Times are good for the Mililani Trojans, even when their coach is miles away.
Even without their top two inside forces of last season, the Trojans are 9-3 in nonconference play and ranked No. 4 in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10.
Roman Gabriel, a 6-foot-3 senior, is leading the way with 17 points per game, including a surreal 35-point, six-trey performance against Altamonte Christian (Fla.) during the Moanalua Invitational.
While the Trojans got ready for the final day of the Kaimuki Invitational on Saturday, across the country, Garrett and Dori Gabriel were in New York with Roman’s middle brother, Dillon, at the Downtown Athletic Club. Hawaii’s latest finalist for the Heisman Trophy soaked it all in, and while the college football world knows all about Dillon Gabriel and the return of the Oregon Ducks to national prominence, they may not have known that he and the family were also checking their phones.
Garrett Gabriel, the boys basketball coach at Mililani, left the team in the capable hands of his veteran staff, but it wasn’t an automatic decision. The prospect of playing some of the ILH’s best teams at the tourney weighed on the coach before travel plans were made.
“Dillon was telling me to stay back, it’s Roman’s senior year. But Roman was saying this is once in a lifetime. That’s the kind of love they have for each other,” Garrett Gabriel said.
Mililani advanced through the first two rounds of the Kaimuki Invitational with a 77-31 win over Kealakehe and a 69-46 win over Kaimuki. Night had fallen on the East Coast when the coach got more good news.
“We were up there celebrating when we heard they beat Punahou,” said Gabriel, a former Maryknoll standout.
Roman Gabriel had 16 points in a 66-60 win over Punahou.
“We were texting back and forth. The past week, there’s positives in everything. The team heard different voices, all the coaches on our staff. I’m not just the bad guy. They hear it from somebody else. It’s good for them to hear from the assistants,” Garrett Gabriel said.
Dori Gabriel was glued to her phone for most of Saturday once the ceremony was done.
“We’re disappointed Dillon didn’t get the Heisman, but we’re stoked they beat Punahou. Someone had it on Facebook Live,” she said.
It was redemption for the Trojans, who lost to Punahou at the James Alegre Invitational, 60-46, in November.
“Last time we played them, we were up at halftime and lost,” Roman Gabriel recalled. “Punahou has Tanoa Scanlan, Ethan Chung. Zion White is an athletic freak, but we had some scorers off the bench. Tui (Tukimaka). Tykea Johnson came back from the mainland to play here his final year. This was our most complete game.”
The Mililani Trojans took a major hit in the offseason when their springy, hard-working, shot-blocking 6-foot-7 swingman departed for San Diego. Tim Dorn was always slated to leave Hawaii with his family once his father’s four-year military stint was done. Dorn is now at Mira Mesa, one of the stronger programs in the region.
Fast-forward one month into the new hoops season and Mililani is still a Top 5 team. LeCedric Brown has grown stronger, more explosive, transforming from a slashing guard to a Swiss Army knife who will have his share of double-doubles as a senior. Floor general Ezekiel Virtudes is unflappable, running the offense and always opportunistic as a playmaker getting into the paint, sometimes scoring on foes a foot taller. Duping them into the sky and dropping dimes to open teammates. When defenders sag off to help with slashers Brown and Gabriel, Aaron Matsuda is always ready to catch the ball and crank up an open 3.
Fate kept Gabriel on the hardwood rather than the gridiron.
“I played a little bit of Pylon here and there. I liked football, but I was always drawn to basketball,” he said.
Dillon’s senior year was also Garrett’s first season as the Trojans’ hoops coach. When Dillon graduated early and enrolled in college, they missed a chance to be together on a team.
“He tells me if he didn’t grayshirt at UCF, he wishes he could’ve seen what it’s like to play basketball,” Roman said.
Roman had already begun his journey on the basketball court during elementary school.
“I went to Holy Family since pre-K. Coach Darwin (Nazarino) and coach (Ed) Gelacio really sparked my love for basketball,” Roman said. “The only reason I left was COVID and everyone was online.”
A boy, a ball and his dad. That was his roundball world.
“Seeing my dad coach when I was the ballboy (at Mililani), being surrounded by basketball. Dillon was surrounded by football. My dad being hired at Mililani was a blessing. If he’s not hired, maybe I’m playing football,” Roman said.
The six-year age gap with Dillon has its pluses.
“Competing with Dillon was always fun. Dillon has always told me to be myself. I’ve never felt pressure to be better or as good as him. He’s never treated me like I’m any less,” Roman said. “My dad always said be yourself. This is your last year, go all out. Basketball allows me to be myself. Sometimes, things aren’t meant for people, and basketball was meant for me. At the pace I’m having, I can have a good year.”
The day he scored 35 against Altamonte Christian was necessary. The team from Florida was formidable, losing a close game to Maryknoll, 51-43, before running into a humdinger performance by Gabriel.
“I first saw Roman play in the Radford Summer League two summers ago. Even then, he had an excellent understanding of the game, particularly in recognizing when he had an advantage and knowing exactly how to exploit it,” Moanalua coach Brandon Dumlao said. “His basketball IQ and ability to read situations really stood out. His most improved skill since then is undoubtedly his 3-point shooting. He hit six 3-pointers against Altamonte Christian and no one could stop him that night. His shooting performance was dominant and demonstrated how much work he’s put in developing that aspect of his game.”
Mid-Pacific has split with Mililani in two preseason matchups. The Owls are very aware of Gabriel, who averaged 13 points in the two games.
“Now that his height, weight, speed and agility have caught up to his IQ, you have seen his game take off and he’s scoring at all three levels consistently,” Owls coach Robert Muroda-Shklov said. “He’s maintained his angular dexterity and touch in the post, and his shooting stroke out past the NBA 3-point line. You simply have to pick your poison some nights. He is most likely too fast for a post, too strong for a guard and too versatile for a wing to have all the answers.”
As a freshman, Gabriel had the usual occasional lapse and learned that his dad was more apt to keep a shorter leash on his son than any of his teammates. Everything turned into fuel for Roman.
“Since freshman year, I’ve worked on speed and agility. Every year that was a point of emphasis. I always knew I could score, but my dad would always emphasize defense. Jayden Kipapa and J Marxen pushed me to get better. I’d wonder why I didn’t play.”
The once-gangly middle schooler has upped his max bench press to 205 and reps 275 pounds three times on the squat rack. Modest numbers for some athletes, but for a young player with a long frame, it’s a good start.
“We do that two or three times a week and lift two to three times a week,” he said. “During quarantine, we were still grinding it out. I was just an eighth grader struggling.”
The team made a crucial adaptation when it became clear that Dorn wouldn’t be able to stay an extra year.
“We knew with Tim leaving we had to play a different way. We have more experience with our guards and people understand their roles. It’s been a month and we’ve improved for sure,” Roman said. “Last year, we didn’t have this much depth. We’re a little smaller. Last year, I’d work more with the guards, but this year I’m working more with the bigs. I can do whatever our team needs. Low post, shooting, driving, pushing the ball in transition, cutting to the basket.”
The little things have always mattered under Coach Gabriel, and his seniors have whittled away at potential weaknesses.
“Every game, we focus on something different we can do well,” Roman said. “The point of emphasis this season is moving the ball more. Instead of shooting with 20 seconds on the shot clock, we can shoot it with 15 seconds or less. We’re getting more balance, boxing out more, closing the gaps.”
After beating Punahou, Mililani lost to No. 1 Saint Louis, 43-32, in the Kaimuki Invitational final. The Trojans don’t celebrate much after a win. Neither do they sulk after a loss. The lab door is open. The work is far from over.
“They key against teams like Punahou, Maryknoll, Saint Louis, Mid-Pacific, ‘Iolani, there’s so many good teams. The ILH is so interesting,” Roman Gabriel said. “These games are a really good test for us to see where we match up. All our losses, we were down one to Saint Louis at the half. Mid-Pacific, down two or three. A couple plays go our way and we could be 11-1 or 12-0.”
If they were unbeaten, he would find some of that competitive smoke somewhere, somehow. It’s not just in his nature. It’s in his blood.
“A lot of people have told us that we aren’t going to be that good this year. Some of our past teammates. Some of our classmates. That’s a great motivating factor for me,” Gabriel said. “We have a lot of selfless guys who don’t care about the stat book. We don’t care about people’s opinions.”
True, but any chance to turn doubt into gasoline is golden in the Gabriel household.
“It’s that way against the ILH teams. Their mentality is they’re better than the OIA,” Garrett Gabriel said. “We just need to know that we can play with them and hang with them. If it’s a best three-of-five or four-of-seven series, it’s a different game, but in one game, anything can happen. A team can get hot.”
The external still doesn’t matter quite as much as what the Trojans have within their circle.
“I like the fight in this group,” Coach Gabriel said. “It’s different without Timmy, who gave us rim protection, but these guys are very athletic, can run, shoot and defend. Just a good group. Anybody we put in, we know they’re going to play hard. We just have to play smarter, and that’s always a work in progress.”
Dori Gabriel is a giver, so she appreciates the gift of the Trojans family. The door is always open.
“When they come lift at our house, I hear it. They take jabs at each other and have fun. Dillon built the regimen and created it for them,” she said. “Even during days when we don’t have lifting scheduled, they show up and lift.”
When the Gabriels have weekend trips to see Dillon play football, the circle grows tighter.
“Aaron’s family, they’re so sweet. They check in on Roman,” she said.
Roman Gabriel is quite aware of his namesake, the former Los Angeles Rams quarterback. The name choice was a natural for Dori Gabriel. She isn’t a Rams fan, but Garrett is.
“It was all me. Garrett named Garrison and Dillon. Besides being a Rams quarterback, he was handsome and a strong man. As soon as I saw our baby, I named him Roman,” Dori Gabriel said.
This Roman Gabriel has an endurance that is matched by his loyalty — and brotherhood.
“I’ve known him since fifth grade. He’s always been kind and caring, a good spirit, and that’s all his family,” Brown said. “He’s always been that guy who gets you going. He senses when things aren’t right and is always uplifting everybody. He always asks how you’re doing, always keeping in touch. Roman’s kind of a funny person, always making jokes with the team.”
Matsuda and Gabriel have a certain, common level of sarcasm in their humor. Beyond jokes, though, Matsuda is grateful for his teammate and friend.
“He makes sure you’re taken care of first before anything else, that you’re doing OK even before himself. To have a friend like that feels good,” Matsuda said. “At his core, he’s just a good guy. A fun dude and a pretty good person to be around every day. I consider Roman my best friend.”
After four games in three days, a day of rest arrived Sunday. From afar, a father pleaded with his youngest son to let his body have some down time. Garrett and Dori boarded the plane and flew home direct, an 11-hour flight. Roman went to church, then relaxed for a moment.
“Even today (Sunday), I can’t get him to not go and get shots up. Right before high school, I saw more seriousness in him about basketball. He just pushed to go practice. He likes being on the court and just playing,” Garrett Gabriel said. “A couple of times, I had to say, enough. He’s a good grinder. Even when things get tough, he wants to grind.”
Roman Gabriel
Mililani basketball • 6-3 • Senior
Kobe and LeBron
“I love animals. We have four pet tortoises, all 7 years old. Zeus, Poseidon, LeBron, Kobe. They’ll be the size of a cooler when they get to 15, 20. It started with Dillon. One of his wide receivers (Cy Kuboyama-Hayashi) used to breed turtles.. He asked, you want one of the sulcatas? We hatched out of an incubator, and the other three were from Cy.”
Wisdom
“From my dad, I learned a lot of character things, being held to high expectations. Be a leader. He always taught me to treat people well, be kind to others. How to read the game. My brother has been in a big atmosphere in big games. He taught me how to stay calm in crucial moments. Not too high, not too low. He’s given back a lot, he’s as great as an individual as he is as an athlete.”
Top 3 movies/shows
1. “Coach Carter”
2. ‘White Men Can’t Jump’
3. ‘Spider-Man”
“I’ve watched ‘Coach Carter’ four or five times. Our team watched it at our house. My mom made steak and potatoes. A couple of our players never saw it, which is crazy to me. As I got older and basketball got more serious, the whole theme of how the coach cares more about his players off the court. Not everyone ends up playing (college) basketball. He cares about more than their basketball talents and skill sets. He treated them like family.”
Top 3 foods/drinks
1. Sour Skittles
2. Chicken tenders (Teddy’s Bigger Burgers)
3. Korean fried chicken (Zippy’s, Mililani Golf Course)
Top 3 homemade food
1. Mom’s BBQ kalbi ribs
2. Mom’s Shake & Bake Chicken
3. Dad’s grilled steak
“We haven’t had her kalbi in awhile, maybe once every one or two months. She usually makes it when Dillon comes home.”
Top 3 music artists/favorite song
1. Drake – “Come Through”
2. Bryson Tiller – “Don’t”
3. BossMan Dlow – “Piss Me Off”
Favorite athlete/team: LaMelo Ball/ Charlotte Hornets, Kemba Walker/Charlotte Bobcats
Funniest teammate: Aaron Matsuda
“He knows he’s funny. The jokes he makes you kind of have to understand him as a person. We go back to middle school. We have the same sarcastic humor in a way. He knows how to make people laugh.”
Smartest teammate: Devin Gardner
“In general, Devin is a super respectful kid, runs the fellowship club at school. He doesn’t play on Saturdays because of what he believes. A great guy in the locker room. He’s in almost all the AP classes.”
GPA: 3.3
Favorite teacher: Mr. (Roy) Hannu (Global Studies)
Favorite class: Culinary
Favorite motto/scripture: “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it” – Kemba Walker
New life skill: Cooking
“I make a pretty good barbecue brisket quesadilla.”
Bucket list: “Win an OIA Championship. I’ve never had a chance to travel out of the country.”
Time machine
“I would travel to France in the early 2000s. I was born in 2007, so I just want to see how life was back then around 2005, ’06. France, if I had to travel it would be to France. See the Eiffel Tower. I know they have a Disneyland in Paris. Cool cathedrals, museums. Lots of history there.”
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self? “Blessings delayed aren’t blessings denied. Be where your feet are. Just be patient. A lot of kids want things instantly and handed to them. I’d say just work to the level you aspire to. Live in the moment. When I look forward to things, time goes by really fast.”
Shout-outs: “I want to give a shoutout to God, my teammates, and my family for the continuous love and support.”
