It’s official: Manroop Clair signs letter of intent
One day after making a commitment to join the Hawai’i basketball team, Canadian guard Manroop Clair honored it by signing an official letter of intent.
Here is the official announcement from the UH media relations department:
University of Hawai`i men’s basketball coach Gib Arnold announced the fifth addition to his 2012-13 recruiting class with the signing of guard Manroop Clair. Clair will join UH this fall and will have four years of eligibility.
Clair, a 6-foot-2,175-pound native of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, suited up for nationally ranked Huntington Prep in West Virginia this past season. He joined the team midway through the season in December and helped the talent-laden squad to a 28-2 overall record.
(Clair is at left in this photo after signing his letter of intent. Photo courtesy DRIVE Basketball)
But it was with his AAU team, DRIVE, that he originally turned heads with his lethal shooting range and deft ball-handling. Clair led DRIVE in scoring in almost every game last summer and averaged 29.6 points and 4.6 assists. He also helped lead DRIVE to a second-place finish at the Northwest Championships in Seattle, as the team upset AAU powerhouse Northwest along the way. During his past two seasons with DRIVE he has displayed his shooting prowess by converting better than 40 percent of this three-point attempts.
“We are thrilled to have Manroop join our team,” Arnold said. “He has deep range to play a shooting guard and the ball-handling skills and vision to play the point. He plays an exciting style of basketball and UH fans will love watching him play. He is a true gym rat, a hard worker and a self-made player. He is a great get for Hawai’i and I am looking forward to coaching him.”
Clair joins four others in this year’s recruiting—junior college transfer Brandon Spearman (Chicago, Ill.) and freshmen Caleb Dressler (Vancouver, Wash.), Isaac Fotu (Auckland New Zealand) and shooting guard Orel Lev (Tel Aviv, Israel).
2012-13 Recruiting Class
Manroop Clair, 6-2, 170, G, Fr., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, Huntington Prep
Caleb Dressler, 6-10, 240, C, Fr., Vancouver, Wash., Evergreen HS
Isaac Fotu, 6-9, 235, F, Fr., Torbay, Auckland, New Zealand, Rangitoto College
Orel Lev, 6-4, 190, G, Fr., Tel Aviv, Israel, Ironi Tet High School
Brandon Spearman, 6-3, 190, G, Jr., Chicago, Ill., Indian Hills Community College
roop!
Great get!!!! Now maybe, an athletic wing 6’5″ to 6″7″? Go get em Gib!!
And thanks Dayton for this site!!
Welcome Manroop to the UH basketball family. Do well in school, hit that weight room off season, put on somemore pounds of muscle and shoot lights out…Hey , Dayton we look forward to any future videos of Manroop visit or Summer league games with summer session new guys..!!
Wow Gib!!
Good Sign, that he’s a Good Student as well as BB Recruit…
Take Care of the Paperwork Fast & Timely…
Now Graduate & Get into UH Summer School with Isaac Fotu and Caleb Dressler
(Keith Shamburger & Brandon Spearman already D-1 Qualified).
Put all of that talk of last year’s Non-Qualifiers to rest…
Welcome to Hawai’i ‘Roop!
Canada-Hawai’i has been a long-time great connection!
Hey Roop bring your Canadian friends ( Wiggins and Bhullar) with you to the islands. You guys will make history here.
Awesome! Welcome Manroop, really looking forward to watching you play for UH next season.
Roop-da-hoop!! dats wat I’m talkin bout!
the most influential player-addition in term of impact to the TEAM since Tom Henderson;
an All-American, who advocates discipline & hard-work, insists that Hawaii should easily attract 2 good guards of this mode annually.
thanks, Manroop Clair & Brandon Spearman for signing, you proved that he can be right this year (we got our Man & man!).
the most skillful player by fame Freshman since
the most influential player-addition in terms of impact to the TEAM, since Tom Henderson,
an All-American, Olympian, NBA All-Star, who advocates discipline & hard-work insists:
“Hawaii should attracts at-least 2 good guards of such mode perennially.
thanks for signing Manroop Clair & Brandon Spearman. you proved that he’s right this year (we got our Man & man!).
the most skillful by fame Freshman guard, since Christ Gain, one of our beloved Star Players, the only Mr. Basketball of the Year from HS for Hawaii.
your impressive smile on the signing photo, depicts genuine feeling of a proud & happy recruit (one of our future Stars).
you’ve put the OHANA in that same mood, to be repeated time after time (we’ll be grateful all along!).
sorry, for the inadvertent duplicate paragraphs.
don’t know what happened during comment submitting.
Dayton great work and videos as always.
Question: You think Gib is going to fill one more scholarship. one more athlete to complete this year’s recruiting ?
Coach Gib talked about still working with a few 2-3-4’s that can provide more height, length, scoring & athleticism, in the 6-5 to 6-7 range;
As well as some overseas recruits;
Although could also be for next year…
Been following this site for a while now, figured I’d throwin my two cents.
Manroop is in range once he steps over mid court and he shoots it with form. He looks really good.
Lot of “fans” complain about Gib and his program and all of the lost student-athletes, but he didn’t have much time to put a team together as he would have liked to. Despite the lack of talent (Miles, Wiseman, etc…) and maturity (Thomas) on the team, they play super hard. Now that Gib has players that he’s had a lot of time to assess and players with more ability, the team should start seeing progress. It’ll still take time, but I believe in what coach Gib and his crew are doing.
Looking forward to the season.
Great site, very fan friendly, Dayton and crew and sponsors are the right place at the right time for fans such as yourself and several others!
Your observations are spot on. Gib first year, scramble recruiting, not unlike Bob Nash first year..now guys who not buying into what Gib and remaining team trying to accomplish, move on, wish them well. That was my take, as well as many at the SSC and viewing on TV, whoever on the court for Gib, as a whole , THEY PLAY HARD. ..and that is Gib’s plan, work hard, play smart and together. Will take few years..in fact THIS is a BIg YEAR 3..
GLofSector808 , Thank you for a very objective viewpoint!! Go warriors, bows, MBB team!!
BTW, I’ve been wanting to get season tickets in the lower section for the last couple years anyone want to give theirs up to me? I’ve been wanting to get in the lower section, but tickets are always taken up by long time ticket holders (I know ’cause I have friends whose families have had the same tickets for years). Any suggestions?
In an AAU game against Duke commit Rasheed sulaimon, Manroop made a jumper in his face. Manroop then immediately asked him, “you’re going to Duke?” Manroop continued to give him problems on the court and Manroop told him, “if you can’t even guard me, maybe you should go to a community college”. Haha.
Manroop, sounds very humble w/ the press and coaches, but that is what UH needs on the court. I love football, but can we just skip the football season and start the basketball season? So excited for this season!
Thanks coach Rupp for your service to the UH! Best wishes.
Since the NCAA ONLY makes money from Basketball (Football is BCS Crooks only) should set up TWO Seasons per year …
Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter Basketball …
[Volleyball was Creative enough to come up[ with Two Seasons …]
How ‘Bout Traditional Five-on-Five in Winter-Spring …
Then Summer Three-on-Three like Isaac Fotu is World Champion at …?
THAT woulda been “Next” …
Jus’ thinkin’ out loud …
Aloha kākou,
‘Roop looks good. Maybe redshirt him and get him for four more years after that. We’ll see. Looks like we’ll have some competitive practices anyways. Go Bows!
kden, puhi
Manroop! What a great name…
and an even better jump shot!
This guy looks like he is D1 ready. The ability to have that kind of range with a jumper and attack the hoop puts this guy at another level above any 2-guard we’ve had since Carl English. Exciting.