On February 7, HPA’s varsity boys basketball team took on defending Hawaiʻi State champs Kohala High School in the BIIF semifinals. “Over the last 15 years, we have developed a healthy rivalry within our league,” Head Coach and Head of School Fred Wawner notes. Each team has won their share of spirited competitions, and Wawner has become good friends with their coaches, watching each other’s kids grow up and be a part of this rivalry.
But in the semifinal, Kohala had secured the victory and less than a minute remained in Ka Makani’s season. With time ticking away, their coach called over to Wawner and asked if HPA’s injured senior captain, Michael House ’24, had a jersey. “At first, I wasn’t quite sure what he was asking,” Wawner says. Shortly after the conversation, Wawner asked House if he wanted to enter the game for a moment.
Back in August, House was hurt in a football game against this very same school, suffering a severe knee injury that was very public and of high concern for everyone in attendance that day. Coach Kihei, Kohala’s head basketball coach, knew his kids and his community were fully aware of what had happened that day and how this event had impacted House’s senior year. He called a timeout.
“I was super scared and nervous when coach handed me a jersey,” House says. “I wasn’t going to go in but then all my teammates were cheering me on and supporting me.”
So HPA’s senior captain entered the game in a full knee brace, khaki shorts, and his jersey. Both teams stood, as did the opponent’s yellow and black adorned crowd. The officials called for play to resume and the Kohala team handed the ball to House, who calmly and confidently made a layup: his only two points of the season.
As the teams both stood and clapped and the crowd cheered, Coach Wawner gave Coach Kihei a heartfelt bear hug. “When the game ended, I let coach Kihei, his staff, and his kids know how much I respected them and appreciated their gesture. And I humbly also let them know we would be back next year, and would be taking their title from them,” Wawner says, only partly joking. “This is how this relationship works!”
In the end I was super grateful for the opportunity to be subbed in one last time and to make one more basket.”
– Michael House ’24 on being able to enter the game against Kohala
Wawner’s relationship with Kihei is based on mutual respect, as is his relationship with his senior captain. “In addition to being a tremendous leader and a great kid, Michael House is a potential all-league performer,” Wawner says. “I know this is not what he envisioned for his senior year.”
But House is grateful, both for this magical moment on the court and for his coach. When he was injured in August, his parents weren’t on the island. “It was the first game they had ever missed,” House recalls. “I had no one to ride in the ambulance with me, and I felt scared. But when I got to the hospital Mr. Wawner was there for me, comforting me… and he stayed with me for a long time making sure I was okay. I think that really reflects the type of person he is and his caring nature.”
As for his final basketball game: “In the end I was super grateful for the opportunity to be subbed in one last time and to make one more basket,” House says. “It’ll be a memory that I’ll have for a lifetime.”