University of Hawaii point guard Kelsie Imai remembered studying basketball videos when she was summoned to assistant coach Khalilah Mitchell’s office the past December.
Mitchell then handed Imai a license to thrill.
“She said, ‘you realize that you’re starting now,’” recalled Imai, a true freshman. “And I was like, ‘OK, I’d better get my stuff together.”
Faced with the do-or-sigh options, Imai has emerged as the choreographer on offense and pest on defense. The Waiakea High alum flashed again Friday, posting season-highs of 12 points and six assists with two blocks in an 82-68 loss at Big West front-runner UC Irvine that featured two former BIIF Division I players of the year.
“When she was handed the reins of this team, sure, there was a moment of, ‘oh, my gosh, how am I going to do this?” head coach Laura Beeman said. “But there’s also that part, ‘Kelsie, this is what you do.’ She has a competitive spirit that, as a coach, you love to see. It might not be what she can do physically or mentally. It’s just the grit she has.”
That drive was apparent when Imai was leading the Warriors, who ended a 10-year BIIF Division I title drought in 2019.
“Her ability to break people down one-on-one, her court vision, those are the things I immediately noticed,” Beeman said. “And that’s what drew me back to watching her play additional games on the circuit.”
The UH coaches focused on Imai’s body language in different situations. “What is she going to do when they’re up?” Beeman said. “What is she going to do when they’re down? Does she continue to play or does she have a switch that she flips off and on? As coaches, that’s something we see a lot. You see a young lady, when they’re up, they start to cruise. And when they’re down, they quit. Kelsie just played (hard).”
With Nae Nae Calhoun suffering from a season-ending injury and Teionni McDaniel opting out, Beeman did not hesitate in turning to Imai. In seven games, Imai is averaging 6.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists while playing more than 25 minutes a contest.
One of Imai’s assignments against Irvine (8-5, 5-0 Big West) was guarding Kayla Williams, who scored 32 points against Cal Poly last weekend. Against the Wahine (3-4, 2-3), Williams scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
“I think Kelsie has the individual pride where she doesn’t want someone to get the best of her, ” Beeman said. “But Kelsie is going to play the way Kelsie plays regardless.”
Imai said : “I’m just here to play. So, whoever comes my way, I’m just, ‘OK, OK, let’s do this.’”
Imai said she has received support from older teammates who encourage open communication.
“They want everybody to talk, ” Imai said. “And they told us, ‘it doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or senior, you need to talk and communicate.’ I think that’s a really big factor that helps this team out. Nobody treats each other like, ‘oh, you’re a freshman’ or ‘you’re a senior.’”
Also for Irvine on Friday, former Konawaena standout Caiyle Kaupu, a true freshman, tied her season-high with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor, adding four rebounds. In a reserve role, Kaupu is averaging 5.4 points in eight games.
The Wahine’s second road trip of the season included only one game after Saturday’s contest was canceled because of an “abundance of caution for the health and safety of the student-athletes,” a UH release said.