He was a tiny baller, hoisting a basketball up at a 10-foot rim that might as well have been Mount Tantalus.

Even as a 7-year-old, Kameron Ng rarely missed a shot. Not on the hardcourt at Salt Lake Mauka District Park. Not as a savvy sharpshooter at St. Francis.

Now a 5-foot-11 senior, Ng has the knack for splashing NBA-range 3s, slashing for drive-and-dish passes to open teammates, and using his crafty skills in the paint to elude defenders to get high-percentage shots and free throws.

It all added up to a spectacular senior season for Ng, who was voted by coaches and media as player of the year in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball All-State selections. Ng played in 31 of 39 St. Francis games, averaging more than 24 points per contest despite playing most of it on an injured ankle. He made up for it with guile, using his experience and preparation to threaten any defense from any spot within 25 feet, give or take four of five more steps toward the outer limits.

Chasing a dream means everything for Ng.

“I sacrificed a lot from my freshman year. We had our prom and I couldn’t go. We had practice for the (Kingdom) team. I didn’t go to one prom in high school,” he said. “I had to sacrifice a lot not because I was forced to. I wanted to get better. Coming from Hawaii, you don’t have as many opportunities, so you have to put in that much extra work to get known out there.”

The 500 daily shots, every day, all through the spring, summer and fall, were just part of the regimen Ng embraced as a part of life.

“It means a lot for (voters) to notice how much work I put in and to notice it on the court. It means a lot. I’m thankful for them,” he said.

Preparation was always about the details. Before St. Francis met nationally ranked La Lumiere — and a 6-9 center — Ng had specific methodology.

“We held a stick up and he shot over it,” St. Francis coach Ron Durant recalled. “I was watching (game) tape recently and Kameron made two shots over him.”

After returning from an ankle injury, he started the Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular season with patience, stepping up his attack in the second half of games. He poured in 21 or more points in 12 of the Saints’ 15 league contests. His season high of 40 came against Mid-Pacific, and he also scored 27 and 24 points against eventual ILH and state champion Maryknoll. Ng also poured in 29, 25 and 22 points against title contender ‘Iolani.

Ng also scored 42 against Leilehua, 39 against Rex Putnam and 36 on Kaiser.

With a consistent array of nagging injuries to his teammates, Ng and younger brother Kordel Ng — who was also voted to the Fab 15 — were part of an undersized, but resilient squad of Saints who battled to the end. Only in a playoff loss to ‘Iolani for the ILH’s third and final state-tournament berth did St. Francis’ final light on the boys hoops season go out.

For fans of St. Francis, which will close its classroom doors at the end of this academic year, this team was one of the many highlights.

“Being able to play as the last class, to take the school to the Division I level, that’s a nice legacy to leave on your way out,” Durant said.

Expectations among the Saints, who had won the previous two D-II state titles, were hopeful with the departure of several of their taller graduates. But almost by fate, one by one, several of their key players went down with injury, or simply played through them. Ng returned in January three weeks ahead of a six-week recovery schedule, limping by and finding ways to stay on the court.

“You can call me biased because I see him play every day,” Durant added. “But I always felt he was the best player in the state. I never thought you had to be at states as a prerequisite. You can’t coach heart. They either have it or they don’t.”

Opportunity for a private-school education, and opportunity to have the ball in his hands made St. Francis the best fit.

“For me coming out of a small school like St. Francis, other kids at smaller schools like Damien, or D-III schools, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at,” Ng said. “You can still put in work and get noticed by everybody in the state.”

Where Ng, his brother, his father (assistant coach Kekoa Ng) and the rest of the Saints land in the fall is collection of question marks. Ng has interest from a mix of colleges. One of them wants him to play at a prep school in Pennsylvania.

The Ng brothers departed on Thursday for New Zealand with the rest of the Kingdom of Hawaii basketball team. They are the only two high school players on the roster from Hawaii.

Coach of the year honors went to Kelly Grant, who guided Maryknoll to its first state championship since 1984, when he was a senior guard for the Spartans. Grant also coached the ’07 Kaimuki Bulldogs to a state crown.

Alvin Stephenson, who led Damien to a D-II state title — the first state championship for the school in any sport — was second in the COY voting. Like Grant, Stephenson is a former player of legendary coach Tony Sellitto. Dean Shimamoto of ‘Iolani was voted third after lifting the Raiders to the semifinal round of the state tourney in his 10th and final season as head coach.

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