Big weekend coming up for Johnson and Ostrowski
In the middle of an island-hopping road trip this weekend, Zane Johnson and Miah Ostrowski will add to the itinerary. And with good reason.
The Hawaii basketball team is scheduled to play against Hawaii-Hilo on the Big Island on Friday, and then against North Carolina A&T on Maui on Sunday (December 18).
The University of Hawaii’s mid-year graduation ceremony is scheduled for Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center, and Johnson and Ostrowski have earned enough credits to graduate. In order to play in both games and participate in the graduation, the two seniors will endure a hectic travel schedule.
For starters, they each have to take a final exam on Friday afternoon, and thus will join the rest of the team on the Big Island a few hours before tip-off against Hawaii-Hilo. Shortly after that game, Johnson and Ostrowski will take a flight back to Oahu so that they can get ready for the Saturday morning graduation.
After the graduation ceremony, the two will get on another flight to join the Warriors in Maui.
“I think it’s going to be fun,” Ostrowski said. “It’s not so bad being that we’re only going to an outer-island, it’s a 30-minute flight … it’s not like we have to travel to the mainland. It’s going to be a tight schedule, but it’s going to be fun in the end.”
Johnson and Ostrowski will both get their degrees in sociology. Johnson technically still has one more class to take next semester to complete his degree.
“I think it means more to my family,” Johnson said. “From an early age, my family stressed education and getting a degree for the future and later on in life.”
Ostrowski said his college graduation will also have special meaning for his family. “In my family, I’m the oldest so to be the first one to graduate and try to be a responsible leader for my sisters to graduate too, so it’s a big accomplishment.”
(Photos courtesy Brandon Flores)
Big Congratulations to two graduating seniors!
Great to see Zane and Miah getting it done in the classroom and on the hardwood!
Dayton: Would be interested to get your take on the current mindset of Shaq Stokes after hearing reports that he may be a little dissatisfied. Hope it’s not serious. I think the kid’s got some real potential and I hope he sticks it out.
Congrats to Miah and Zane. In the future, as Gib’s recruits go through the system, I hope there’s a continued emphasis on academics and graduation.. That should be part of building the program, too.
good to go island hopping but the fanbase is way to small to make money
Good job guys! It’s always gonna look good on your resumes.
Ripcurrent, don’t believe everything you hear. Just because a “color commentator” (with no real basketball experience) on a local radio station tries to act like he has his ear to the ground, doesn’t mean he has a clue about the program.
On a more positive note, congrats to Zane and Miah. It is quite an accomplishment to participate in Division I athletics and receive your diploma early while still participating in your sport.
You did your Mom and Dad proud ,way to go Miah.Now go get your Masters degree.!!
Congratulations to Zane and Miah…..
True “student-athletes” and great
representatives of the Univ of Hawaii…..
Aloha and God Bless !!!!!
BTW…Great job on this story Dayton !!!!!
Congrats Zane and Miah! Way to set the example and finish what you started.
Of course hawaiifan09, only you could leave a negative comment to a feel-good article about them graduating.
Manoa Baller: I hope you’re right. Stokes seems to be a good kid but it’s difficult for any true freshman to make the transition to D1 ball without any challenges. Based on another report I picked up this morning, it appears he’s on board with the program so that was good to hear. He can learn a lot from guys like Miah and Zane.
Yes, Shaq has been smarter than the average player and freshman (definitely way ahead of the not-yet-qualifiers);
So i’ll count on him being smarter than the average freshman or Syracuse Graduate (Losing Reggie Carter still stings esp. since Boeheim shot his mouth off (again?) but hasn’t bothered correcting his East Coast Biases versus Hawai’i…What Goes Around …)
And Definitely Concur on Zane & Miah — Congrats on Graduation — And Done with More Time to Play … i can tell you that when the (Class) Heat is Off (i also only “needed” one class per Senior Season) Everything’s Way More Fun !
Really Great, Hard-Working Role Models … Thank You again for choosing to do all that here @ Hawai’i … Safe Successful Travels…
Sage advice from Manoa Baller …
Shaquille Stokes of course was not satisfied with having his minutes diminished in the last game. What competitive player would be okay with a move like that?
This is worth noting: after each practice this week, Stokes has been the last player to leave the gym. He has been putting in lots of extra time working on his shot and dribbling. He obviously wants to work himself back into more minutes.
‘Way to go Shaq! 🙂
lol you’re the one writing the bad comment…you probably deny with what dayton said about stokes being upset
That’s the kind of responsible reaction you get from a Winner — Not Crying, Moping or Belly-Aching — just work harder and Earn More PT …
Hit his first half shots against Hilo — again led the team in scoring — seemed to get rewarded by coach with Max PT — Good Sign …
That’s the Kind of Stuff that earns your coach’s Trust …