April updates from Gib Arnold
There is no time off in the off-season as far as University of Hawai’i basketball coach Gib Arnold is concerned.
Ongoing recruiting trips, training for next season, and scheduling future opponents have kept Arnold busy enough for the past few weeks. Here are some of his latest updates:
Recruiting …
Arnold said the team has two open scholarships, and he is continuing the recruiting process. “I’ll be going out again (Wednesday) night and heading to some tournaments over the weekend,” he said. “And then we have a couple of campus visits lined up the following week.”
He added that he is looking to sign “the best player available,” while not necessarily pinning it to a specific position. However, he added “we did sign a couple of guards early … so if you can see from that we’re probably looking more on the side for some bigs.”
Training …
The players eligible to return for the 2014-15 season are in “spring training” for the next month. It involves weightlifting, running, and individual workouts.
“I know they’re going really hard this spring,” Arnold said. “We have a good group coming back. Obviously Isaac (Fotu) and Garrett Nevels and Mike Thomas and Aaron Valdes, those guys all played … and then we’re starting to look at Negus (Webster-Chan) and (Stefan Jankovic), those guys were with us last year but had to redshirt. It’s exciting to see them. I know they’re real excited – now they feel like it’s really time for them, this is their team. With the incoming guys that we’ve signed, I like the looks of it.”
Scheduling …
Arnold confirmed that the Warriors are expected to play Pittsburgh on the island of Maui in November – before the national-power Panthers participate in the Maui Invitational – though it is still unofficial.
He added that the Warriors and Panthers will likely schedule a home-and-home series in future years. The remainder of the 2014-15 schedule is a work in progress.
See what did we all Know already? Dayton is The Man for all things UH MBB Insider!
Got the scoop from Gib Arnold himself, so THERE are TWO OPEN scholarships, and now Gib era year 5, Gib knows, recruit that best talented BBaller ,and of course target bigs for that rim protector.
Love his enthusiasm, and it bodes well for program. Gib said he would recruit, stay the course , love of Hawaii, the UH, and its people and fans. Gib, much aloha to you , your staff, your athletes and your loving family!
Go get the next great UH basketball players, to make your next season team Solid!
You, Gib have a lot of fans, anticipating 2014-15 season already!
With Pitt going to be coming to islands, great! Helps that SOS, RPI and get ready to rock the BWC!
Thanks, Coach
Thanks, Dayton
TWO Visits, Two Great Signees?!
Like Christmas in April-May…
Real Exciting…
Eagle:
Agree with you 100%, Gib tireless, as well as Dayton keeping us with the most accurate update of team and recruits.
Eagle, looks like going to be exciting next few weeks!!
Stay tuned UH MBB Rainbow Warrior Nation.
When Gib locks up and signs those added pieces for next season….look out BWC !!
Go Rainbow Warriors!!
…and he can’t seem to stop smiling;-}
Really Good…
SIGN on the Line…FAX…
Then May Be Time for Early Open Gym Offensive Highlights…With Range?
Regarding ‘spring training’, my annual suggestion is to have the guys, at some point, train for a triathlon, or at least a biathlon. .Especially the big guys. .I think it would help. Biking 40 miles 4 times a week combing this with a couple of long runs, 15 or 18 miles, total of 40 miles a week, would prove worthwhile looking toward a long season against the best D1 teams. .I don’t know how much ‘running in the sand’ sticks with you when it gets down toward the end of the season. It is certainly not something that the team picks up again in the middle of the season, when training for the end of the season takes place. The sand takes a lot of time. Lots of fun. But something that can be in conjunction with learning the things, running and biking, that are immediately available and time efficient during the season, since they have got to study as well. .Biking and running. Biking and running. .And maybe whatever it is that Aaron Valdes does that helps him get so much air. Just my two cents on spring training.
It is interesting concerning the scholarship count, didn’t Valdes earn a scholarship?
I hope Dew is one of the players coming in for a campus visit.
The last two scholies are pivotal. Not only for size, but also, bc Gibb’s inventory is stocked with underclassmen save one–Garrett Nevels. That means Gibb will be dealing from his own deck for several years. Hopefully, the last two will be impact players. We are loaded with role players. Realistically, we need an inside shot blocker or scorer that can fill the void left by Christian’s departure.
Coach sounds tired.
Arnold has not come out and said that Aaron Valdes is on full scholarship. What’s the problem?
If he’s still a walk-on he should say so, not a problem, but he’s gotta splain why!!!!!! I don’t get it, why the secrecy. If his grades are in order after the second semester and he’s in good standing I don’t see why Valdes doesn’t earn that valuable scholie. Based on his play this past season, he’s clearly in the top 7 players on the team. Pure athleticism, he’s probably #1 or #2 on the team.
Because Shamburger is not returning, Nevels will be the only senior next season. So, this is a very young team. I’ve been looking at the rosters of all the NBA playoff teams. For that matter, every basketball team, NBA, D-League, college, probably even high school the amount of players actually play in a game are about on average of maximum of 10. There just aren’t enough minutes to go around in a basketball game, more so in college with 40 minutes of play and the NBA is 48. So unless a blowout happens, not often by the way, there is not way 15 players on a roster will get to play. Walk-ons will get splinters sitting down and watching the game and see no or little playing time. It stands to reason that the Head Coach will play the scholarship players because they are the best players and the coach HAS to WIN or else get fired sooner or later. My point is that 6 to 8 in the rotation will get the bulk of the minutes. 9 and 10 on the roster may get very token minutes. and #11 to #15 or #16 will see no actual time in games, but only be on the scout team, scrimmages, and practices. It’s a tough deal, but kudos to those who stick it out and be part of the team. And that’s important and that’s why they get a big ovation when they get into the game and do something well. Fans know that and they appreciate the effort. I certainly do. I didn’t see a lot of time when I was playing in high school either, but I was thankful being part of a team.
by next week we hopefully here about some new recruits
Former UH Athlete:
Yes, HE looks tired, so would you if you were looking all over Mainland, Canada, globally for two good fit athletes to stock team for next couple of seasons. As Eagle, states, beneath the fatigue, Gib is confident, UH will get a couple of good ones to sign.
Stay tuned, the next few weeks announments, will be Interesting!
Kimo, that is what I’m afraid of, if all scholarships are used this season and come next only 1 will be available if all players return with the exception of Nevels who’ll arrive at the end of his collegiate career.
Don’t think it’d be wise for Gib to take on another Big to develop and that’s taking a chance. Unless of course Gib explains it’s a year to year scholarship thing with the new recruit. All this team is probably missing is a tough Center that’s ready to play.
To make the advancement to Next Level for UH, Gib sees that UH cannot go with smaller guards, or just shooters, HE NEEDS a Defensive team, lock down, shutdown, get stops, and close out wins with great guard play. UH can and will score a lot of points next year 80 plus, that is sure,..However, Gib sees the weak area, and we ALL KNOW, it is letting guys drive into the paint and score with ease.
That shotblocking role playing Big or Bigs, will help UH’s Defense tremendously. Gib can uptempo defensive pressure more, with the Big guy defending the rim.
Plain and Simple, UH MBB needs to have a top 20 or better team defensively, along with their scoring to win the BWC , and go far in Post Season.
Just ask, any coach in the nation. Have the Defensive team stoppers, the offense timely, and great guard play, teams will play for championships. Gib NEEDS ,even if developing, a guy who will alter or block shots, with athleticism.
very confident Gib will sign one if not two good athletes, who can defend. probably 6’9″ -6’11”..or one Big and one athletic defender scorer.
That is what Gib does, and he is true to that mantra: constant upgrade and recruiting, several years down the road. That is the way of NCAA DI recruiting, show interest in guys over several years, the contacts, the showing interest.
I think ALL UH MBB fans, are quite anxious to see what One or Two, athletic Bigs, or one, that Gib will sign soon…know that he cannot talk about them until official..
Gib , with UH MBB, always exciting never a dull moment. Year 5 , should His best year. The guys coming back are working REALLY , REALLY hard and will be better, the new signees, witll increase athleticism and defending size, with guards able to get to rim, as well as the coveted shot blocker, rim protector!!
Didn’t Rozitis score 16 points with 12 rebounds in a prospects’ invitation tournament game? Too bad we don’t have him for one more year (lol). Sounds like Gib was holding him back, not giving him enough minutes and playing him at the top of the key.
What I’m saying is we already had an athletic 7 footer, and Gib never used him right.
We already have a 6’10” guy that looked pretty hard-nosed on defense (Stefan Jovanovich), but doesn’t get PT with Gib.
Why do these guys not get PT from Gib? Then why would a Top 20 center come to UH? ALL the big schools would line up for a shot blocker, starting with Duke (who lost in 1st round to Mercer in spite of shooting 40% treys).
I have a feeling that any big we get would only be micro-marginally better than Rozitis/Jovanovich. It just makes no sense to hope for more.
I think Gib doesn’t like to give PT to guys who are weak on offense, or turn the ball over a lot. And that is regardless of how strong they are on defense. But do we expect to get a big defender who can also be a focal point on offense? Something’s got to give, we saw how a no-defense team did last season.
Gib on Call the coach tonight at 6pm 1420AM! Get your recruiting questions and the rest ready.
Horse champ – so true! I also thought Rozitis was underutilized, even though he was the first big off the bench. Gib has got to play more players in general so that his team doesn’t wear down at the end of the season like the last two years. It still haunts me to see Sham hovering at the top of the key just passing the ball around with little energy to penetrate and drive. Totally the same scenario two years ago with Tavita. If Sham doesn’t want to be here, then good riddance. I’d take my chances with Smith’s athleticism and penetration. He’s not the greatest shooter but neither was Sham based on percentages.
is jaleel cousins still in the pic?…maybe he had a legit reason he couldn’t make the trip so gib is doing in-home visit?
I always go to the Maui Invitational event every year so I would love to see Pitt vs Hawaii on Maui.
Very good Call The Coach show with Gary Dickman and Gib. The callers that asked question, I think there were 3, asked primarily all of the questions that we had. Gary Dickman had good questions that we all wanted answers for too.
1)Contract…still not signed. Gib wants to stay here for long haul. Turn UH into that consistent winning and challenge for NCAA titles. Which is good. Good trajectory of program. Gib is doing his best. He let his guy handled details. They have to, UH powers that be get that thing signed as soon as possible. Other teams, that Gib goes against in recruiting will use that against UH and him. The young athletes want assurance that Gib is still here, and I don’ blame them. The Continuity, that is how you build winning and big time programs.
)The BWC game and ending decision to foul or not. It was situational. I think, a lot of things(my observation) went wrong in last 5 minutes that contributed to loss. He went with idea to foul a 3 point shooter, before they could jack it up. However, live and learn. A loss is a loss. Next time, UH has to finish..which brings us to:
3)Caller also addressed how Gib’s teams have faded or worn down at end of season. That is the mantra for this year’s team. Finish Strong. Deeper bench, have new and young guys play more.
Have to have 9-10 guys deep to make post season run and finish fresh and strong.
4)Young guys as a whole doing great in school, really smart guys, and working hard getting better for next season.
5)Aaron Valdes(was that you(?) Derek, if so Good question…Gib stated, basically, an academic goal to reach, and then he can earn that scholarship . I think that is why, first year, RS for Aaron too, get his academics in order. So Derek, it falls on Aaron, make good grades, keep on course in school, then can earn scholarship, makes sense.
6)Pitt game, finalize paper work , communicates with Jamie Dixon, would like to do home and home every year, a great contact, Jamie , the GOOD assistant of Riley, …that Pitt game on Maui will be very good, helps UH SOS, RPI too!
7)Training table, food more for student athletes, Gib supportive, have to do what they gotta do to provide good food, and more of it for the MBB team, they burn so much calories. Makes sense, the guys have to eat.
8)The movement of DI athletes, Gib states, it is concern, for all NCAA MBB programs, Utah St. basically had a whole squad transfer out, some Pac 12 teams, losing up to 5 guys moving out, so not just Hawaii, which is unique in itself.
9)NCAA did their thing on problem. Very thorough and will let UH know, believes it will be resolved. I think so, otherwise, NO awards banquet, or no recruiting run. That was a major concern for a lot of us, looks like good to go. Gib runs a very clean program, mistake made, NCAA protocol, they reported, and went through the process. Looks good.
10)He had a chance to watch Spearman and Rozitis in that Portsmouth showcase, they did well with Rozitis hitting 2 threes. Rozitis and Standhardinger with their international passports, will have euro pro shots, with Latvia, and Germany, as well as other euro pro teams. Spearman, a little more challenge, euro overseas, because of the limit on American players each squad, and with his tweener size at off guard, tougher, however Spearman can have shot at USA ball, NBDL, etc, and potential overseas, with right team. Never thought about that, limited spots on overseas pro teams, because of the American athlete restrictions, about 2 per roster. I hope Brandon gets a shot at NBDL, he would have to be a D stopper, and shoot really well,..
I personally think , Gib in past 4 years, and going on to 5th, had done a great job..Fantastic, would he like to have won more games and gone to NIT and NCAA’s every year, without question, however, he loves Hawaii, he has a great support family, loves his staff and BB secretary Bobbie Omoto who does great job for many years.,
The only concern I have, after those 3 callers and Gary Dickman who basically asked all the questions we had on this WI forum for past year, that Gib gets that contract signed, I was pretty sure it was done, DO NOT WANT UH to lose potential athletes, because Gib not signed yet.
As FUHA always says, Gib, has done the heavy lifting, he has made UH MBB an exciting product, I love what he has done….so UH, and powers that be, including Gib’s rep. should get that contract extenstion signed.,…so continuity and future recruits will come on board. Like the potential Bigs..still on hold.
Great show. Nice way to end season, Awards Banquet awaits.
‘
Sorry fans, turned on radio about 7 minutes into , show, so did not hear everything from beginning, I thought Gary Dickman as does Dayton Morinaga, asks very pointed and great questions.
Gib answered them all, some he could not comment on, however at least addressed.
If any other observations, …maybe I missed the recruiting part, however, until the guys are official with visits and commits signed and sealed, Gib cannot comment specifically.
I feel, still Gib will get a few more good athletes to compliment team, and help UH MBB team FINISH STRONG, and make that run for NCAA’s. Negus, Roderick, Isaac Fleming, Jankovich, and two others to be named, help UH reach the next level!
Rainbow Warrior Strong!
Brian’s summation, on CS…direct accurate quotes the best source for the answers from Gib. Really well stated.
I like the direction that Gib is going. He is committed to getting UH MBB to next level. Remember fans, the prior 7 or 8 years, before Gib, UH MBB was not too good..Now it is much, much better, and eventually can be GREAT!
Good job Gib!
Dayton, since other source had more verbatim, less opinion based summary of call the coach with Gib show.
Please DELETE my posted comments about the KKEA call the coach show. Want to be totally accurate.
Thanks Dayton.
playhoopsa.
I heard one part where Gib spoke about incoming guards Bobbit and Fleming. He said both are about 6 feet 4 and bigger than Spearman and it’ll be more difficult for teams to take advantage of lack of size in the backcourt. He said Fleming is more of a 2-guard while Bobbit will likely play more at the point. Speaking of which, he said he would be more than comfortable with Negus playing the point, but they’ll probably use him at the 3. I think he said Negus put on 20 pounds since he’s been here and said he’s as talented as any player he’s coached in 20 years. You covered pretty much everything else, playhoopsa.
I don’t really think we have seen the real NWC yet. In the summer league last year he was basically bringing the ball up and setting people up. Occasionally he would shoot but was not really into the game. It wasn’t his moment to shine. But come this summer (If he is playing) we will all get a glimpse of who Negus Chan really is and what he can do with the ball. That’s a big statement Gib says that he is the most talented player he’s coached in 20 years. Hope the legs are still there after that long lay off. We all know what happened to Hiram Thompson after he came back from LDS mission. He never did get his legs back. But that’s a little different because on mission there is just no opportunity to play basketball on the side and your basketball muscles simply atrophy. All in all, should make for an exciting year. I think we are going to see an exciting brand of basketball. Gone are the days of constant double teaming down low. We will see a lot more man defense instead of the (yawn) zone defense. I would love to see the floor stretched due to our shooters and then Fotu simply dominate inside. Welcome to the days of the Fabulous Five.
One way to track the progress and growth of both Negus and Stefan Jankovic is to read the evaluation posted on draft express. Type their names in, with draft express, there is a evaluation written that establishes a good baseline to start from.
Can’t wait to see Negus play “if” along with adding 20 pounds of basketball muscle???, he added proportional quickness and skill.
The truly interesting dark horse player is Jankovic. This is a tall order but he needs to be better than Christian S., so both he and Fotu can own the box on both ends.
So far, it’s looking like you better be hungry on this team, ’cause there’s a bunch of others wanting and fighting for your spot. Competition brings out our best selves.
Latest video update UH MBB ..
1) first man up, Dayton Morinaga, great, great job as always!
2)Call the coach show with GD, a lot of questions answered.
3)another media beat writer,BM, covered verbatim, snippets of interview.
Combined- Probably the most up to date, real time UH MBB Rainbow Warrior coverage, where is coach at, the team, recruits, and needs.
Fantastic: Is UH MBB and WBB in good hands…if UH gets its act together and signs Laura and Gib, they will help the BB programs, reach that next level!
And to all of the WI faithful fans, and posts, incredible support!
Mahalo to all, from a family of 7 who follow this site from all over the world!
Cannot wait for final signees , big or bigs and that best athlete available!
Summer time, Bobbitt, Fleming, Filopovich, new recruits, will be interesting!
Hey Dayton, have any open gym video hilites?
WI Rainbow Warrior nation are getting the Basketball Fever!
Mahalo Dayton.!!