Because of the University of Hawaii basketball mess, I missed most of a celebration of an NAIA national championship team Tuesday night. Hawaii Pacific’s 1992-93 team’s induction into its school’s hall of fame was still a good reminder there’s a whole lot more to college basketball on this island than UH.
The golden age of small college hoops here might never be recaptured. But that "only game in town" garbage we often hear about UH sports is especially not true when it comes to basketball.
Considering the ridiculous circus that the Rainbow Warriors program has devolved into, maybe it’s time to give Chaminade, HPU, UH Hilo and BYUH (while we have it) a bigger share of attention again.
That’s what happened in the late 1970s and ’80s when UH got in trouble with the NCAA … and, wow, did they deliver. The Silverswords’ upset of the century over Virginia was the centerpiece of a great era in Hawaii college basketball — in which UH had little or no role.
With that being said, I hope not too many folks give up on the UH players themselves. The situation they’re in isn’t their fault.
I wouldn’t blame Isaac Fotu one bit if he leaves. Depending on the length of his possible suspension stemming from the NCAA investigation, it makes no sense to sit around when he has an offer to go pro.
As of Thursday night, Fotu was still on the UH roster and Benjy Taylor was still the acting head coach. TV analyst and former player Artie Wilson said his phone was "burning up" with people telling him he should be the interim coach. But none of those calls were coming from UH.
Taylor committed a major error in talking about Fotu and the NCAA investigation while at a press conference Wednesday. Good for us in the media, but not for UH.
Wilson’s summer league coaching record is better than Taylor’s 67-109 college ledger, but that doesn’t make either of them qualified. And the more I think about Riley Wallace the less it seems a good idea; it’s not like he’s taking bets at the sports book at the Cal, but "casino" is not a good workplace for any college sports coach to have on his resume.
Fired coach Gib Arnold is doing his best to try to make people feel sorry for him, but in his statement Tuesday he threw his staff under the bus. Unless I missed something, head coach has always meant you’re responsible for what happens on your watch.
One of the few people handling himself like a pro amid this mess is an amateur, senior guard Garrett Nevels. Before practice Wednesday, Nevels expressed loyalty to Taylor. But he stopped short of saying he would quit if Taylor were not retained.
"At the end of the day I’m here to play for the University of Hawaii," he said.
Nevels laughed and nodded with approval when I told him I want him to be player-coach.
Yes, that’s crazy and probably against some rule. But it’s not as silly as some of the other ridiculousness surrounding this program lately. And who cares about rules?
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads Opens in a new tab.
