Never say never.
Greg Dunigan did, but there he was hard at work on Parker’s sideline Thursday at the Waiakea-Keaau boys basketball tournament at the Warriors’ gym, vocally exhorting his team to move the ball on offense, block out and close out on defense.
Even as the Bulls’ second-half lead quickly evaporated under a 3-point barrage, a five-second call on Waiakea 2 drew a clap, clap, clap – a surefire sign of Dunigan’s heartfelt appreciation.
He looked like a coach and sounded like a teacher.
“That’ll come and go,” he said afterward of being vocal. “That’s always been me.”
Ready or not, the Bulls are back. The private school in Waimea with approximately 114 students (boys and girls) is fielding a varsity team for the first time since 2010 partly because it has to with three seniors. After two years as a JV team, they have no delusions of grandeur, or even of winning right now, but they are taking on all comers.
“I’ve got about three kids right now that are ready for varsity,” Dunigan said. “We talked about the process. They know what’s going on. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”
A veteran high school basketball coach in Missouri, Dunigan and his wife moved to the Big Island two years ago to be closer to their daughter and grandson in Kailua-Kona. He worked at Parker and officiated BIIF games, then, lo and behold, the Bulls needed a JV coach last season.
“I felt like I came there for a reason,” he said. “After 28 years of being a head coach (in Missouri), I told myself I was never going to coach again.
“I’m tickled to death to be coaching these guys.”
Juniors Conner Brown and Trevor Bastien and sophomore Reece Herendeen are the key pieces for Parker to build around.
Brown, a 6-foot-1 junior point guard, led the Bulls with 16 points in a 51-36 loss to a Waiakea 2 team that had a mix of varsity and JV players, and Brown tallied 18 on Wednesday in a 67-37 loss against Waiakea’s first group.
“He lives and breaths basketball,” Dunigan said. “He’s got great passion. “I’ve had some kids play at a high, high level, but he’s probably as good as any kids I’ve had.”
The Bulls have good size, though most of the height is matched by inexperience, so Dunigan doesn’t think Parker can take advantage of it post game yet.
On exception is Bastien, a 6-3 junior who banged inside against Waiakea 2 and showed a nice touch on a jumper in scoring nine points.
“He’s going to be a good one,” Dunigan said.
Herendeen is a 5-10 sophomore.
“Those three have put in a lot of time,” Dunigan said.
“Some teams are in learn-and-win mode,” he said. “We want to win, but we need to just keep improving everyday.”
Parker will have its chances.
After this tournament, the Bulls heads to Maui and it will also play in Hilo’s tournament in mid-december.
After beating the Vikings’ JV team last season, Dunigan was excited to get an invite.
“I am having so much fun,” he said.
You’d know that just by looking at him work on the sidelines.