When Walter Marciel gets steamed up, his team can’t help but notice.

Marciel, the first-year boys basketball head coach at Academy of the Pacific, spends his game nights patrolling the sideline in front of his bench. When big plays and calls reach a fever pitch, the veteran coach also gets in some unplanned aerobic activity — the Marciel "hop," a 90-degree turn with each leap until the series becomes a full 360 in the blink of an eye.

Freshman guard and impressionist Kyan Furtado has every wiggle and explosive tremor down pat. When the Dolphins talk about their coach, they walk a fine line between good-naturedly teasing a friend and respecting an authority figure.

"I’m loving every minute of it. The kids keep me on my toes," the former Kalaheo assistant coach said. "We have 11 kids and every day we come out, they learn something new. They want to learn on the court and off the court. We’re stressing, ‘Be a leader on and off the court.’ The life skills you learn as being part of a team, you can take that into your work or education."

It’s all part of the joy in a dream season for AOP, a program that languished in the lower end of Division II in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu for years.

Now 6-2 in the tough Division I of the ILH (16-5 overall), the Dolphins have landed on the map of basketball fanatics statewide. AOP is the little school that could, scoring two wins over powerhouse Kamehameha and a 6-3 record against top-10 teams. A matchup with defending state champion and No. 1 ‘Iolani tonight will be pivotal in AOP’s ILH title hopes.

The Dolphins began to ascend in D-II a few years back, when former Hawaii-Hilo and Kalaheo standout Ryan Hogue became coach. Now the athletic director, Hogue is an active assistant coach to Marciel, and his role with Hawaii Select, a summer traveling team, is a big reason why AOP has drawn more student-athletes in recent years.

In the past season, the influx of new talent was remarkable. AOP already had a solid cast with returnee Micah Dunhour, a 6-foot-5 guard, along with speedy David Daniel and promising posts Sam Orcutt and Marshall Gourley. But the school’s small classroom sizes — there are 76 students in the entire high school — and growing reputation for one-on-one teaching appealed to several student-athletes looking for a different approach. Former AOP All-State volleyball player Tri Bourne plays volleyball for USC.

By hiring Marciel, who coached under the late Pete Smith and Chico Furtado at Kalaheo for more than a decade, AOP filled a key leadership role. By then, the pilgrimage to the Alewa Heights campus was already under way with transfers Michael Urcia (Christian Academy), Moritz Krume (Germany), Drew Viena (Saint Louis), Kona Makaula (Kalaheo, 14 ppg) and Gavin MacLeod (Kalaheo).

Dunhour (13 points per game) arrived two years ago after completing his sophomore year at Honokaa. He was born on Oahu, but grew up on the outskirts of Waimea, near Kawaihae. Dunhour’s commute to Honokaa was a 25-mile jaunt each way. Coming to AOP, he said, was a matter of getting serious about his future.

"It’s a very diverse school, the kids there. Everybody’s different in their own way," Dunhour said. "It’s forced me to grow up a little faster. There are a lot more opportunities here. I was kind of struggling with my grades back home. When you have so much friends, you’re lenient with grades and everything."

Krume, a 6-6 junior, arrived from Remscheid, Germany, at the end of summer.

"I’ve got good friends here on my basketball team. I don’t miss home," Krume said. "When you need extra help, you can go to the teachers. It put my grades up for precalculus, for sure. In Germany, I had problems in school. I really don’t want to go home to Germany after one year."

Viena transferred from D-I Saint Louis and played immediately.

"Me and my parents felt it was the best move because of smaller classes, so it has more to offer me from an educational aspect," Viena said. "I didn’t know we were moving to D-I until I came."

Critics harp on, though. Is AOP bending league policy so transfers don’t have to sit out for a year?

The ILH transfer rules are in Section 5 of the league bylaws: "A student who has represented an ILH school in Hawaii who transfers to a member school shall be ineligible to represent the school to which he/she transfers in any sport in which he/she participated at the former school, for one calendar year from the date of leaving the former school."

A Hawaii High School Athletic Association exception to the rule pertains to two schools: Assets and AOP.

AOP’s athletic director Ryan Hogue said the school has had the exemption, which can apply to students who have special needs for any of several reasons, since 1961. He said families come to the school because "they want a tighter support system" or "personalized attention in a regular educational curriculum."

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act guidelines don’t permit AOP to talk about any student-athlete’s academics, but Hogue is frank about the program’s adherence to league rules.

"Nothing’s changed at AOP. That’s a line, what’s best for a kid and his family," said Hogue, who is studying for his master’s degree in education at the University of Hawaii. "If they can go somewhere where they’re happy, what difference does it make to anybody else? If things aren’t working for them, they should have another option, and for some of them, sports keeps them going. They just happen to be good athletes.

"High school is a very difficult time for some people. If you’re stuck somewhere, it’s that kid’s whole life."

Saturday morning practice is done. Marciel, often demanding, sometimes jovial, but always fatherly, waits with his players as each is interviewed by a reporter. Marciel’s sons are in college. The nest had been empty, but he jumps in it now.

It’s small and full of joy.

See video interviews of the Dolphins and coach Marciel at hawaiiprepworld.com.