Some dreams require more persistence than others.
While contributing to Lahainaluna’s run of four Maui Interscholastic League titles, Keleah-Aiko Koloi envisioned continuing her basketball career at the University of Hawaii.
For a while it appeared her post-high school path might veer elsewhere. But the tumblers fell into place to unlock an opportunity late in the recruiting calendar and fulfill a goal set while following the Rainbow Wahine as a youngster.
“Ever since I was a little girl I’d watch volleyball with my mom and basketball with my dad, and this was my dream school to come to,” Koloi said.
While signing with UH was an initial payoff for her perseverance, her patience was tested again by a knee injury that curtailed her preseason preparation and kept her out of the team’s first two games.
While Koloi continues to play catch-up in game conditioning, the freshman forward has contributed her smooth shooting touch to UH’s youthful post rotation.
“It would be nice to continue to get her in shape, keep her healthy and see what she can do for us because she has the best shooting percentage on our team,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “(She’s) still working on that Division I pace and physicality, but with time I think she gets a lot better.”
Koloi leads the Rainbow Wahine (3-8) with a .552 shooting percentage (16-for-29) while averaging 14.5 minutes off the bench going into today’s game against Grand Canyon (7-4) at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Wahine and Antelopes tip off at 5:30 p.m. in the first game of a UH basketball doubleheader with the UH men’s game against Delaware State scheduled for 8.
Koloi was a Star-Advertiser Fab 15 pick at Lahainaluna, averaging 16.3 points per game her senior year as one of the tallest players in the MIL. Her adjustment to Division I college ball as a 6-foot post player meant reversing her mind-set in the paint.
“Going from being the biggest girl to the smallest post is a big transition for me,” Koloi said. “Before it would be ‘make yourself big,’ but now it’s staying low.”
Her touch on mid-range jumpers and around the rim remained reliable and she went 5-for-5 from the field against Youngstown State in her UH debut on Nov. 18. She is coming off a 4-for-6 night in an eight-point, eight-rebound performance at Boise State last week.
Koloi looked up to former Molokai standout and Wahine volleyball and basketball player Kalei Adolpho and her chance to represent the MIL at UH came together when she posted a qualifying score on the ACT exam in the spring.
She’d come up short earlier and when her latest score arrived, “my mom kind of looked like she was all sad,” Koloi recalled. “(Then) she said, ‘you’re eligible girl,’ and I was jumping up and down.”
With UH seeking post players following the transfers of Megan Huff and Dalayna Sampton, it didn’t take long for Beeman and Koloi to connect.
In accepting the UH offer, Koloi became the third member of Lahainaluna’s senior class to sign with Division I programs, joining Cameron Fernandez (Washington State) and Fa-Ko-Fiemea Hafoka (San Jose State).
“Throughout high school Coach Todd (Rickard) told us we were all D-I prospects and we were like ‘hmmm, I don’t know,’” Koloi said. “But then Cameron got offered, Mea got offered, and I got offered. I’m beyond proud of them because we’ve grown so much in high school.”
