Kawazoe to follow Young as head coach for ‘Iolani girls basketball

It won’t be easy to fill the shoes of a legendary coach and his staff, or replicate the achievements of a legendary program.

Branden Kawazoe intends to try, the ‘Iolani way. The longtime boys basketball assistant coach and former Kaiser boys hoops head coach is the Raiders’ new girls basketball coach.

Kawazoe, 42, got the position roughly two weeks ago, but there has been no official announcement. On Thursday, ‘Iolani’s athletic department confirmed his hiring. The first thought Kawazoe had was about boys head coach Ryan Hirata.

“I’m so grateful for Ryan. He just valued everybody’s input across the board on the staff. It’s ‘One Team.’ He made the assistant coaching position feel so valuable,” Kawazoe said. “I knew, head coaching is something I wanted to do again, but I wasn’t in a rush. The boys team has a lot coming back, but the opportunity (with the girls team) came up and it felt right.”

Kawazoe played at Waiakea and Pacific University, becoming an assistant coach at the latter before returning to Hawaii in 2009. Most of his coaching career has been at ‘Iolani, surrounded by Raiders lifers. Kawazoe’s older daughter is a seventh grader at ‘Iolani. His fifth grade daughter will enroll at ‘Iolani this fall.

The sudden departure of longtime girls basketball coach Dean Young and staff, coupled with the unexpected retirement of athletic director Wendell Look, left the Raiders with an unusually dynamic scenario.

“It’s about honoring the legacy of Coach Dean and Coach Cy (Ohta). Being a part of the ‘Iolani program for 10-plus years, the values and the culture, that’s who I’ve become,” Kawazoe said. “I’m thankful to (Co-athletic directors) Eddie (Maruyama), Wendell (Look), Mo (Maurice Maggiolino) and the athletic administration for providing me this opportunity,” Kawazoe added.

Kawazoe also provided another massive boost for Raiders fans. Justice Kekauoha might just be returning to ‘Iolani after all. There was rampant speculation that the three-time All-State guard might transfer to a California powerhouse program for her senior year.

“Everybody’s intention is to be back, including Justice. Our coaching staff, we’re grateful that everyone’s coming back with an open mind because it’s such a huge change, going from a standard of excellence to the unknown. That’s going to be our job as a staff to gain their trust, lead them where they’re at and collectively set goals,” Kawazoe said.

With two-time defending state champion Kamehameha losing major pieces, including two-time Player of the Year Nihoa Dunn, the path to the 2026-27 title could be wide open. At Kaiser, Kawazoe’s teams played an uptempo style, aggressive on both ends, with good execution of clock management when necessary.

“I met with the returnees. Really just picked their brains on what they want, what they’re looking for. The standard of ‘Iolani basketball is set and the goal is to maintain that standard while adding some of my own perspective in there. Provide the girls with an opportunity,” he said.