Once upon a time, more than a decade ago, there was a little boy and a basketball.
The boy loved to shoot baskets. At the park. In the gym where his daddy coached. Anywhere. Any time, for hours on end. He hardly missed, even though he was as tiny as his dad was tall. On this day, the two were at Salt Lake Mauka Park. Drills were done. Kameron Ng just kept hoisting the ball up again and again.
“At a very young age, around 18 months old,” said his dad, Kekoa Ng, “I started taking him to the gym almost every day because I was either playing or coaching and he would just sit on the bench and watch. People thought he was my ‘buddy doll’ which was popular then.”
Basketball, Kameron says, was natural goodness.
“Basketball was always fun for me. I started playing when I was 4 years old,” he recalled. “I don’t think it was natural, but I started when I was young, so it was ingrained into my head.”
That boy grew up with his little brother, Kordel, and they became two extreme hoopsters, working on their craft and their conditioning, training every day non-stop. Dad didn’t have to say much; they just liked the mission, the challenge, the competition.
Joining the Saints
Kameron Ng became quite a scorer on the hardwood. After attending ‘Iolani in middle school, he transferred to St. Francis to become a Saint alongside Kordel. The program became stocked with basketball talent, and the Saints worked their way into the spotlight, knocking off premier Division I programs like Punahou over a two-year span. After two years of winning the D-II state championships, St. Francis declared itself a D-I team for the 2018-19 season.
The Saints, ranked No. 5 in the Star-Advertiser boys basketball top 10, are 12-7 against one of the toughest preseason schedules statewide.
“We’re going to play on Maui (Lahainaluna) next,” Kameron Ng said of the final tournament before ILH play tips off next week.
The hunger and achievement weren’t always ingrained. The turning point for Kameron Ng was during freshman year.
“Many people don’t know this, but we lost in the state semifinals to Seabury Hall and something in my head went click. The next week, I rested one day and my dad didn’t have to ask me about working out anymore,” he said. “In here (St. Francis gym), outdoor parks, anywhere we could.”
No slowing down
What makes the Ng brothers different from most island players is simple. They never stop working. The weight room. The 6 a.m. shooting drills every day before class. The explosiveness work. Kordel, one of the state’s best shot blockers at 5-8, has taken one day off since last season.
Kameron averaged 12 points per game as a freshman and 19 points per game as a sophomore. As a junior, he scored 22 points per game as the Saints captured their second state title.
In November, he began his senior year with a bang. Ng dropped 36 points against Kaiser and 42 on Leilehua. On Nov. 30, however, he rolled his right ankle against Kailua after scoring 13 points in the first quarter. The prognosis was 10 weeks of rest and healing to get back to 100 percent.
By the ‘Iolani Classic, three weeks after the injury, Ng scored 16 points against eventual champion La Lumiere (Ind.). He had a modest 12 points against Roosevelt, then exploded for 32 against Campbell and 30 on Kailua — three upper-tier OIA teams. He’s been hot before, but like this?
“He’s in a rhythm right now. In a groove. He lets the ball go and you know it’s going in,” Saints head coach Ron Durant said. “I haven’t seen him be in a rhythm like this before.”
During the three weeks Ng was recuperating, brother Kordel was operating. The junior had always been a steady role player along with two-way weapon Jett Tanuvasa, 3-point specialist Titan Liu, up-and-coming Chase Akana, and big man Nalu Kanalulu. But Kordel, always a standout defender and capable of rising and dunking in traffic on defenders as big as 6 feet, 6 inches, showed his evolution as an offensive threat.
In the second half of a close win over Moanalua, he scored 21 of his 28 points. There was a 40-point game against Waiakea. Against No. 1 Punahou, he poured in 25 points during the final of the St. Francis Holiday Hoops Classic. In the first half.
Kordel, a left-hander, reminds Roosevelt coach Steve Hathaway of another smooth lefty from years past: Mikey Kleman of Farrington. Kordel Ng during Kameron’s absence: 23.6 points per game, including 40 against Waiakea and 32 on Punahou.
Kameron returned for the ‘Iolani Classic and Kordel still scored 20 against La Lumiere, which could become the No. 1 team in the nation this week. He has also played close to 32 minutes per game, playing with fatigue, but still effective, even with a broken pinky finger on his non-shooting hand.
Off the court
Kameron Ng plans to sing the national anthem and Hawaii Pono‘i before a game. It’s just a matter of when. That’s news to everyone else.
“I didn’t even know that. He never sings in front of me,” Durant said. “I think they’re pulling your leg.”
“Kameron is more of a shower singer,” Kekoa said. “I don’t think he would sing in public.”
With the seven-days-a-week hoops life, there’s scarcely any free time. Each brother carries a 3.4 grade-point average. Kordel gets his mind off things in the back yard, where he has mastered another skill.
“I can out-putt anybody,” he claimed. “My grandpa (Bryon) built a putting green. I can’t play golf, but I can putt.”
GETTING TO KNOW …
Kameron Ng
St. Francis basketball, Senior
Kordel Ng
St. Francis basketball, Junior
Favorites and Q&A
Athlete
Kordel: Allen Iverson. He was below 6 feet and I think he was one of the best players.
Kameron: Allen Iverson. I like how he carried himself, how everyone told him he was too small and he overcame it. He did himself.
Team
Kordel: Los Angeles Lakers since LeBron (James) is there.
Kameron: I like the Boston Celtics since (Rajon) Rondo was there. I thought they would be doing better since LeBron went to the West.
Food (at home)
Kordel: My mom’s Spam musubis. Mom (Cheryl Ng) usually makes it when we go to the beach. She makes the sauce on it, that’s good.
Kameron: Shepherd’s pie. It’s meat and carrots, green beans with mashed potatoes and cheese on top.
Food (eating out)
Kordel: Steak. And the spicy ahi poke from Manoa Sushi.
Kameron: Raising Cane’s. I like it better than Chik-Fil-A. It has a little bit of everything. There’s only one sauce. You don’t need any other sauce.
Hobby
Kordel: Golf. My grandpa (Byron Ng) always teaches us how to putt in the back yard. I swing like Happy Gilmore, 400 (feet). I have never lost in mini-putt. I challenge anybody.
Kameron: I just like hanging out with my friends and family at the beach.
Movie
Kordel: ‘50 First Dates.’ It’s about a girl who loses her memory every day. At first, she doesn’t remember who her boyfriend is, she thinks he’s weird so he has to keep reminding her who he is. It’s on Netflix. I’ve seen it 10 times. The walrus is the best part.
Kameron: ‘Moana.’ My little cousins watched it every day while they were visiting here, so I learned all the songs. They’re all catchy.
Kordel: Kameron is an amazing singer.
TV show
Kordel: ‘Spongebob Squarepants.’ I watched it every day when I was little because I’m a Goofy Goober.
Kameron: ‘Hawaii 5-0’ and ‘Magnum P.I.’ My grandparents have the series on DVD, so I spent a lot of time watching the original one. I got to see what was happening back then in Hawaii.
Video game
Kordel: ‘Call of Duty Black Ops IV.’ They brought back maps from ‘Black Ops I.’ I didn’t really play video games until last year. I never had a console.
Kameron: I tried video games and I was terrible, so I stuck to basketball. Anyone could beat me.
What’s something you’re good at that might surprise people?
Kordel: Golf. Putting.
Kameron: I’ll expose my hidden talent. I like to sing. I can sing like Beyonce.
Would you sing the national anthem and Hawaii Pono‘i?
Kameron: Sure.
Bucket list activities
Kordel: I would love to go to Africa. Cameroon, hang out with the people, get to know how they live.
Kameron: Hanging out with Rihanna.
What’s the history of your name?
Kordel: My name comes from a wine called Korbel, so my mom changed it to Kordel.
Kameron: A lot of people don’t know this, but my mom pronounces my name ‘Kam-ee-ron.’ When she’s mad, she says, ‘Kam-ee-ron, come here!’
