 17 points in a win over Hawaii Baptist

Micah Kalei, Saint Francis — Scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers, in a loss to Mid-Pacific

Andrew Kearney, Kalaheo — Scored 31 points in a win over Kamehameha

Chris Kobayashi, Punahou — Scored 15 points in a win over Moanalua and scored 19 points, including five 3-pointers, in a win over Mililani

Noah Kurosawa, Saint Francis — Scored 23 points, including six 3-pointers, in a win over Baldwin

Hirkley Latu, Kahuku — Scored 15 points in a win over University

Aaron Leong, Hanalani — Scored 18 points in a loss to Waipahu

Titus Liu, St. Joseph — Scored 15 points in a win over Kaui

Isaac Liva, Mililani — Scored 17 points in a loss to Punahou

Calvin Mattos, Waiakea — Scored 21 points in a win over Hilo

Micah Mitchell, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 16 points, including three 3-pointers, in a loss to Kaiser

Elton Naki, Castle — Had 17 points with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in a win over Nanakuli and had eight points, seven steals, four rebounds and two assists in a win over Waipahu

Natano Namulauti, Waianae — Scored 21 points, including three 3-pointers, in a loss to Punahou II

Kameron Ng, Saint Francis — Scored 16 points in a loss to Mid-Pacific and scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, in a win over Baldwin

Tristan Nichols, Saint Louis — Scored 32 points in a win over Radford

Kili Oliveira, Pahoa — Scored 18 points in a win over Kealakehe

Lawrence Padasdao, Hilo — Scored 16 points in a loss to Waiakea

Kaipo Padwell, Castle — Scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, with two rebounds and an assist in a win over Waialua

Sage Pulu, Moanalua — Scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, had four blocks, two steals and an assist in a win over Honokaa

Noa Purcell, Saint Louis — Scored 16 points in a win over Radford

Kekai Smith, Kalaheo — Scored 31 points in a win over Kamehameha

Pukana Vincent, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored 18 points in a win over Keaau

James Wilkins, Moanalua — Scored 16 points in a loss to Punahou and scored 19 points with 11 rebounds, two steals and an assist in a win over Honokaa

Jayden Zarriello, Kamehameha — Scored 18 points, including three 3-pointers, in a loss to Kalaheo and scored 17 points in a win over Kalani

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Dallas Martinez, Sacred Hearts — Scored 16 points in a win over Roosevelt

Keala Quinlan, Roosevelt — Scored 21 points in a loss to Sacred Hearts