Hawaii Basketball

Their college careers maybe coming to an end, but it seems like just yesterday that Derrick Low and Bobby Nash were tearing it up as teammates on the court for Iolani School. During their time together, the duo combined for two state championships, the first of five in Iolani’s illustrious run, and were each named to the All-State First team in 2002 and 2003.

During the 2001-02 season, Nash (Jr.) and Low (So.) accounted for 28.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game for the Raiders who went on to defeat the Kalaheo Mustangs in the 2002 State finals.

Following that season, the pair was featured in a two-page article in the December 2002 publication of SLAM magazine. See it below…

Former University of Hawaii basketball standouts and Hawaii high school stars, Nani Cockett and Brittney Aiwohi, were the featured models on the cover of Midweek in their yearly swimsuit edition. Renowned photographer Russell Tanoue shot the photos in the areas surrounding the newly developed Waikiki Beach Walk Project.

Other models included former men’s basketball team members Lance Takaki and Oa McGee as well as volleyball players Sarah Mason, Lauren Duggins (Chun), Mellissa Villaroman and Ryan Woodward and football players Matt Wright and Jeff Rhode.

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In his first truly difficult task as the head coach of the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team, Bob Nash, announced yesterday that he will not renew the contract of 2-year assistant coach and former UH standout, Alika Smith.

Let’s examine the pros and cons:

Pros: Despite his lineage as the son of legendary Kalaheo Coach Pete Smith, Alika is relatively inexperienced when it comes to coaching at the college level. Since graduating from UH, he was an assistant under Jeff Law at the University of Hawaii - Hilo from 2001-2003 and was part of the Manoa staff for the last two years. His departure allows for the hiring of a “seasoned” assistant that could bring added knowledge to the staff or enhance recruiting. We’ll know more when the new coach is hired…

Cons: For a guy that received his first coaching opportunity 25 years ago despite his own inexperience, this was a disappointing move for the new head coach. Alika, much like Nash, was a standout at UH, but unlike Nash, was an all-state performer here in high school and the only true “kama’aina” on the staff. While his age, 31, may appear to be a hinderance, the importance of having a relatable presence on the staff is often invaluable to bridge the communication gap between the older coaches and the college-aged players.

Bob Nash has been named the new head coach of the University of Hawaii… now what? Seems like we should all know the guy after 26 years, so why is it so hard to figure out what we’re in for next season?

Well, despite his long tenure at the school, Nash hasn’t had many opportunities to do what he’s wanted to do (whatever that is), so it’d be unfair to assume one way or another that he’ll be just like Riley or completely different. All we can do right now is listen to what he’s saying in the media and hope for the best…

Here’s a few notable quotes from Coach Nash’s appearance on Stephen Tsai’s blog:

Asked about a shift to a high-paced game:

…we hope to bring an exciting brand of fast pace basketball back to the Stan Sheriff but we have to go out and get athletes to do that so we are goint to be out recruiting to find replacements for Lojeski and Gueye.

Response to a question about the returning players and their ability to adjust to a new system:

We have a good nucleus returning and when you look at Bobby Nash, Matt Gibson, those guys have alwasy been on the open floor and could shoot the ball. Those guys like the freedom to do that. Matt Gibson is good in the open floor. But we also have to grab boards and that’s where P.J. Owsley and Stephen Verwers come in.

We will also try to get the ball to them in the block.

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Bob Nash has been named the new head coach of the Unversity of Hawaii Men’s Basketball Team and will get his opportunity to lead the very same university he once played for as a member of the legendary “Fab 5“.

Nash has been on staff with UH for the last 25 years, including being the assistant coach for the last 20 years under Riley Wallace who recently resigned following the 2006-07 season. During his time as an assistant, Nash was in charge of scouting future opponents as well as scheduling opponents for upcoming seasons.

By now, everyone seems to be pretty familiar with Coach Nash, so let’s just end the speculation and see what happens. Just be reminded what day today is… Friday the 13th. Let’s hope that means bad luck for all the other WAC teams. Haha.

Press Conference - Update: (From Stephen Tsai’s Blog)

Nash said he wants a “tougher basketball schedule.”

“Basketball wise, I’m a fast-paced guy,” Nash said, indicating the Rainbows will run a more uptempo offense. He also wants to have more of a pressing defense. He said he wants to give the players more freedom. He said he wants “to let these guys make plays.”

The search for the new University of Hawaii head basketball coach has been narrowed down to four candidates and a preliminary selection is expected within the next few days.

The “Final Four” candidates are: Bob Nash, UH, Associate Head Coach; Dean Demopoulos, Portland Trailblazers, Lead Assistant Coach; Willis Wilson, Rice, Head Coach; Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s, Head Coach

Apparantly, UCLA assistant Donny Daniels was not among those contacted last week by UH to come in for an interview (according to the Honolulu Advertiser).

About the other candidates (not already covered):

Willis Wilson, Rice, Head Coach
Why he should get it: Coach Wilson just completed his 15th season at Rice University compiling an overall record of 216-219 with the Owls, including a record of 16-16 last season. In 2004 and 2005, Rice received bids to the NIT with wins totalling 22 and 18 respectively. In the early 90’s, Wilson spent time on the Stanford coaching staff under Mike Montgomery, making the NCAA tournament in 1992.

Why he shouldn’t: In all his time at Rice, Coach Wilson has a sub-500 record and was never able to lead his team to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Nuff said. Wouldn’t his selection be a step down?

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Ramsey Williams (Moanalua ‘98), the 1997 Star-Bulletin Hawaii State Player-of-the-Year, has resurfaced in the Philippines having been picked up by Harbour Centre of the Philippine Basketball League.

Williams, a reserve guard for the Port Masters, helped the team win the 2007 PBL Silver Cup in a 3-game sweep of the Hapee-PCU Teethmasters in the championship final. Though his minutes were limited, Williams averaged 3.1 assists per game at the point guard spot for Harbour Centre with a season best 9 assists (5 points and 6 rebounds) against Kettle Korn - UST.

During his playing days in Hawaii, Williams was an All-State First Team selection in 1997 and 1998 and a member of the back-to-back state champion, Moanalua Menehune in 1996 and 1997. He was an incredible ballhandler with an innate scoring ability, virtually unstoppable from any spot on the floor.

After high school, Williams spent some time at Leeward Community College and played two seasons at Missouri Valley College and College of the Desert (California). In 2002, he walked on to the University of Hawaii and was a reserve guard for the Warriors, but stayed for only a single season.

[Photo: Star Bulletin]

While programs around the country are signing new coaches, snatching them from the virtual merry-go-round of resignations and acceptances as fast as they possible can, the University of Hawaii is still without a new head coach and may not be left with many choices as the coaching pool gets smaller and smaller with each passing day. The “hopeful” Final Four deadline has passed, but the interviews are still ongoing and hopefully there’s a few good “interested” candidates still left.

Here’s a few that have been mentioned as potential candidates:

Dean Demopoulos, Portland Trailblazers, Lead Assistant Coach
Why he should get it: While Demopoulos (shown, The Seattle Times) would surely bring his NBA experiences (and connections) along with him as a current assistant with the Portland Trailblazers, its his 17 years at Temple University under legendary coach John Chaney that’s the most appealing. During his years at Temple, the Owls became a national powerhouse amassing a record of 393-151, making 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and reaching the Elite 8 on four occasions. As an assistant, Demopoulos was known as the balance to the tempermental Chaney and was the recruiter responsible for bringing in future NBA players Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie.

Why he shouldn’t: Demopoulos has only been a head coach for one year and didn’t do so well. At the University of Missouri - Kansas City, he coached the team to a 14-16 record in his only season before moving on to the Sonics (and eventually to the Blazers). Granted, he didn’t have much time to recruit or implement his system, but its disappointing that he would leave after just one year.

Donny Daniels, UCLA, Assistant Coach
Why he should get it: Daniels would bring a wealth of experience to UH in all facets of the college game having participated as a player, coach and top-level recruiter. His coaching resume as an assistant is extremely impressive as he served 11 years under Rick Majerus at Utah and is currently an assistant under Ben Howland at UCLA. Both are highly respected coaches and programs which Daniels had to have learned a lot from. As a recruiter, Daniels was one of the main influences in bringing future NBA stars Andre Miller and Keith Van Horn to Utah during the Utes’ most successful years. At UCLA, he helped recruit the highly touted Class of 2004 which included Jordan Farmar, Aaron Afflalo, Josh Shipp and Lorenzo Mata.

Why he shouldn’t: There aren’t many reasons as Daniels appears to be among the most well-rounded candidates available, so it’ll probably come down to whether or not he wants to leave UCLA. His only downside may be that after 3 years as the head coach of Cal State Fullerton (his alma mater), the Titans only won 20 total games and as soon as they made the turn, he left for UCLA. People familiar with the situation call his work at Fullerton “a complete turnaround” which could be promising.

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After spending two years in the NBDL, former University of Hawaii standout Carl English, moved on to Europe to play for Virtus Bologna of the Italian League in 2005-06 and KK Zadar of the Adriatic League this past season (2006-07).

As a starting guard, English helped Zadar to the 2007 Croatian National Championship leading the team in scoring at 20.3 points per game and contributing 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per night. He shot 44.2% from the field including 37.4% from 3-point range and was also named the MVP of the 2006 NLB All-Star Game.

KK Zadar finished in 7th in the Adriatic League with a record of 14-12.

A five member advisory committee has been named to assist Herman Frazier in the search for the new head coach of the University of Hawaii men’s basketball program. Why were they chosen?… Do they know anything about basketball?… Who are they? (Can’t help much with the first two questions… but the internet helped to answer the third.)

Here’s a brief rundown on each member:

Robert Ichikawa, Attorney, Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda
Mr. Ichikawa is an attorney at Kobayashi Sugita & Goda, having joined the firm in 1987 and making partner in 1994. According to their website, he “has extensive experience in immigration law and combines his background in corporate law to advise hotels, restaurants, health care institutions, financial institutions, computer companies and entrepreneurs on complex petitions and visa applications.” View Attorney Profile »

Janet Yoshida, President, UH Alumni Association
Ms. Yoshida, as well as being the President of the UH Alumni Association, is the senior director of sales and marketing at Hawaiian Airlines. She graduated from UH with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Theatre and Dance in 1982 and lists her hobbies as “running, yoga, working out, hula, pets (and) gardening.” More about Janet Yoshida »

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Who could it be? Who should it be?…

Who knows… but evidently there are a ton of applicants with hopeful aspirations of become the leader of second biggest show in town (behind UH football). 71 to be exact. Among them is 25 year staff member Bob Nash and current Kentucky assistant coach Scott Rigot. Both intruiging choices, but why should we choose one or the other?… Here’s a quick rundown:

Bob Nash, University of Hawaii, Associate Head Coach
Why he should get it: Simply put, Coach Nash should at least have a CHANCE to coach the Warriors. Loyalty goes far in Hawaii and you can’t get more loyal than his 25 years which is longer than even Coach Wallace’s entire UH career (and that doesn’t include his playing days). And… His son is in his final season, so it’d be great to see the two together for at least one more year.

Why he shouldn’t: Well, it could be time for a change. Time to make the jump from local to national. Time to expect more than simply an NCAA berth and join the other “big-time” mid-majors in moving beyond the opening game. UH should strive to be Butler… not Jackson State or Niagara. Its not known at this point how much Coach Nash knows or how far he could possibly take them, but when you’ve been under the same guy with that same mentality for so long, its hard think otherwise.

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Former University of Hawaii point guard Logan Lee is a reserve guard for the #7-ranked Texas A&M Aggies who won their opening game in the 2007 NCAA Tournament against Penn 68-52.

Since leaving UH in 2004 just before the start of his sophomore season, Lee has been a member of the Texas A&M Men’s team for the last 3 seasons, sitting out in 2004 and playing in a limited role the last two seasons. As a senior this year, he has appeared in 24 games averaging 5.6 minutes per game and less than a point per game.

While at UH, Lee split time as a starting guard averging nearly 25 minutes per game, scoring 4.2 ppg with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.73:1.

[Photo: Star Bulletin]

As the UH regular season comes to a close and speculation grows as to who will take over as the next head basketball coach, Bobby Nash (shown, Star Bulletin) and his “fabulous” father remain optimisitic about the team’s chances this year and are hopeful they can remain united and make a run next season.

Bob Nash, current associate head coach, has already been endorsed by current coach Riley Wallace and is a leading candidate to take over the reigns next season when Coach Wallace retires. But there’s no guarantees…

There is also no guarantee that Bobby will return to be a part of the Warriors next year either. The 6-6 junior guard, who is currently averaging 10.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg, will graduate from UH in May and be in a position to choose his final destination as a part of a newly created NCAA transfer rule. Under this rule, if a player graduates prior to the expiration of his athletic eligibility, he has the option to transfer to the school of his choice in his final season without having to sit out.

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Football may be the sport that gets Jeremiah Ostrowski (Punahou ‘07) a scholarship at the next level, but basketball has been a part of his life since the day he was born. As a member of the legendary Ostrowski family, he has been around the sport nearly all his life, traveling along with his father Kui to play in men’s leagues since he was in elementary school.

Read the article in the Honolulu Advertiser, “Basketball is a way of life for Ostrowski” »

Former Kalaheo Mustang and University of Hawaii standout Julian Sensley was picked up by TShop.it Livorno of the Italian Basketball League on January 20th of this year. Livorno plays in Serie A, the highest level of club competition in Italy.

Thus far, Sensley has appeared in 5 games for Livorno averaging 4.8 ppg with a high of 14. He is shooting just 21.4% from the field (3-14) and 33.3% from 3-point range (6-18).

See Sensley’s complete statistics (Italian) »