HPU coach Sellitto says next season will be his last

• Local small colleges to lose an icon

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

HPU coach Tony Sellitto will have more time to stroll the Ala Wai from his Waikiki apartment after next season. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser Tony Sellitto at HPU Year, Record, (Notable finish) 1988-89, 17-16 1989-90, 19-15, (First round of NAIA tournament) 1990-91, 20-10 1991-92, 19-12 1992-93, 30-4, (NAIA national champion) 1993-94, 27-8, (Quarterfinals of NAIA tournament) 1994-95, 25-9, (Second round of NAIA tournament) 1995-96, 27-6, (Second round of NAIA tournament) 1996-97, 26-4, (Quarterfinals of NAIA tournament) 1997-98, 22-5, (First round of NAIA tournament) 1998-99, 22-8, (First round of NCAA-II tournament) 1999-2000, 12-14 2000-01, 11-16 Totals, 277-127

His only retirement plan so far is to "watch a lot of basketball on TV."

Cable stations might want to start bidding for his viewership.

Sellitto said yesterday that the upcoming season will be his last as head basketball coach at Hawai'i Pacific. After that, he wants to remain as HPU athletic director through the 2002-03 academic year, then retire to the comforts of his Waikiki apartment.

"I always felt like retirement meant doing whatever you feel like doing," said Sellitto, 64. "I still don't know what that is for me."

That's understandable when considering that Sellitto has been coaching basketball in Hawai'i since 1964. For 24 years, he coached at Maryknoll High, transforming the tiny private school into a state power. In 1988, he was named athletic director and basketball coach at then-Hawai'i Pacific College.

Entering his 14th season at HPU, Sellitto has compiled a record of 277-127. In 1997, he underwent successful surgeries for a stroke and prostate cancer, but he said his health is fine and had little to do with his decision.

"If I win (23) more games, I get to 300, but so what?" he said. "Either I'm a good coach or I'm not. A specific number is not going to determine that. I just feel like it's time."

His resume is already worthy of legendary status. He has the most victories of any small college coach in Hawai'i history. His teams have qualified for postseason national tournaments eight times. Eleven of his 13 teams have finished with winning records, including eight 20-win seasons.

"For so long, we were such strong rivals," said Ken Wagner, basketball coach at Brigham Young-Hawai'i. "I think it'll change somewhat when he's not there. He's done such a good job, it's hard to imagine him not being there."

Most notable, HPU won the NAIA Division I championship in 1993. It remains the only national basketball title ever won by a Hawai'i school.

"And we did it without any facilities," Sellitto noted. "We just had great coaches and great players."

During Sellitto's tenure, the Sea Warriors have played "home" games at McKinley, Mid-Pacific Institute, Bloch Arena and the Blaisdell Center Arena.

Then again, Sellitto was used to it since Maryknoll also did not have its own gym. Still, he led the Spartans to a 374-71 record during his 22 years as varsity coach. In 1984, they won the state championship, an accomplishment Sellitto ranks equal to the NAIA title.

"Just winning the ILH was huge because we were such a small school," he said. "Winning the state championship was a great thrill for me."

Sellitto is quick to point out that his accomplishments have not come alone. Russell Dung, Darrell Matsui and Mel Miyamoto have been assistants to Sellitto for practically the entire HPU stint. Another assistant, Francis Fletcher, played for Sellitto at Maryknoll in the early '80s and has been on the HPU staff for nine years.

Ideally, Sellitto would like that same staff to take his place, with Dung serving as head coach.

"They were very, very loyal to me since the Maryknoll days," Sellitto said. "And they're very good at what they do."

Fletcher, who played at Creighton and Chaminade after three all-state seasons at Maryknoll, said there was "no question" he would have played at HPU had Sellitto been the coach at the time.

"He's there for all his players on and off the court," Fletcher said. "He's genuine. I remember he'd be just as interested in our studies as he was in our basketball."

On the court, Sellitto earned a reputation as a fiery, vociferous leader. No player — tall or short, All-American or bench-warmer — was spared of his sideline rants.

"Off the court, I'm fine," he said. "Anybody can come up and talk to me and I promise you I won't scream in your face. But on the court, I'm terrible. That's where my competitiveness comes in."

As Fletcher put it: "He would scream and yell and devour us verbally. But if somebody else tried to yell at us, he'd be the first one to defend us."

Sellitto's success has come through a never-changing system, which he insists features the same plays today as it did at Maryknoll.

"We just plug in new players," he said. "Nowadays, you have all these new, complicated ideas. To me, you have to rebound, you have to score, and you have to play defense. It's simple."

It helped that he coached seven first- or second-team All-Americans, leading him to say that recruiting was the secret to his success at HPU.

"I don't know if that's my strength," he said. "But that's what I like to do. I like to get to know the kids before they come here."

It's also why he said the aspect he'll miss the most is his relationships with his players. "What I enjoy most is seeing these guys grow and improve both on the court and off," he said.

Of course, he has one more season to coach.

"I'm not going to change; I'm not going to tell the guys to go out and win for me," he said. "I'm going to yell at them, sure. But that just means I want them to go out and play hard."