GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM At 14, Max Karsten is one of the youngest players in the College Summer Basketball League. He hopes the experience helps when he tries out for Kalaheo's JV team.

Bonding to da Max

Rainbows forward Julian Sensley
and his brother, Max Karsten,
play summer league hoops together

Until a few weeks ago, Susanne Karsten never thought she would see both of her boys playing together in a basketball game.

It was just a few years ago that she thought she wouldn't see the older of the pair much at all.

Julian Sensley: UH forward says his brother was a factor in his return to Hawaii

But there they were, running the floor together at the Manoa District Park gym, older brother Julian Sensley dropping a dime to young Max Karsten for an open jumper.

"That was Max's dream, but I never thought they would be (playing together) being eight years apart," their mother said.

Max shadowed big brother for most of his life and Julian remembers the days when he had to shoo Max off the court when he'd play pick up games at the park. This summer, he decided it was time to let little brother take his shots as well and had the 14-year-old join him in the College Summer Basketball League.

"I'd never let him play because I always got on him being too young and stuff," said Sensley, who is preparing for his senior season with the University of Hawaii basketball team. "He's in high school now and that's around the age I started playing with higher-level guys and it only makes him better.

"This is probably the only time we'll ever get to play on an organized team together at this level of competition," he added. "Who probably gets the biggest kick out of this is our mom. Two of her sons are playing on the same team -- that's something she probably never thought would happen."

Julian and Max are playing together with Electricians Hawaii in the summer league that includes current and former local college and high school players.

Max was a ballboy for UH's games last season and is one of the youngest players in the summer league. He hopes the experience of playing against older competition will pay off in the fall when he tries out for the junior varsity team at Kalaheo High School.

"It'll help my skills playing against better competition and I'll get more confidence," the soft-spoken sophomore-to-be said.

While his older brother helped get him into the league this summer, Max is a big reason why Julian is back in the islands.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM UH forward Julian Sensley is spending the summer playing in the College Summer Basketball League, which includes current and former local college and high school players. One of Sensley's teammates with Electricians Hawaii is his brother, Max Karsten.

"It was really tough on Max because they were always very, very close," Susanne said.

"It was just me and my mom and I didn't have anything to do because he was like my best friend," Max said.

Sensley was considered one of the nation's top recruits coming out of high school, but didn't qualify to play college ball initially and spent a couple of years looking for somewhere to play.

He eventually ended up at Los Angeles City College and was set to finally make the jump to Division I ball after signing with San Francisco.

But the thought of spending two more years on the mainland -- and missing two more years of watching Max grow up -- prompted Sensley to request a release from USF, return home to Kailua and enroll at UH.

"When I left he was playing with toys. I come back and he's into girls and has more of a social life," Sensley said. "It was kind of hard; that was one of the main reasons I came back, to be with my family."

Said Susanne: "Every school wanted him still at that point and he just wanted to come back home. He had a rough time on the mainland. He was really young when he left, he had just made 16. He wanted to be home and be around Max and me, and for us to come and see his games. Max had a lot to do with his decision.

"I thought at 16 he was never going to live at home again," she added. "Now that he's going to UH I see a lot of him and am able to be a part of his life, which is really nice for a mother."

Sensley finished second on the team in scoring both his sophomore and junior seasons at UH. But the 6-foot-9 forward hit a slump last season and his struggles on the court were tough on both him and his family.

"It's one thing when you're out there and you're not doing good," Susanne said. "But it's another thing when you're a mother and you hear people talk around you. You sit in the stands and you know what your kid is going through and you can do absolutely nothing about it.

"But the bottom line is when you're in the limelight everything is looked at, the good and the bad."

The 5-foot-10 Max doesn't have Julian's height, or some of his physical gifts. But he spends much of his free time shooting baskets and working to improve his game.

He admits playing in the summer league was intimidating at first, but he's getting more comfortable playing with and against the league's veterans.

As both brothers use the league to prepare for next season, it's also a chance for Max to finally play alongside his brother, and an opportunity for Julian to watch his younger sibling grow up on the court.

"It's pretty cool," he said. "You get to see him improve; he works hard on his game every day and he spends more time on the court than I do. It's an experience that we both get to share."