Velasco returns to Punahou to coach girls basketball team

Punahou has announced Kevin Velasco as its new girls basketball coach.

Velasco, a longtime coach in the boys and girls programs at Punahou, was on the staff of Kamehameha for the past two years under Darold Imanaka. Kamehameha won the girls basketball state title in February.

Velasco, a 1975 graduate of Punahou, replaces Courtney Robinson, who took over during preseason. She took the place of Kekoa Taliaferro, who coached for one year-plus before leaving the position. The Buffanblu were 11-7 overall last season, including 5-5 in ILH play. They missed the state tourney, losing to ‘Iolani 38-35 in a deciding ILH playoff game.

Mike Taylor, who guided Punahou to four state titles in his 10-year run before stepping down two years ago, may be on Velasco’s staff.

Shanna-Lei Dacanay, a former all-state guard at Punahou, is already on board as an assistant coach. She was the JV head coach at Kamehameha for the past two seasons.

Velasco is already excited about next season. He’s very familiar with Punahou’s depth of returning talent.

"I’ve scouted these girls while I was at Kamehameha," Velasco said. "We’ll get out, run and make people chase us. That’s what I learned growing up. You dictate your game to people, always pressure (defensively) and get up and go."

His father was the late John Velasco, Radford’s legendary football coach. Kevin Velasco played three sports at Punahou before playing football at BYU and Hawaii. He began coaching at Punahou in 1984, before joining the Kamehameha staff in 2011.

"I am sad about leaving Kamehameha. They have a good nucleus coming back, but this a good opportunity to come back to my alma mater," he said. "At Punahou, I’ve always enjoyed the parents and kids. The biggest challenge will be consistency, knowing what needs to be done and communicating that to everyone so we’re all on one page with a common goal. I want to give the kids the best experience they can have."