Sensley's move pays big dividend

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

During his two years at St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn., Julian Sensley was known to classmates simply as "Hawai'i."

Julian Sensley is looking forward to beginning his collegiate career at California after two years at a prep school. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

It was as if Sensley and Hawai'i were synonymous — one characterizing the other; one instantly associated with the other.

The same has become true on the basketball court.

Only 18 and having yet to play his first collegiate basketball game, Sensley is already being touted as one of the state's best players ... ever.

For the last three years, Sensley has been called the best Division I basketball prospect ever raised in Hawai'i — a giant in the state's menehune hoops history.

Now, his time to tip-off on that hype has arrived.

Sensley departed his parents' Kailua home last week for Berkeley, Calif., where he will enroll in summer classes at the University of California. In November, he is expected to make an immediate impact as a freshman forward for the Golden Bears' basketball team.

"I know there's a lot expected from me," he said. "But I can play all five positions, and I feel like I'm ready for the (college) level."

Sensley, who is 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, was raised in Kailua and played three seasons at Kalaheo before transferring to St. Thomas More.

He was a two-time, first-team all-state selection at Kalaheo, and averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds per game during his final season with the Mustangs.

"People already had their eyes on him then," Kalaheo coach Pete Smith said. "You don't come across a kid with that kind of size and athletic ability too often."

The only area of concern for Sensley was academics.

Enter St. Thomas More, a college-preparatory school that has a 9-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio and mandatory study hall sessions. Although Sensley completed three years at Kalaheo, he chose to stay at St. Thomas More for two years.

"It was definitely worth it," Sensley said. "I spent two years there, but I got my grades improved tremendously, and I matured as a person."

Living in a dormitory while temperatures outside dipped to minus-20 degrees, Sensley said he survived on a basketball jones and "millions of phone cards." By his senior year, his grade point average was 3.2, and his SAT scores were high enough to earn eligibility at Cal.

"I set my mind on my books because I knew if I didn't straighten that part out, there would be no basketball," he said. "I don't think I would be where I am today if I didn't go away for those two years."

His basketball skills showed similar improvements.

In two seasons at St. Thomas More, Sensley averaged around 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. In effect, he developed the size and strength of a power forward, but the quickness and shooting ability of a small forward.

"I like to get out and run the floor," he said. "I can play the post, but I'm more of a perimeter player."

Sensley helped lead St. Thomas More to the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Class A championship in both of his seasons. Because the conference is filled with fifth-year players like Sensley, Recruiting USA describes it as "the most talented league in the country."

Sensley went so far as saying that the competition he faced last season was better than Hawai'i's NCAA Summer League, which features current and former college players from around the state.

"We had NBA scouts and coaches from the top Division I programs at a lot of our games," he said.

He proved his worth during a brief stint in the NCAA Summer League last month. In four games, he led Central Medical Clinic with 26 points per game, and was the league's unofficial leader in monster dunks.

"He's a lot more mature, physically and mentally," Smith said. "He has all the skills to succeed now."

Several recruiting services ranked Sensley among the top 10 high school players in the nation last season, and some listed him as the No. 1 small forward.

With Sensley as the top gem, California was rated as having the No. 5 recruiting class in all of college basketball. Prior to signing with Cal, Sensley was recruited by Connecticut, Arizona, UCLA and Villanova, among others.

"Not in a million years did I think I'd get a chance to go to a school like Cal," he said. "Academically, going away for those two years was a good way to go for me."

No basketball player with Hawai'i ties has ever been as coveted.

In a feature story on ESPN.com, Sensley is described as "already the greatest player ever produced in the Islands, and he's considered among the greatest high school players in the country."

Any doubts about Sensley's talent were erased during the Gym Rats Midnight Madness all-star game last season at New Jersey. Against some of the best high school players in America, including Kwame Brown and Eddy Curry — the No. 1 and No. 4 selections in the recent NBA Draft — Sensley was named the most valuable player of his team and received the coveted Kobe Bryant Pro Prospect Award.

"All the All-Americans were there," Sensley said. "I guess it never really hit me how big it was (to win the awards) until I left there and sat down and thought about it."

Rick Barrett, organizer of the event, told ESPN.com: "No doubt, Sensley is a future (NBA) lottery pick."

After watching four high school players get drafted in the first eight selections of the NBA Draft, Sensley said: "I thought about it. But I left (Hawai'i) to mature for the next level. Now, I'm thinking the same way about college. I need Cal to help me mature for what I hope will be the next level after that."

You can reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.