Posted on: Wednesday, December 19, 2001

Sensley will play for Iona, coach says

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Iona head coach Jeff Ruland confirmed yesterday that former Kalaheo High standout Julian Sensley will play basketball for the Gaels, possibly as soon as next month.

"He thinks we can help him get to the next level, and so we were excited to give him that opportunity," said Ruland, a former NBA all-star.

Sensley, a 6-foot-9 forward, was one of the nation's top high school recruits last season. He originally committed to Cal, but failed to attain the required SAT score to gain admission.

Instead, he enrolled at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif., and thus was no longer bound to the letter of intent he signed with Cal.

Sensley was an all-state selection as a junior at Kalaheo in 1999. After that season, he enrolled at St. Thomas More, a prep school in Connecticut. He spent two years there (essentially playing two senior seasons), and was considered by many recruiting publications to be among the top 20 high school players in the nation last season.

He became interested in Iona through Solomon Brown, a former teammate at St. Thomas More.

Sensley re-took the SAT three weeks ago, but came up short of the score needed to become eligible immediately. If he had attained that score, Ruland said Sensley would have played with the Gaels in the Rainbow Classic.

Iona is currently appealing to get Sensley eligible for the second semester, which starts in January. If the appeal is denied, Sensley would become eligible to play in December of 2002.