Farrington star Heimuli being compared with some of Hawaii’s best

Deep down inside, under that high-scoring, mega-rebounding role on the basketball court, Molimau Heimuli has another equally robust passion.

Heimuli, Farrington’s gifted and versatile senior post with guard skills, has been on a roll all season, posting 20 points and 10 boards on multiple occasions. She sparked the Lady Governors to a 47-39 win over Kaimuki last week in the OIA Division I championship game.

But she knows exactly when club rugby season begins.

“They’re starting practice right now,” Heimuli said. “My uncle coaches the Kalihi Raiders. I started playing in eighth grade.”

There is no high school girls rugby or football, though the OIA briefly considered flag football roughly a decade ago. Heimuli is deceptively quick up and down the hardwood, has power in the post, yet exercises tremendous balance and skill. Rugby is where she is a different animal.

“I can take all my anger out and make contact to other players,” Heimuli said. “I don’t make a lot of contact in basketball.”

She is one of the many reasons why Farrington has re-emerged as a statewide powerhouse. The Govs, coached by Caroline Tatupu, went 12-1 in league play this season.

“It feels good winning the OIA championship. Our fans, some of them are still shocked that we actually won the OIA,” Heimuli said. “It’s good, but not good enough.”

They look much like the title teams of the recent past. Farrington won three OIA championships in a row from 2009 to 2011, then came a dip and a Division II league crown in ’14 (under then-coach Steven Leopoldo).

Then came a return to D-I. Tatupu also returned, extracting every drop of sweat from the current Govs as they went from contenders to champions.

“She’s a humble and coachable player,” Tatupu said of Heimuli. “She’s finally playing with confidence, which allows her to own the paint and dominate her position. That same confidence allows her to step outside of her comfort zone and shoot long-range shots, as well as handle the ball with ease.”

Heimuli’s conditioning is a major factor — she runs from start to finish as other forwards and centers wear down. Her footwork and skills are almost unmatched.

“She’s one of the strongest posts this year,” Kaimuki coach Mona Fa‘asoa said. “Soft touch. It’s hard to teach a post player about finesse, making a strong move and finishing with a soft touch.”

Leilehua coach Elroy Dumlao compares Heimuli to another Farrington great, Sunshine Misa-Uli.

“Moli is just a little stronger and bigger,” he said.

Kalani coach Chi Mok saw more of Heimuli than he cared to. He sees a similarity to one of Hawaii’s best players ever.

“She reminds me of Shawna-Lei Kuehu at Punahou. Just dominated,” Mok said.

Fa‘asoa compares Heimuli, who is a legitimate 6 feet tall, to another player who is practically immortal in Hawaii high school basketball history: Brandy Richardson, the former Kalaheo standout.

“I think (Heimuli) should be going to a Division I school. I see her playing at the 4,” Fa‘asoa said.

The longtime Kaimuki coach wasn’t the only one to see the similarity — especially since Heimuli, like Richardson, is a left-hander. Moanalua coach Tani Almont-Done also noted that Heimuli reminds her of the former UC Santa Barbara player.

“Bigs that are versatile are hard to defend. She can play big in the post by making moves and grabbing boards, and she can dribble, make moves at the perimeter and run the fast break,” Almont-Done said.

One of Richardson’s former coaches is current Maryknoll head coach Chico Furtado, but he sees a comparison more to a pure post master.

“She reminds me most of Latoya Wily,” Furtado said of one of his former Kalaheo players, now head coach at Kahuku. “We have played against Moli about six times over the past three years in summer league and preseason, mostly. She is very strong in the post, athletic and runs the floor well for a post player.”

Comparing Heimuli to a player of Richardson’s stature?

“That’s probably because they’re both left-handed,” Furtado said. “I hate to compare anyone to Brandy.”

Heimuli’s package of skills on the block is sick, as the kids say. She can establish leverage, pivot and finish with the left or right hand, and she’s one of the best free-throw shooters in the OIA.

“I’ve reminded her every single day for the past three years about using her right hand,” assistant coach Bryson Tatupu-Leopoldo said. “It makes her an even greater threat. I even told her that her right hand was going to help us win the OIA championship this year, and it did.”

There’s work still to be done, of course.

“She needs to increase her shooting range to be a next-level 4,” said Furtado, who played college ball at Chaminade. “She may be a bit small for a D-I 5.”

That is, unless that college program plays small ball. Heimuli, who has good mechanics on her shooting release, could project as a stretch 5 when she’s not at the 4. Another coach whose team faced Farrington is Sherice Ajifu of Mid-Pacific. She thinks Heimuli already has skill from beyond.

“With her size, she can dominate in the post, yet she has range to knock down 3s,” Ajifu said. “Unlike most other posts, she’s sometimes been tasked with bringing the ball down the court. It’s her versatility. Her ability to play 94 feet.”

For now, though, it’s all about the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships. Fourth-seeded Farrington has an opening-round bye and will play Kamehameha on Thursday.