The University of Hawaii tells us the chancellor can wait another two weeks before announcing his choice for a new athletic director. I guess we can be relieved that he’s actually making a choice, and not letting one be rammed down his throat.

Still, this lengthy process is taking way too much time, even by UH’s sloth-like standards. Final approval from the Board of Regents, UH tells us, won’t take place until April 16. By then, basketball coaches will be settling into new jobs.

Now that we’re finally down to two clear favorites: Please, please pick up the pace. UH owes it to everyone involved in the process.

This "search" has been officially ongoing for two months, and candidates started jockeying for position even before that, back to when Ben Jay’s bogus resignation was announced Dec. 9.

Come on now … I got my federal tax refund way faster than that. The one from the state? Now, that’s another matter, and that’s the entity we’re dealing with here.

Are we waiting for some omnipotent rainmaker to fall from the skies?

If the Michelangelo, Warren Buffett or LeBron James of athletic directors was going to show up for an interview he or she would have by now.

What we do have — or did as of Tuesday afternoon — are two very good leading candidates in Keith Amemiya and David Matlin. I also like a third, John McNamara, but it sounds like he’s out of the race along with the other 66 or so applicants and whatever other number of aspirants who didn’t officially apply. (Remember, Matlin was nominated.)

It’s down to Amemiya and Matlin — for now, anyway.

The pulling of Amemiya out of the pile of applicants who didn’t meet the specific minimum qualifications after vetting by human resources means other applicants can potentially cite equivalent experience and vie for an interview.

They might not get one, but it’s another thing to deal with, like UH had to do when women’s basketball coach Dana Takahara-Dias didn’t meet an MQ but was hired late in the game in 2009.

The ridiculous timeline for this hiring leaves plenty of room for shenanigans. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that was the name of the bar/restaurant in the movie "Waiting…" Because it looks like we’re going to be doing some more of that.

Amemiya and Matlin are both well connected locally, but Matlin has better mainland contacts at this point. Amemiya, however, has more experience in the day-to-day grind and exercise of dealing with diverse and demanding constituencies.

Amemiya is linked to the hirings of Gib Arnold and Norm Chow, and that’s something a lot of rank-and-file fans don’t like. But he’s also a powerful fundraiser and worked some magic as a consensus builder while running the Hawaii High School Athletic Association.

Matlin also has a strong network and is by no means malihini, having lived here for decades. For example, he would likely have little problem prying some significant funding from the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Both are UH grads, both born in Hawaii.

This isn’t Matlin’s fault, but the submission of his name alone to the chancellor doesn’t smell right. So kudos to the chancellor, Robert Bley-Vroman, for making this a selection and not merely a rubber-stamp of the committee’s choice.

Any responsible leader would want options for such an important and highly compensated position that is right below him in the chain of command.

As for Amemiya, outrage from some corners that he wasn’t interviewed by the committee is now replaced by outrage that the committee was bypassed. But let’s remember that this is an ADVISORY committee not a SELECTION committee.

In this regard, the system is actually working the way it’s supposed to work. It’s just taking too long.

Hint, hint: The regents are scheduled to meet Thursday. What am I talking about? This is UH.

There is no perfect candidate that will satisfy everyone. But that doesn’t mean one of these final two can’t succeed, as long as he acknowledges his blind spots and builds a strong loyal team to cover them — perhaps including the runner-up for the job, as well as McNamara.

That’s probably asking for too much considering financial sacrifices that would have to be made. But the best thing about a dream team of Amemiya, Matlin and McNamara is that everyone’s heart would be in the right place.