"When I went to see Coach Al for the first time, he straight out told me I had an attitude problem," recalled Kuraoka, now in his third season with the Sea Warriors. "He told me to be quiet and just play baseball. I held everything (emotions) in. It was the best decision I made. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be playing baseball."

Kuraoka, a first baseman, had the talent to play at a higher level, but no one was offering the 2001 Kamehameha Schools graduate a scholarship.

"He always had a great swing," Kamehameha coach Vern Ramie said of his former player.

The problem for Kuraoka was his attitude, he said. He wasn't afraid to show his frustration when things did not go his way. But that wasn't all.

"He was a very confident guy," Ramie said.

A diplomatic way of saying "cocky."

"I always had to be better than everyone else," Kuraoka said of his past. "(Sato) didn't appreciate that and told me straight out."

That purpose pitch from Sato was the wake-up call Kuraoka needed. Kuraoka took the advice to heart and earned a spot on the roster in 2002, earning a half scholarship. He started in 33 of the team's 49 games, batting .278 with 24 runs and 18 RBIs. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound left-hander also made three relief appearances totaling 3á innings.

The next year, his scholarship increased to tuition and books and HPU saw its dividends. He started 44 of 48 games, raising his batting average to .341 with 10 doubles, three home runs with 29 runs and 22 RBIs. He committed only three errors in 324 chances for a .991 fielding percentage.

This season, after a slow start, Kuraoka has raised his average to .280 with five doubles, three triples and 11 RBIs in 16 games.

It's not just the production on the field that pleases Sato.

"The part I'm most proud of is his mind set about life in general," Sato said. "He was considered a high-rebel guy."

"He's grown as a person," added Ramie. "He accepted the challenge and now is having a great career at HPU."

Deep down, Kuraoka knew he had to change. He wants to be a professional ball player. Because he wasn't drafted out of high school, college was the only other route to get scouts to notice him. And it might be working. Scouts are asking him to fill out questionnaires. Sato is getting more serious questions from scouts about Kuraoka.

"They ask about his make-up, his attitude," Sato said. "They're digging deeper."

Sato said Kuraoka has a chance to get drafted.

"He has good hands," Sato said. "For a big guy, he runs pretty well. For him, his love of the game is big with him and big with us. There's nothing funky about him. Whoever gets him will get a quality guy they can develop."

Eight different HPU players have been drafted since 1989, the most notable being Benny Agbayani, who will enter his first season with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. Agbayani was drafted by the California Angels in the 25th round in 1992 and by the New York Mets in the 30th round in 1993, when he signed.

"That's been a long time dream for me," Kuraoka said. "My father (Alan Kuraoka), especially, wants me to play pro baseball. Ever since I was little, he always pushed me. Everything was baseball in my life, all the way through high school. At the time, you don't want to do it (all the time), but now, I really appreciate what my father did. It made me the player I am today."

He also knows it was Sato who turned him around for the better.

"My main goal was not to disappoint Coach (Sato)," Kuraoka said. "He made me realize a lot of things. It's been great since. I know if I have a problem, Coach will talk to me about it. If I have a family problem at home, I know I can call him. He talks to me eye-to-eye when we're talking beyond baseball."