Athletics
Hanalani Athletics

Scoringlive.com Top Performers Feature: Ellana Klemp

January 9, 2024
 
Hanalani basketball  •   #33  F  Junior
Not long after the girls' prep basketball season came to a close last February, Hanalani coach Charles Hiers discussed the future with then-sophomore Ellana Klemp.
It was during that not-so-lengthy conversation that Hiers made it clear to Klemp that the proverbial torch was being passed into her hands. 
"We had just took second in the state and were coming back from the Big Island and I wanted to keep it fresh in her mind that with summer coming up, I told her to ‘be ready for the school year because it's your team now,' " Hiers recalled. 
In the aftermath of a 54-37 loss to Kapaa in the Division II state championship game just one day prior, Hiers was already looking to the future. 
"We were graduating four seniors and I'm huge on leadership and everything falls and rises on leadership, so I wanted her to lead, I wanted her to have that comfortability that this is her team," Hiers affirmed. "I remember when I told her this flying back from Hilo and she put her book down that she was reading and she looked right at me and said, ‘I'll be ready.' "
Hiers was empowering the junior-to-be to take initiative and make it her own. 
"I wanted her to be vocal, to be an encourager, to be a builder-upper, and that it's OK to be firm and have the right reason to be firm and not be worried about stepping on toes, but just doing it correctly – that was my expectations of her," Hiers stated. 
Klemp did just that, working diligently over the summer and throughout the offseason to better herself, and in the process, her team. 
"She knew she was going to be the primary captain. Last year we had a senior that was the primary captain and she was the other captain, but she really just led by example. She was in the best shape I've seen her prior to her injury; She was laser focused," Hiers added. 
Early on in the lead up to this season, Klemp suffered a setback after a foot injury sidelined her for nearly the entirety of the preseason; She also missed the first five games of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular season as a result. 
"I felt so bad for her because she works so hard and was in the best shape she's been in and then to have to sit out was tough, but again, part of that is the process of her growing too. You can learn a lot from watching the game and she needed to be a leader on the bench now for a little bit, that was also important," Hiers said. 
Despite Klemp's absence the Royals were able to win four of their five games without her. 
"We struggled early in the season just to score without her, not because we needed her to score, but just the confidence she brings to the other girls. There's a calmness that she brings to her teammates. We didn't need her to win the games that we won, but it was maybe harder than it needed to be. What I liked about the beginning part of the season – and we're still trying to figure it out how to win because there's a difference between winning a game and finishing off the better teams to win – so there's a beauty about it that the other girls had to play without her because she's one of our chief communicators and she leads with her voice and with her play," Hiers described. 
Klemp finally made her regular season debut last week, but was held to three points in limited minutes in a lopsided 47-19 loss to No. 6 Maryknoll. Two days later, however, she poured in a game-high 24 points to lead Hanalani to a much-needed 47-43 win over Damien. 
"Some nights we don't need her to score and she does other things, but against Damien we needed her to score," said Hiers, who was without two starters against the Monarchs. 
"It was really only her second game of the season so she had to get some of that rust off and everybody knows she can score, but she also rebounds, she can pass the ball – she does a little bit of everything for us and does it well all around; I'd call her one of my glue players," he added. 
Klemp also tallied nine rebounds and four steals in addition to a handful of assists. She made three of her five 3-point attempts that night. 
"Ultimately, her game is to shoot the ball. She's a flat out shooter, that's her gift. If there was a game on the line and I needed a free throw, it would be her, but I don't want that to overshadow the other things she can do as well. She can score if we need her to score, but she does all the little things well, which is important," Hiers said. 
He noted that Klemp has played on Team Aloha, a travel team made up of local players who are hand-picked by program organizer Mufi Hanneman. 
"Mufi calls her the female Larry Bird," Hiers chimed in. "In the past all I needed her to do was spot up and shoot and to play defense because I had others to do other things, but now she helps with the ball handling, too."
With one of his primary ball handlers out for the Damien game, Hiers put the ball in Klemp's hands, which helped the Royals erase a halftime deficit and outscore the Monarchs, 27-20, over the final two quarters. 
"She played a significant role in that. We made her our primary ball handler in the fourth quarter. Knowing that they're probably going to foul, we wanted her at the line because she's a high-percentage free-throw shooter. She's one that every offensive set, the ball needs to touch her hands. She doesn't have to score, but the ball needs to flow through her and we need to make sure we get her the touches because she's probably our best decision-maker as well," Hiers said. 
The win helped Hanalani keep pace with the leaders in the ILH Division II race. 
"That Damien game was obviously important. Every game is important, but just to stay in the seeding race is important and the girls have learned that we have to put in the work and stay focused from game to game because the strategy changes from game to game – it's not always the same. Damien is a good team, they've got some good players, for sure, and it was a battle and very close, but we were able to pull it out. It was a good win and we were thankful, but not satisfied because we know that we have to continue to improve," Hiers said. 
To be sure, Klemp has continually improved since her freshman year, when she averaged 11.2 points per game. She picked up Second Team All-ILH distinction and earned All-Hawaii Honorable Mention that year. Hanalani finished third in the state that season. The following year, it reached the state title game and Klemp represented Hanalani on the all-tournament team; The 5-foot-9 forward averaged 15.5 points per game as a sophomore and received both All-ILH and All-Hawaii first team honors. 
Klemp, who is involved with her school's National Honor Society and owns a 4.0 grade point average, was voted as a team captain by her peers prior to the start of the season. 
"She's one of a kind in the sense of just being super coachable and she's kind of that all-around package who just does what's needed. She's got a great spirit about her, she's a funny, happy-go-lucky, encouraging young lady who loves others, loves God, but she's a competitor and when we get on the court, she's coming focused. She works at her craft – you can't get where she's at without putting in the work," Hiers said. 
Klemp scored a team-high 10 points for Hanalani in a 49-37 loss to Maryknoll Monday. She and the Royals (5-3) continue league play against Damien Friday.

Takase, Kalani. ScorlingLive. 2024, https://scoringlive.com/story.php?storyid=19585