The senior guard was named the D1 state tournament's Most Outstanding Player last week. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Athlete of the Week: Makoto Kamata, Maryknoll boys basketball
Makoto Kamata was a study in consistency for the Maryknoll boys basketball team all season, which culminated last week with the program's first state title since 1984 and the aforementioned Kamata earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the Snapple Division I State Championships.

Kamata, a 6-foot-3, 160-pound shooting guard capped off his four-year varsity career by averaging a team-best 14.6 points per game last week to help the top-seeded Spartans go 3-0 en route to the state crown.

"He played unbelievable," Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said of Kamata, a three-year starter. "There was a time during the course of all three games where he just took over and carried the whole team on his shoulders."

Kamata opened the tournament by netting 11 points, along with two assists and a block in Thursday's 51-30 quarterfinal win over then-No. 8 Kapolei. He followed that up with 17 points, five boards, two steals and one assist in a 47-29 win over seventh-ranked Kailua in Friday's semifinal round.

But he wasn't done just yet.

Kamata went for 16 points — including 8-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line — as well as two assists and two blocks in Saturday's 50-34 win over second-ranked Punahou in the championship game.

A solid week, to be sure, but not all that different from the rest of Kamata's season, during which he averaged a team-best 12.8 points per game in ILH play.

"He's been doing what he did the last three games the whole season," Grant said. "He was just consistent. At every game I knew that he was going to be ready to play; he's very dependable."

Kamata reached double-figures in scoring in all but three league games this season, including back-to-back games in which he recorded a season-high 18 points in Iolani and Saint Louis in early January.

"He had one bad game — that was against Kamehameha (a 34-33 loss on a buzzer beater) — and I'm not making an excuse for him or any of the seniors, but all of the seniors had a huge project that was due that day, so Makoto was scrambling and stayed up all night to finish that project so he had a horrible game, but I think that was the only game he shot poorly."

However, it wasn't just his shooting ability that was instrumental to the Spartans' success this year.

"If he wasn't able to hit some of his jump shots, then he could change his approach and attack the basket. If the offensive set allowed him to get a 3-point shot off in big moments, he took it," Grant said. "He took charges, he grabbed rebounds, (but) I think as far as our team, when he decided defense was really important, that made a really big impact on how well he played."

Grant elaborated on Kamata's importance to the Spartans on the defensive end of the floor.

"If it wasn't the best player, he guarded the second best player on the opposing team. He's very underrated as a defender. When he puts his mind to it, he can shut people down, and he did that the whole season," Grant said.

Maryknoll's defense was superb at the state tournament, holding the Hurricanes, Surfriders and Buffanblu to their lowest scoring outputs of the season.

"To be honest, I expected that if we were gonna win, that he was gonna win that Most Outstanding Player," Grant said. "That's just how he is. I've coached over 30 years, so you know who the gamers are and who aren't and every game it's been Marcus (Tobin), Kalai (Akaka), Makoto — I mean, all five guys have had big games — but consistently probably Makoto has had the best games overall. There were some games where he would touch the ball on 75 percent of the possessions and he would end up with one turnover the entire game."

Grant said Kamata's role and responsibilities increased with each season. Last season he was "kind of like the sidekick" to standout Jaylen Cain.

"Last year all the plays went through Jaylen, but when Jaylen got too much attention that would leave Makoto open and there was a stretch last year of four or five games where he couldn't miss a 3-point shot," Grant said. "This year was a little different. We had a lot of (offensive) options this year, but Makoto was the go-to guy. I had to change my approach to scoring because Jaylen was an attack-the-basket guy, whereas Makoto has a little bit of everything. He can attack the basket, but he's a little bit of a better shooter."

It's not but a conventional jump shot that Kamata possesses, however.

"His shot is awkward. I've never seen anybody shoot the ball the way he does; his body jumps to the side," Grant said. "He's sneaky quick, he has extremely long arms — he has the arms of like a 6-foot-9 guy — and he's not afraid of big moments."

Off the court, Grant calls Kamata a "happy-go-lucky kind of guy.

"He's kind of a jokester. He's not a trouble maker of that sort or whatever. He just goes day by day. He just wants to have a good time. He's got a lot of friends and he loves to surf," Grant said. "It was kind of tough for him because I don't allow those guys to get in the water during basketball season, so after the championship game one of our assistant coaches told him, ‘You can go to the beach tomorrow, buddy.' "

Kamata, a dual citizen of both the United States and Japan, has yet to decide what path he will take after graduation this spring.

"I know he has the option of going to play professionally in Japan, but I'm hearing he wants to try and pursue a career in college — D2 or D3 somewhere," Grant said. "The coaches of the Japanese National Team really liked him and I know during the season somebody contacted the parents and said they wanted to sign him now, but Makoto wanted to finish the season and graduate."

BOYS BASKETBALL
Aaron Baker, Kalaheo — Scored 17 points, including four 3-pointers, in a loss to Kailua

Hayden Bayudan, Damien — Scored 17 points with four assists and three steals in a win over Kohala and scored 18 points with four steals and two rebounds in a win over Seabury Hall

Ja'Shon Carter, Kapolei — Scored 24 points with three rebounds, two steals and an assist in a win over Baldwin, scored 20 points with five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in a win over Waiakea and scored 18 points with four assists, two rebounds and two steals in a win over Moanalua

O'Shen Cazimero, Kohala — Scored 25 points with five rebounds, three steals and two assists in a loss to Kaiser

Mario Drummer, Kaiser — Scored 18 points with five rebounds and an assist in a win over Kohala

Leif Fautanu, University Lab — Scored 14 points with 15 rebounds in a loss to Hawaii Prep and scored 16 points with 15 rebounds and one steal in a loss to Kauai

Frank Felix, Iolani — Scored 17 points, including five 3-pointers, with four rebounds, two assists and two steals in a win over Hilo

Bryce Forbes, Damien — Scored 18 points with eight rebounds and four blocks in a win over Kohala and scored 20 points with seven rebounds, three blocks, two steals and an assist in a win over Seabury Hall

Jydon Hall, Damien — Scored 19 points with five rebounds, five assists and two steals in a win over Farrington

Jake Holtz, Damien — Scored 11 points with 13 rebounds, six blocks and two steals in a win over Kohala

Isaiah Hopson, Kailua — Scored 19 points with 14 rebounds, four blocks, one assist and a steal in a win over Kalaheo

Kama Konohia, Seabury Hall — Scored 11 points with 10 rebounds, one steal and an assist in a loss to Damien

Kawika Lee, Iolani — Scored 17 points with five rebounds, two assists and a steal in a win over Moanalua

Kaulana Makaula, Punahou — Scored 17 points with three rebounds, three blocks, one steal and an assist in a win over Lahainaluna

Raefe McEnroe, Farrington — Scored 17 points with 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals in a win over Hawaii Prep and scored 16 points with 11 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal in a loss to Damien

Elijah McGruder, Moanalua — Scored 11 points with 12 rebounds, one assist and a block in a loss to Iolani

Reese Pascua, Lahainaluna — Scored 21 points with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists in a loss to Moanalua

Ricky Ralston, Kauai — Scored 13 points with 12 rebounds and two steals in a loss to Farrington and scored 15 points with 12 rebounds, one assist, one block and a steal in a win over Kaiser

Tre Rickard, Lahainaluna — Scored 25 points with two assists, two steals and a rebound in a loss to Punahou

Luke Stevens, Kaiser — Scored 12 points with 11 rebounds, two steals and a block in a loss to Seabury Hall

Kaimani Tecson, Kauai — Scored 19 points with nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in a win over University Lab

Marcus Tobin, Maryknoll — Scored 17 points with five rebounds in a win over Punahou

Everett Torres-Kahapea, Kailua — Scored 22 points, including four 3-pointers, with five rebounds, two assists and one steal in a win over Kalaheo, scored 22 points, including four 3-pointers, with four rebounds, two steals, one assist and a block in a win over Waiakea and scored 19 points, including four 3-pointers, with four rebounds and an assist in a loss to Iolani

Valentinas Ulinas, Hawaii Prep — Scored 22 points with eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block in a win over University Lab and scored 22 points with seven rebounds, one assist and a block in a win over Seabury Hall

John Werner, Baldwin — Scored 10 points with 10 rebounds and a block in a loss to Kapolei

Sam Wheeler, Iolani — Scored 21 points with five rebounds, three steals and an assist in a win over Moanalua