Big guys don’t normally have a thing for running, but Noa Donnelly has always been an exception. William Donnelly remembers like it was yesterday when big Noa was still little Noa.
Big guys don’t normally have a thing for running, but Noa Donnelly has always been an exception. William Donnelly remembers like it was yesterday when big Noa was still little Noa.
“When Noa was born, our family lived in an apartment, ” William Donnelly said of his second son. “As a toddler, we’d have him in a stroller. When we arrived home the elevator doors opened on our floor and he always wanted out so he could run to our apartment door. Soon after he would run past the apartment all the way down the hall and then run back. When Noa runs on the court it reminds me of those times.”
The run is not done for Donnelly and the Kailua Surfriders, now 13-3 and ranked No. 3 in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10. One of those wins, on Dec. 7, was 42-40 over No. 1 Maryknoll. It was the first loss of the season for the Spartans, who remain No. 1 nearly a month later.
Donnelly was smart, crisp, aggressive and precise that night. He finished with 19 points.
“I first saw him play in seventh grade, I believe. He was a little clumsy at that age, but I could see he understood the game, ” Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said. “He obviously put in a lot of time and effort to get where he is today. He has always had a good attitude and respects the game.”
Maryknoll has been superb this season with elite defense, but Donnelly’s experience and savvy are matched by few.
“He has a great motor. He works hard, ” Grant added. “Always positive. He picks his teammates up when they are down. In our game against Kailua, Noa almost single-handedly beat us with their pick-and-roll action and his putbacks. We had no answer for him that night.”
Ryan Tong coaches No. 7 University Lab but was also a solid old-school post player back in the day.
“The first time I saw him play was during his sophomore year. Kailua was playing Mililani and I remember being really impressed with his footwork, his effort, his overall toughness and grit, ” Tong said. “He’s steadily improved over the past two years and has really been a tremendous force for Kailua in the paint. I really like the fact that he’s relentless on the boards and has the physicality and stamina to impose his will on the opposing team’s big men. His game reminds me a lot of former Iowa Hawkeye great Luke Garza.”
Kailua is young and stocked with skilled guards, while Donnelly mans the middle and posts double-double numbers nearly every night. The 6-foot-5 senior gladly mentors some of his youngest new teammates. Learning the ropes, developing good habits, setting proper screens, boxing out—all the things that winning teams do from the top of the roster to the bottom.
“Some of our guys, it’s their first year on varsity. I want to help them and hopefully that’ll trickle down to the next generation. Help win a championship. COVID happened in my freshman year, I didn’t really have that guy to help me learn plays. Coaches said if you want minutes you have to learn fast, ” Donnelly recalled. “Our younger guys talk through it at practice. They’ll ask and we’ll understand.”
For longtime coach Walter Marciel and his staff, watching Donnelly take time every day to help the rookies is always a blessing.
“He’ll walk you through it, ” Marciel said. “You can’t teach someone to have the heart to do that.”
When All-State guard Jonny Philbrick graduated, the Surfriders lost one of Hawaii’s prolific playmakers. Last season’s squad ousted Lahainaluna in the opening round of the state championships, then pushed top seed Saint Louis before falling 51-48 in the quarterfinals. Saint Louis went on to win its second state crown in a row.
This season, there is the intriguing prospect of two dynamic returnees, Maddox Pung and Dylan Kunz, growing into expanded roles as sophomores. The Surfriders have just three seniors back this season, and their lone senior starter is the right man in the right place and time.
Donnelly is the unifier. The senior averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds as Kailua opened the season 11-3 in nonconference play, winning its Surfrider Holiday Classic title. They steamrolled Roosevelt 58-36 and Kaiser 73-40 to open OIA East play last week.
“Nothing really surprises me except that now we have Skyler Unten back. He’s such a great scorer going left or right, ” Donnelly said of the point guard. “It makes it harder for the other team because we’ve got Maddox and Dylan, and Skyler bringing up the ball.”
Kunz is a classic streak shooter with no conscience when it comes to launching open shots from deep.
“The funniest thing is the Campbell game last year. I hit him for a corner-pocket 3. I thought his shot would go long and it was perfect. ‘Damn, you hit that !’ He was only a freshman then, ” Donnelly said.
Pung is sometimes basic, sometimes astonishing. Like Kunz, he is a 6-3 ball of energy.
“Seeing him go from our sole point guard to our top scorer, it’s been a cool experience. It was bringing the ball up and getting it to Jonny, to now he’s scoring. He makes some circus shots that are amazing to watch, ” Donnelly said.
The cast of first-year varsity players has the support of their lead senior.
“We’re def relying on underclassmen a lot more. A lot of them have played basketball, so they know how they can contribute to a team. They know what to do and we have to mold that in a way that’s Kailua basketball, ” Donnelly said.
To lead, Donnelly sets the tone by listening well.
“He accepts everything we ask him to do. We know he’s going to get double teamed. We’ve been working on him to acknowledge those situations, but the key for us is his leadership, ” Marciel said. “He’s blue collar, in there banging, getting rebounds and he knows his job, but he also can dribble that ball and those skills he’s going to need at the next level.”
Donnelly’s value to the Surfriders goes far beyond numbers. Marciel and his veteran staff hold their big man to a different standard. Donnelly’s intelligence—a 3.75 grade-point average—and basketball IQ come with a natural ability to communicate clearly and often.
“To me, he’s having fun on the court. It’s just a joy to coach him. We push him really, really hard because we know what he can do, ” Marciel added.
Donnelly is part of the statewide senior class that lost its freshman winter season when it was canceled in Hawaii due to the pandemic.
“He’s had so much growth in the game. Losing one year in COVID, and coming out and listening to us coaches. One thing with him, you tell him something, everything is, ‘Yes, Coach.’ He’s one of the most polite kids or players I’ve coached. He’s genuine. He’s the same person on the court, the same person off the court, ” Marciel said. “He’s willing to help anybody. We’re a very young team and he’s coaching up the younger guys. He’s helping them, guiding them. Even last night, we’re playing Kaiser. We take him out early and he’s coaching up the young guys. He’s excited on the bench. He’s just a pleasure to coach.”
Often enough, a good team loses its superstar but comes back stronger because the younger returnees have learned how to prepare, how to win. Kailua fell just short of the OIA title in recent seasons, but is in position this winter to make an equally robust run or better. The onus has been on him, the kind of rugged, old-school coaching that might ruffle the feathers of a thin-skinned young player. Marciel knew there was a learning curve that had to be accelerated as Donnelly developed in his first season, as a sophomore.
“His work ethic. This guy dedicated, committed. First to practice, last to leave. He just works hard every day. Sometimes too hard. He’s got some aches and pains, every day he’s in every drill, ” Marciel said. “When we’re playing five on five, he goes hard all the time. That impressed me from his sophomore year and he’s continued that through this year. To me, that’s why he’s successful.”
Donnelly hears and absorbs every word.
“I appreciate that coming from him. He’s not wrong with the aches and pains. I do end up with the trainers after practice, ” he said. “I try to be in the best shape I can be to help us win.”
Back in 2021, it took time for Donnelly to filter through the constant, high-decibel volume—and urgency—of a veteran coaching staff.
“When I first started practicing with Coach Wally, I was scared of him. He yells a lot. But now that I’ve matured, I know he was yelling at me for a good reason. I was kind of nervous because he’s a varsity coach and I’m a sophomore. I don’t want to ride the bench, and he gave me that opportunity, ” Donnelly said.
Kaelen Donnelly, a former Maryknoll player and JV coach, has been there every step of the way.
“Once I kind of talked to my older brother. He said it’s a good thing. Then I realized it’s a good thing. I’m doing better, I’m scoring more, ” he said.
Now, the wisdom is imparted through Donnelly, a full circle. Grinding through injuries has built a desire to go into that field.
“As a career I really want to be an athletic trainer for a professional sports team, to help athletes rehabilitate with injuries, ” he said.
Marciel keeps tabs on Donnelly when it comes to his big plate of interests.
“In the offseason, he works with the trainers and he goes with them to games, on the sidelines for football helping out with them. He belongs to I don’t know how many organizations and groups, but a whole bunch, ” Marciel said.
Donnelly informed him about a Cub Scouts event that might cut into practice time.
“Thursday we had practice at 4. The night before he said, ‘My mom said I have to go to a Cub Scout (event ). He came to practice for about 45 minutes, then he went to the dinner. That’s how committed he is, ” Marciel said.