Kelvin Falk was an invaluable two-way weapon, who directed the entertaining flow and tempo of Honokaa’s Get It Done basketball style on both sides of the ball.
The lanky 6-foot senior guard was a downtown 3-ball shooter, rim attacker, and defense stopper for the Dragons, who were blessed with an abundance of depth.
They wore down or survived on necessary determination to capture the BIIF Division II championship, the school’s first title since 2001.
As the center of attention, Falk grabbed the spotlight one final time as the BIIF Division II Player of the Year, selected by the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, West Hawaii Today and the league’s coaches.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” he said. “I know a lot of other people could have gotten it.”
The other first team players were Honokaa junior Kamuela Spencer-Herring, senior Koa Callihan, Hawaii Prep junior Jonah Hurney and sophomore Matija Vitorovic.
Falk is a couple inches shorter than twin brothers Koa and Kea Callihan, a second-team pick, and Spencer-Herring, who are all 6-3 and built with solid concrete.
But when the Dragons needed a spark, it was usually Falk who caught fire and went off on shooting streaks.
“Kelvin led by example and hit a lot of big shots, not a lot of people were expecting,” Honokaa coach Jayme Carvalho said. “He consistently made an improvement in his four years. To get the POY and to go to states, he knew he needed good teammates. He understood how important the guys next to him would be.
“He took them to another level. He has a lot of natural athletic ability. Kelvin is like Calvin Mattos, where he would take over a game. There were times we were down 12, 15 points, and he would hit two or three 3-pointers in a row. His confidence would get really high and get his teammates going.”
Falk was born with good basketball genes. His dad, Kelii, and mom, Candice Falk, both played hoops at Kailua High back in the day.
“I got my height from my dad’s side,” Falk said. “My freshman year I was short. I was 5 feet 8 and then I kind of grew.”
Maybe it’s a family trait that Falk’s skill-set includes timely passing. He also played football and baseball for the Dragons, sharpening his athleticism.
It also helped that Spencer-Herring, who plays football, caught everything in the post and kicked the ball back when doubled.
“Kelvin is the most unselfish scorer I’ve ever coached,” Carvalho said. “That sounds kind of funny. But he didn’t need to take a lot of shots to get his points. He didn’t just settle for a 3. He could attack the basket and not depend only on the 3.”
The Dragons didn’t rely only on their offensive firepower to win an elusive BIIF title but counted on their defensive depth as well.
Junior guards Kainalu Lau and Sheltyn Carvalho (the coach’s nephew and son of assistant Justyn Carvalho) were glue guys on defense, a large reason they landed on the second team.
With so much competition for playing time, team chemistry was a key, and Honokaa coach Carvalho pointed to Falk as a strong influence.
“He’s long and lanky and good on help-side defense, runs the floor well and shoots as well as anybody in the state,” Carvalho said. “But he’s very humble at the same time. He’s a nice personality and likes to joke around. He gets along with everybody on the team.
“The team was so deep. Everybody fought each other for playing time. They battled at practice, but on the court they supported each other. That makes your job as a coach easier.”
Falk’s favorite NBA player is Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, who’s known to hit big shots, too. But he also has a reputation as a ball-distributor.
“If you’re unselfish, you get the whole team going in a better vibe,” Falk said. “I’d rather be unselfish and try to get the team involved.
“My mindset this year was winning BIIFs, after what happened last year. Coming into our senior year, what we wanted most was to win BIIFs.”
The 2016 BIIF Division II championship is still a punch in the stomach for the Dragons, who lost an 18-point lead and fell to St. Joseph 51-50.
But on the sports landscape, beautiful memories always overpower ugly ones.
And the Dragons accomplished their GID moment with a 51-50 win over Hawaii Prep for the BIIF championship. (Lau hit the game-winning free throw with no time on the clock.)
Maybe it’s no small coincidence that the score was the same for two different results at BIIFs. It’s easy to remember.
“Against St. Joe, it was kind of heart-breaking,” Falk said. “But this year, our attitude was different. We picked it up this year and had good character. To win the BIIF championship, it felt amazing.”
Falk put up a college recruiting profile, and he’s looking for a new place to do what Honokaa Dragons do best: GID.
He’ll have an interest in his old team wherever he goes. That’s because his brother Keison Falk is a Honokaa sophomore and was on the junior varsity team.
Falk already has his daily speech packaged for his younger brother.
“I’ll tell him to never give up and have a good attitude throughout the season,” Falk said.
What about share the ball?
“He knows that,” Falk said. “He barely shoots the ball. He shares the ball. It’s a family trait, I guess.”