Now it’s Nick’s time

People always tell athletes that nothing good ever happens after midnight.

But with everything, there is an exception to the rule. And that exception’s name is Nick Velasquez.

Velasquez, a senior leader for the defending champion Punahou boys basketball team, has been waking up just after 4 a.m. for some time now, climbing into the family car and dropping his mother off to work at Delta Air Lines. After that, it’s time to shoot out the lights.

Velasquez will drive the lonely streets to 24 Hour Fitness and most of the time has the gym to himself.

Even if stragglers do show up, it isn’t easy to get Velasquez’s attention, as the headphones go on and he dribbles the ball to the beat of whatever song pops up. Sometimes it’s a fast rap, sometimes something slower, but he’s always hitting the beat like a metronome.

Like a billion ballers before him, Velasquez will get lost in the moment and morph into Kevin Durant, shooting the game-winner with the clock winding down. There are fewer do-overs with Velasquez, though, as he might be the best pure shooter on the Hawaii prep scene.

Velasquez announced his presence last year with a pair of game-winners in the preseason. Like any great shooter, the only thought involved in turning a loss into a win in a split second is a brief prayer in the huddle. After that, instinct takes over.

“It is all just in the moment,” Velasquez said. “It’s like unconscious thought. But when the ball is in the air I feel like time stops. It is the greatest feeling.”

Velasquez will have to stop time more often this year. He was along for the ride in last year’s title run, but might be asked to drive the bus this time around. The state champs were built around eight seniors, including DeForest Buckner and Malik Johnson. When Velasquez hit practice for the first time this year, he found himself with three other seniors surrounded by a junior, nine sophomores and a freshman.

“It’s a little different without that imposing presence,” Velasquez said. “But I think the guys we have can step up and fulfill the roles they had last year. We lost a lot, but we gained a lot, too. We just have to get in tune with our team and I think we’ll be all right.”

Velasquez scored 17 points in a loss to Moanalua last week, then dipped to seven in a blowout win over Pearl City.

Punahou has a tough week ahead, with Kapolei, Farrington and Kahuku at the Moanalua tournament, and his point production might be erratic in those games as well. He probably could put 20 on any of them, but Velasquez isn’t about to mess with team success.

“I like to handle the ball, but we have our point guards and shooting is more of my role on this team,” Velasquez said. “It is the coach’s choice, the system works and we got a state championship. I just try to help out the team the best way I can wherever I can.”

Velasquez will get as many minutes as he can handle in Punahou’s demanding system after being limited last year, but filling a role on the floor has never been a problem for the 6-foot-2 combo guard.

Stepping up and leading might be, but the team’s ultimate leader doesn’t think so.

“Oh yeah, he’s definitely a leader,” Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. “This is a real young team, so he is going to have to teach, and he’s been with us since he was in the fourth grade, so he knows how to do it.”

Although Velasquez preaches team above all, he is playing for much more than those who share a huddle with him. He was the first recipient of a financial aid scholarship given out in former Punahou state champion Kameron Steinhoff’s name. Velasquez was a team manager when Steinhoff led the crew to the 2008 state title before dying in a skateboarding accident last year.

And so, while kids in the stands hold Velasquez signs, the man himself shows up to the gym in a green Steinhoff shirt.

Velasquez’s mother, Debi, helped him through that tragedy the same as she has helped him with every small problem along the way. A divorce made her a single mother when Velasquez was very young, but that hasn’t stopped her from being a huge reason for his success.

“She means everything to me,” Velasquez said. “She’s a single parent who always works extra hours for me, whatever I need. As long as she is happy, I am happy.”

Velasquez and his mother have begun to think about the future after he spent the summer wowing recruiters on mainland trips and improving his body with the help of Tactical Strength and Conditioning, but he doesn’t want to think about where to take his game until after he completes the prep season.

That means more time at 24 Hour Fitness, except that now that he has his own car, there probably won’t be any time for fun and games, right?

“Yeah, right,” Velasquez responds to that thought. “I’ll be there at 24. (Having a car) probably means I will never leave.”