Road Weary Sensley Wanted to Go Back Home
Julian Sensley has traveled many places over the past five years in search of basketball bliss, but the 6-8, 230 pound combo forward has decided to return to his roots next year.
Sensley, a native of Kailua, Hawaii, committed to Hawaii last week according to L.A. City Head Coach Mike Miller.
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Sensley, who helped L.A. City win a state crown in 2003, will have three years of eligibility at Hawaii beginning in the fall of 2003.
"Julian signed a non-binding scholarship agreement with Hawaii," Miller said. "He wanted to go home. He's been away from home for four or five years now."
Sensley burst onto the scene at the 1998 adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, where he led Fila Hawaii Select deep into one of the consolation brackets.
In order to boost his academic credentials, Sensley wound up transferring to the St. Thomas More School in Connecticut for two years. He was at St. Thomas More from 1999-2001, leading the Chancellors to back to back NEPSAC Class A titles.
While at St. Thomas More, Sensley committed to California. After failing to get through the NCAA Clearinghouse, he enrolled at Diablo Valley College in the Bay Area in the fall of 2001.
Sensley decided to leave Diablo Valley and reunite with former St. Thomas More teammate Solomon Brown at Iona College in New York later that fall. But that didn't last very long either, and he intended to transfer to Fresno State last winter.
He was at Fresno but the sudden retirement of Jerry Tarkanian last spring put those plans on hold. Initial reports had Sensley headed to the Community College of Southern Nevada last summer. Instead, he enrolled at L.A. City.
Sensley is a big man with face up skills. He averaged 13.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, shooting 53 percent from the floor and 69 percent from the foul line.
"Julian has improved in subtle ways this year," Miller said. "Especially in his defense and team play."
Sensley had committed to San Francisco back in the fall but was released from his national letter of intent this spring. That gave him the ability to reassess his options, and he decided to return to his native Hawaii.
He's an excellent late pick up for the Rainbows this late in the recruiting process.
"He should do well in that conference based on his athletic ability alone," Miller said. "Hawaii is very happy that they are getting the best player in the history of the island."