Don’t worry, Kiki Robertson is not going to be completely Puna-fied.
Robertson, one of the top players in the state for Mid-Pacific Institute, has a new coach this year in Liz Kam. Although Kam has spent the past 10 years in the Punahou program, she isn’t about to reign in her horse. Robertson put up 29 and 31 points against the Buffanblu last year, but lost to Punahou’s depth and discipline both times. The Owls are her team as much as anyone’s.
"I was very excited to coach her," Kam said. "At Punahou, we always kind of thought that she was too good to be humble, but she is not that girl, she is the complete opposite. I couldn’t be more impressed with her."
It could have been a power struggle. The girl who has been known throughout the islands for her scoring ability since she led the Hawaii Sting to a national title in fifth grade vs. the talented coach trying to mold Mid-Pacific’s one-girl show into a unit able to hang with ‘Iolani, Kamehameha and Punahou.
Ask Robertson, and such a conflict never had a chance. She truly believes she is just one of the girls. Sure, she is a leader of the young Owls, but she isn’t about to ask for star treatment.
"I just thought she would be fun and teach us a lot," Robertson said of Kam. "We are constantly improving and just want to have fun and play as long as we can."
After her senior campaign ends, she will move on to NCAA Division II power Alaska Anchorage because of its nursing program and a promise that if she applies herself they could help her fulfill her dream of playing professionally somewhere someday. The girl just wants to play basketball.
What surprised Kam was that the 5-foot-6 point guard is such a complete package — a big girl on campus who doesn’t even know it. Robertson spent nearly as much time in early practices helping out her younger teammates as Kam did, probably because Robertson got where she is on the backs of others.
When Robertson was 5, her father gave her a basketball and the neighbors gave her license to shoot on their hoop as much as she wanted. Dad would leave to go to work every day, and a few months later his little girl was dribbling between her legs.
"He was pretty impressed," Robertson said. "He was like ‘Who taught you that?’ and said I was better than he was at that age."
Not faint praise, considering Mike Robertson played at Chaminade and knows his way around a court. Robertson then got serious about her new pastime, and began attending the Kalakaua Clinic. It didn’t take long before she became the phenom that basketball junkies had to get a glimpse of just to say they saw her before she became REALLY good.
But this is more than Kiki’s Delivery Service. Her scoring gets her noticed, but the defensive end is where the fun starts for her. She is the ultimate energy player, getting most of her points in transition after a steal or a rebound. Because the Owls switch between defenses so often, she is only occasionally asked to lock down an opponent’s best scorer. Sometimes she is successful, sometimes she is not, but nobody can doubt that she gave it her all. Teammates and opponents call her "the mop" for the number of times a game she is knocked to the floor.
"I love defense, just bring energy and get everyone else pumped," Robertson said. "I get excited, I want to show them up and they want to do the same."
That’s about as close Robertson will come to talking smack, and basketball people have noticed. She dropped 35 points on ‘Iolani last year, but earned more than that for the way she went from a cold-blooded killer on the court to a Girl Scout off of it.
"Kiki is a fierce competitor on the court who is extremely talented with the basketball," ‘Iolani coach Eddie Maruyama said. "More importantly, she is very pleasant and respectful off the court."
She can hang with any player at ‘Iolani, but her most competition might come from inside her home. The coming-of-age moment when she beats the old man hasn’t come yet, only because they are on the same side.
"I think I can beat him," Robertson said. "He is probably kind of slow. He can shoot really good, though, so he’s got a chance."
