UH-Hilo basketball clinic fills 50 spots at Kapaa High School

Fifty Kauai boys and girls packed Bernice Hundley Gym on Thursday for a free UH-Hilo basketball clinic that doubled as a direct look at the island-to-college pipeline. The session, open only to students in fifth through eighth grade, filled every available slot and drew extra players when space opened up.

The clinic ran from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Kapaa High School Gym, with check-in starting at 4:30 p.m. Registration had been capped at 50 participants and opened at 8 a.m. on Friday, May 8. Players were asked to bring a basketball suited to their skill level, a water bottle, athletic clothing and athletic shoes, a sign that the event was built around serious instruction, not a casual pickup run.

UH-Hilo head coach Kaniela Aiona, assistant coach Steve Kinder and assistant coach Anthony Haskett led the final stop of the 2026 UH Hilo Coaches Hawaiian Islands Tour, which crossed six islands from May 16 through May 21. The tour began in Hilo, then moved to Kihei, Kaunakakai, Lānai City and Honolulu before ending on Kauai. On the gym floor, the coaches worked players through warmups, stretching, basic drills and skills work while stressing listening and concentration.

For Kauai families, the value went beyond the drills. Aiona, a Big Island native and Honokaa High School graduate, became UH Hilo’s sixth head coach in May 2020 after five seasons at Menlo College. Kinder brought more than 30 years of coaching experience from Humboldt State and also works on UH Hilo’s corporate and community relations side. That mix of coaching and outreach gave the clinic a practical purpose: put a college staff in the room, show younger athletes the standard expected at the next level and make the Vulcans more visible to island players who might one day be looking at Hilo as an option.

The tour also carried a local coaching legacy. Former Vulcans coach Jimmy Yagi and former player Bill O’Rear once ran similar clinics for community programs, and this year’s staff continued that model with support from the Vulcan Booster Club, Maui Seaside Hotel, Hotel Molokai, Waikiki Malia and Kauai Shores Hotel. In a county where year-round sports opportunities can be limited, a free, sold-out clinic at a school gym can matter as much for access as for basketball.

Bernice Hundley Gym added its own meaning to the afternoon. The venue is named for Bernice Emilie Laniuma Hundley, a Kauai educator born in Anahola, linking the clinic to a longer island tradition of mentorship and public service.