Bill Amis is back to help at camp
Paradise never looked – and sounded — so good for Bill Amis. After a year of playing professional basketball in Estonia, Amis is back in Hawai’i this summer.
“I was the only American, so the team spoke Estonian unless they were speaking directly to me,” the former standout forward for the Hawai’i basketball team said. “I got kind of tired of that, always having to hear another language. It feels good to be back in Hawaii and back in America listening to English.”
He is currently serving as a guest instructor for the Hawai’i Basketball Camp for youths, and plans to play in the College Basketball Summer League with some of his former teammates.
Amis had a successful rookie season for Tartu Ulikool. His team played in two different leagues, and he led the team with 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in the Baltic League. He also contributed 11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in the Estonian League, and was also one of five players selected to the All-Estonian League first team.
“I had a good year individually and our team went to the finals of the Estonian League,” Amis said. “Right now, I’m just waiting to hear from my agent about jobs for next year.”
Amis was a three-year starter for the Warriors, and averaged 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game during his senior season in 2010-11.
“Just basically couldn’t stay away,” he said of his return to Hawai’i this summer. “Missed it the whole year. Thought about Hawaii every single day.”
Apparently the current Warriors can think about Amis every day as well. Inside the team’s locker room is a large poster of Amis in action during the 2010-11 season under the words “Stand and Fight!”
“I appreciate it,” Amis said when he saw the poster. “It’s touching.”
Bill: Welcome Back! You are one of my all time favorite Basketball Warriors! You and Hiram spearheaded that nearly 20 game win season your senior year! Gib surely appreciates you, and you are the mold that the other MBB players aspire to be. Great season you just had, you wait you agent will get you a good contract next year! You will be sitting pretty in a few years! Thanks for coming back…! And giving back.
You guys out there, say what you will about coach and team,,,Amis is a class act and will always be, just like Tom Henderson and AC Carter.
Mahalo Bill, wish the team had 5 like you…maybe now they will!!
I know, I know, he was a Nash recruit, yet he hung in there, had a good relationship with new players, was a leader and played really , really hard for Gib. So Gib coaches his one and only winning season..Go Gib, you done good..you have a really excellent former player in Bill, man a good one!! Gib hope and pray the incoming will be half the warriors that Bill was, and you know what Gib and Lisa and family, this year’s team gonna be good, very good!!
Aloha again Bill,
hoping that more Warriors had had the same kind of heart like yours for Hawaii.
looking for you to join force with Matt Lojeski and pickup a couple of championships..
Oklahoma City will be calling for your service!
make your family and Hawaii more proud!?
Welcome HOME, Bill!
You probably already noticed… There are some young, skilled players joining Your Team for the coming season…
Emphasis on YOUNG…
Skill and lesson transfer are among the great challenges for coaches and experienced teammates…
While you’re here with them on the practice courts, NCAA Summer League, as much as you can teach them will help make a difference… some things maybe they’ll only learn in their own experience, but it will be framed by what you tell them, as only a player can pass on to them– they listen differently to players versus coaches and you were always a wise one who got the most out of what you had available and to offer, even when injured most or all of the season…
Between AAU and International Play these young recruits and redshirts are well travelled, BUT No One knows UH and D-1 Expectations better than you, and now, even how to play team ball in a strangely silent world where you can’t really understand what the hell your coaches or teammates are saying…
I bet a lot of the freshman feel like that about their new and future Home in Hawai’i…
it’s all Foreign to them.
…and it would be a step up better for the current and future leaders to learn from you than the hard way…
Eagle: All good and valid points. Who better to mentor new and current guys during summer than Bill Amis? It is like having an extra coach for UH. And Bill was and will always be a Warrior in my book. You think Gib doesn’t appreciate what he did and the fact he was willing to come back and help with camp? Huge! He remembered his days here under different coaches, however , as you said he made the best of it..Mahalo Bill Amis!!
After working so hard for years to only flirt with .500 until the ‘typical’ (unfortunately became a trend) Late WAC Season collapses, it must’ve been huge to have a Senior Post-Season, helping to turn the program…
I’m guessing (expecting) that .500 is likely to be Gib’s Hawai’i LOW Water mark…
Does anybody know when the summer league starts?
from 5/30/12 Gib’s update:
starts on 6/16/12 ends on 8/4/12.
Thank u N2o4Joy.
On this forum, what nice people, respectful, insightful and wise…and all very much MBB fans!!
Aloha and thanks to all, and to Dayton and Pacific Risk Solutions!!
Hi Dayton,
Haven’t heard of any movement with Aaric Armstead. No signing or entry into a New Mexico or Arkansas, or Northridge, etc. You know if Gib has any word yet, if any on the HS school guy still getting in? And honestly, I think it is Aaric, however, you never know.
Thanks Dayton!
In behalf of a lot of UH MBB fans!
Dayton may have more later, but it’s been reported that Shaq Stokes will play for Hofstra. And, for the conspiracy theorists out there, he will apply for a waiver so that he can play this season. The waiver application will be based on the reason he left Hawaii — to be closer to his ailing grandmother. Good luck to him.
Dayton, thank you for posting this interview with Bill, I really enjoyed it. And mahalo to the Warrior Insider sponsors.
Bill, great to have you back in town, you represent the Hawaii program with great class.
Mahalo Clyde!
Agree with Shaq situation, everything that was said , from coach , to his family calling him to return , and what Shaq ultimately wanted to do..all above the board…Hey if he gets the exemption to play right away, great! And that conspiracy, anti Gib thing goes out the window..wish him well..Maybe Benjy or whomever does scheduling, can get Hofstra on a future scheduled game to Hawaii..would be nice..!
You are right, I am sure Dayton is working on the Aaric or whomever update even now as we speak..next week or down the road we will know definitely..thank you for the information!
Yes!
Bring Hofsta andq Shaq in every other year!
Greet Him with Rainbow Drive-In Loco-Mocos…
We can also play them in their backyard …and steal a few more Worldly Recruits…
I believe the Hofstra connection should still be pretty good with Shaq and former Hofstra Coach Al Menendez who started his assistant coaching right here in Hawai’i… Maybe The Best UH coaching staff of all time (minus Bill Kwon, one Auto Commercial and a UH athletes’ unofficial dorm)… Al Menendez, Pete Gillen (Xavier) and (+ one more assistant — help someone, compensate for the lost brain cells!) as well as Bruce 0’Neill and Louisville’s Rick Pitino Still Top-Paid @ $5.4+ Million …
ALL Became Division One Head Coaches…
THAT was the last previous time UHBB could recruit D-1 ‘Starting’ Freshmen…
BUT I suppose they also had Freshmen Retention Problems…
Bill Amis was Special Guest on Leahey & Leahey
-Re-Broadcast Sunday 330 pm Channel 10/1010 KHET
Bill Amis was the Guest on Leahey & Leahey last night (Wednesday 6/14); Re-Broadcast should be (Oceanic schedule shows) Sunday 330 pm Channel 10/1010 KHET … His Home before Hawai’i (which he now considers his real home) was Oklahoma City so Thunder Fan all the way … Talked about the Transition from Riley to Nash to Gib — “…that benefited me a lot… we had a great senior season…i think it’s going to be successful going through…the changes are more ‘addition by subtraction’…there’s always two sides to every story…. hopefully the guys coming in are strong mentally and ready to produce…”