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Mike Thomas will return for senior season

UH defeats Cal, 77-66, in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament at Spokane Veteran's Arena, Spokane, WA on March 18, 2016. Photo: Brandon Flores.

Starting forward Mike Thomas confirmed on Friday that he will be returning to the University of Hawai’i basketball team for his senior season.

Thomas issued a message from his Twitter account on Friday morning, saying simply: “I am coming back next year.”

Thomas started all 34 games as a junior during the Warriors’ historic 28-6 season. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and shot 52.1 percent from the field.

In addition to returning as a team captain, Thomas will inherit the title of the team’s leading returning scorer and rebounder for next season.

Due to recent NCAA sanctions against UH, Thomas had an opportunity to transfer to another NCAA Division I program for his senior season without having to sit out a year due to normal transfer rules.

Two other juniors, Stefan Jankovic and Aaron Valdes, recently announced that they will both forgo their senior seasons to pursue professional basketball.

84 Comments

  1. Love to have Mike back for one more season. I think in his final season he will make all big west!
    Any news on Stefan Jovanovic?

  2. Another ‘heart and soul’ of the team. This one is going to stay. Watch what we’re going to do next year ! Go Bows !

  3. Welcome Back, Mike!

    I Look Forward to More of The Mighty Mike that OUTPLAYED The Maryland Terrapins All Game Long — IF ONE or TWO More ‘Bows had Games like you against Dem Turtles — Hawai’i IS A Sweet 16 Team…. And Everyone Knows THIS Program IS For Real…

    ——–

    AND Recruiting IS About To BREAK OUT…
    THIS IS Already THE BEST ‘Freshman Guard’ Collection — Three WHO WILL Play IN-SYNC, Like Clockwork for 3-5 Years, and At Least One or Two All-Conference ‘Dominant’ Guards, Game-Turners in the Bunch…
    ‘Think’ SIMILAR To The TRIO That Won The BWC with CSUN (Women) Last Year….
    THEY WILL Break the UHMBB Three-Point Shooting Records EASY….
    THINK More Like “GOLDEN STATE Hawai’i”….

    Soon As Jovanovic SEES The Picture TOO…
    Jovanovic, Mike Thomas, Jack Purchase PLUS TWO (Immediate) Front-Line Players
    CAN Challenge for Top Third (Again) in BWC…
    As I Said from Day ONE — MOST ‘Bows are Smart Enough to KNOW
    That Transferring to Another School is a LOSER Proposition
    Start Over with a New Staff, In a New System As a ‘First-Year’ One-and-Done
    Against Other Players 2-3 Years In-System (Think Tummala, Shamburger…
    BUT Tummala Went in the RIGHT Direction, Like Jankovic, Purchase…)
    Also Think About How Much OUR Players Improved in One or Two Years
    AV from Walk-On to MVP, Janks to P-O-Y…Bobbitt from ALL-Defense to 30-Point Wonder First-Teamer

    No Problem with ALL Our Talent Playing PRO Ball
    SIX Figures ‘TAX-Free’ In A Foreign Country
    Is WAY Better Income than Most Americans and 95/99% of the Human Race
    And for 3-5 Years to Start on a House in Hawai’i IF they want…

    NCAA (IF Don’t Reverse PSBan) Are The REAL CLOWNS…
    NOTHING There… NO SMOKE, NOT Even Mirrors
    [NO “PROS” Other Than Future BB/FB Players, NO Academic Fraud NON-Student-Athletes…
    P.S. Thanks for Playing UH(!) in Hawai’i, UNC…WAY MORE Guts Than Maui…
    Jamie Dixon Did, and had The ONLY Non-20-Win Season of His Career…]

    GO Staff!
    Go ‘Bows!

  4. Filipovic seems to have potential. Drammeh and every other guard on the team is awful. Every time he gets the ball, it looks like he doesn’t know what to do with it. He picks up his dribble, frantically looks around to someone to swing the ball to. Hesitates on his shots. There were entire stretches of games where bobbitt and the rest of the starters refused to involve him in the offense because he was so terrible.

    mike thomas is mike thomas. mediocre. will fit well in a role playing scenario but in reality would be much better coming off the bench.

  5. Eagle, your post. tl;dr.

  6. Before the season I thought MT was gonna have an all-conference season. I’ll just have to wait until next season.

  7. Michael,
    Congratulations on your wise decision to finish the ride out as a warrior. It has been a pleasure to watch you grow and mature as a man. You exude 100% class and dignity on and off the court. You have been a blessing and solid addition to the community of honolulu and to your church community in honolulu. You’re truly a man of character and heart, and after having the pleasure of spending some time with your parents John and Karen, there is little wonder where you get your classiness from.
    I am grateful for all your efforts and proud of your growth (figuratively AND literally–what, 25 lbs of muscle in 3 years?). Thank you, from all of the warrior fans. You will play a huge role next season (or the year after, if you are allowed to red shirt, but that’s a different story…and ganot needs u this year, unfortunately). Looking forward to a great senior year out of you. You will be loved by hawaii fans for a long long time. Even moreso after deciding to stay while others leave…

  8. I have to agree about Jeezy33’s remarks on Drammeh. He certainly isn’t a play maker and has trouble seeing the court. The shortcomings he has are not the type you get demonstratively better over the summer. It takes a much longer time to understand the game and he doesn’t have it. Who ever heard recruiting a “charge taker.” If that is the best the coach can come up with I would rather have the scholarship back.

    Mike Thomas, however, is another story. I believe he is way better than you are making him out. Each year he has improved and he will again over this summer. He sees the action, knows the plays and passes really well. His rebounding really improved this year and he has reduced the fouls he gets. He plays good defense and is a leader within the team. If he can improve his foul shooting and his 3pt shot over the summer, we will be great and a starter.

  9. Anderpop: I agree with most of what you said except for Thomas improving his 3 point shot. Yeah, that would be great if his 3 shot improved but I would rather not even see him shoot any 3s. I think he just focus on improving his Free throws, staying out of foul trouble, rebouding/defense in general and a mid-range jump shot. If he can start hitting a consistent jump shot then he would be a much better player next season.

  10. Anderpops, you’ve been watching the same games that I have and your comments on Mike Thomas are accurate and fair. He’s far better than mediocre; he’s improved his game each season. I saw him play in summer league when he first came to Hawaii; the MT we see today is a completely different guy and will only get better. I’d like to see him add 3 pointers to his resume to really elevate his game.

  11. Comments above on Sheriff are way off, he is very quick and fast, can handle the ball, play defense on the better players, drive, it to the basket or dish out an assist and shown he can shoot. He just needs more of the green light to do what he can do, he was involved in the offense and sees the court well.

  12. Small sample but Sheriff was 3 for 5 or 60 % on 3FG’s in the three Conference and two NCAA tournament games. 4 for 8 overall FG%. 5 for 9 FT’s, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists, 4 TO’s in 22 minutes averaged in the five games.

  13. Drammeh will make those two negative nancys eat crow, trust me they weren’t happy when coach ganot was hired and obviosly didnt get their fill of crow this year.

  14. I agree Mr. Drammeh isn’t ready to play significant minutes his defense needs work and is more of an actor out there trying to bait the ref to call an offensive with the flops. He does have potential on the offensive side because he is quick. He has shown glimpses he made a layup against a Maryland defender using his quickness to get by him. That being said he was just a true freshmen lots of time to improve his game. just keep working hard.

  15. Everyone here bagging on Drammeh either didnt really watch him this year or doesn’t watch enough basketball to understand his potential, because nearly all of his issues were related to hesitation. and that’s something that can be fixed pretty well over time.

    Anyone remember Valdes in his freshman year? Not comparing the players’ abilities, just pointing out that everyone here that he was a scrub, and largely that was a product of his hesitation and lack of confidence.

    How many of you thought Quincy was going to be Garret Jefferson 2.0? Be honest.

    Drammeh plays solid defense, has reasonably quick feet, is pretty athletic, and has good shooting form. There were a few flashed instances when he let his instincts take over and he showed he can work off the dribble a little bit. his biggest downfall was hesitating on open looks or obvious driving opportunities. it wasn’t a lack of physical ability. Which, should anyone be surprised? He was a late recruit, and forced into extended minutes due to injuries. he probably should have redshrited this year to put on muscle.

    Lol at the guy above me who think’s his defense needs work. acting or not, he gets his feet set for those charges and does better than anyone on the team, period. he also played sound defense all around this year in the second half of the season on the perimeter. You say he has potential on offense (which is try), but damn, did you watch him defensively?

    If you guys are basing his potential on his performance after being tossed to the wolves out of necessity, you guys are going to be surprised when he develops into a solid rotation player. I wont. Just look at his development by the end of the season.

    You guys are also crazy if you think Fillipovich has more potential than Drammeh. That tells me you don’t watch basketball enough.

  16. besides, we’re going to have possibly 8 new players coming in. we need to get 9 and take Drammeh’s scholarship back because…

  17. Drammeh exceeded everyone’s expectations. Everyone is quick to forget that he stepped up big time after Fleming fall out and Valdes injury. Hems made some great, unforgettable 3s as well. Look up his highlight reels from his playing days in Sweden. Of course the competition there is nowhere as good as it is in NCAA DI, but he knows how to handle the ball and make drives. For those of you criticize him for only knowing how to take charges… do you not realize how that is a huge factor as to why we beat LBSU? He singlehandedly got Faust and one other LBSU player to foul out.

  18. UGH – I have never posted anything negative about any of our coaches. I stand by my remarks about Sheriff and will add perhaps the worst of what he brings NO BASKETBALL IQ. He might find minutes off the bench but he doesn’t have anything significant to add to the team. All players can and generally do improve. I hope Sheriff does show a lot of improvement and I don’t mind eating crow if it means a better team. We shall see.

  19. He has a good basketball IQ, look at his Swedish highlights as Tavs says.

  20. xer 21- yes i did watch him defensively went to several games this year and I do have oceanic and do watch the games. that’s just what i see and don’t get me wrong I like it when when we do get the calls from the refs in our favor just saying that’s what Drammeh likes to do. like i said he was a true freshmen lots to improve his game. just keep working hard. I hope he uses my criticism as motivation as I only want him to do good.

  21. What’s hilarious to me is that everyone’s acting like he’s a failure if he only contributes bench minutes, like ever scholly player is supposed to somehow be a 35 minute per game starter. There’s more to the game than just scoring.

  22. Ditto on xer21. How often has UH had a true freshman come in and play significant minutes? Declaring his career a failure is ridiculous.

  23. what a joke. aaron valdes was a much more polished player his first year at UH than drammeh is right now. he was much better in all statistical categories and was much more involved in the offense even though he had limited minutes. drammeh is quick. he plays pretty good defense for the most part but will sometimes get lost, especially on the pick and rolls, but those issues can be resolved with more playing time.

    And please, let’s not pretend that drammeh is a shooter, because he’s not. he can shoot the three but that’s nowhere near his specialty (in fact, a lot of his threes were straight up bricks). He’s a slasher and tries to get to the rim, but he doesn’t handle the ball well enough at the division I level to really be an effective point guard and often looked lost in the offense because he didn’t have a very defined role. when he drove during games, he was usually out of control and would dribble himself into a corner and turn the ball over. either that or he would brick the layup. his shooting numbers are atrocious and over half of his shots came in the paint.

    maybe, just maybe, he’ll develop into a decent rotation player off the bench, although most likely next year, he will be forced to be the starting point guard, but his ceiling isn’t very high. my sources tell me that he’s a borderline D-I talent at best. the things he’s good at, others do much better, and he can’t shoot, small sample sizes consisting of three or four games notwithstanding.

    and please, stop it with the “you obviously don’t watch basketball” stuff. I watched all the games. Drammeh isn’t very good and if ganot is half as good of a recruiter as gib arnold is, drammeh will be overshadowed by more talented players just like jankovic was in missouri.

  24. You are wrong Jeezy, Aaron valdes was not more polished, he redshirted his first year.

  25. Niko calls it a career. Thanks for the memories, Niko.

  26. Also, before you “jankovic is the second coming of dirk nowitzki” guys start getting nuts on me like “ARE YOU SAYING JANKOVIC SUCKS??” please read the following: I think Jankovic is extremely good. I think he’s a quality big, and a dominant one in weak basketball conferences like the big west. Jankovic was a legitimate 4 star recruit out of high school. Jankovic was in Frank Haith’s first recruiting class, and his role started to diminish on the court as Haith’s recruiting classes got stronger and pushed Jank further down the depth chart. that’s why he transferred, which was a very good choice.

  27. Stop trying to act like some sport expert Jason Peters…. You just come off as a condescending know it all!
    Sherriff was a true freshman and he has things to work on, If UH had depth at the guard spot he would have had to redshirt this past season, but UH needed him to play with Flemming having issues. The fact that Sherrif ascending up the depth chart ahead of Niko shows that he actually has more potential.

  28. McInnis ‏@Brian_McInnis 17 minutes ago
    “The latest #HawaiiMBB player has made a decision. PG Niko Filipovich has decided to call it a hoops career http://hawaiiwarriorworld.com/court-sense/filipovich-bids-farewell/

  29. The only opinions that count is that of Coach Ganot because he and the staff have to recruit and develop those players. All players for next season have to improve their games. We just hope that all players will grow by leaps and bounds.

  30. Good luck to you Niko, wherever the future takes you. Although you didn’t get to play many minutes, you were as much a part of this past year’s team and success as anyone else. We enjoyed your antics on the sidelines and noted that you were always cheering your fellow teammates on. Wishing you Success in all your endeavors !!

  31. Good luck Niko, fan favorite will be missed. Great guy off the court too.

  32. Jeezy33,

    Aaron redshirted his first year at UH. In his second year, he had very limited minutes under Gib Arnold. In fact, he didn’t play at all in our loss to Northridge in the Big West Conference.

  33. …. in the Big West *Tournament.

  34. Xer21, honestly, you’re as much a troll as anyone on this site.

    Anyway, my opinion, valdes not ready for the pros. Needs to develop a mid range game (like Nevels) and handles (like Fleming). Janks needs to build strength then he might have a shot imho.

    Next year is going to be rough…

  35. Well, the suspense is over: Jovanovic transferring to Loyola Marymount and Filipovich retiring from basketball, according to McInnis. Two great, high-achieving, classy kids. Lot of rebuilding to do, but at least the path is clear leading up to signing day. Late kudos to Thomas; loved the kid from the first day he was here.

  36. Jovanavich is also chose to leave to LMU.
    We
    Got a lot of holes to fill.

  37. I am assuming the people that think next year will be rough are the same people who thought we would be lucky to win 13 this past season, Look Ganot’s system will keep UH in games period no matter who they have on the floor. UH will not be as bad as You think,

  38. UH needs to recruit at least 2 big men. That being said, even with the NCAA suspension, UH still has a better chance of reaching the NCAA tournament than LMU lol. But on a more serious note, good luck Filipovich and Jovanavic

  39. I thought Jankovic, Valdes and Filipovich all made good decisions. But Jovanovic transferring to a 7th-place WCC team that plays in a high school gym? I don’t get it. His chances of getting back to the Dance are practically nil at LMU, so what’s the attraction? Very questionable choice in my view.

  40. Good luck to Stef at LMU, next years team will be young but hungry.

  41. Glad the last two Serbians finally announced, as I found it increasingly difficult to ignore ya’alls requests for details lol
    On that note, was never really sure why big stef wanted to go to LMU, as it seems like a lateral move at best to me. Also, the amount of “post season” that loyola Marymount will have will be one game more than uh…one and done in the wcc tourney, while at least uh will have numerous national TV games, including unc at home and the diamond head classic. Furthermore, big stef would see his minutes likely triple this next year. But alas, I think knowking his two serbian teammates were leaving had a lot to do with it.
    As for niko, he has big plans for the future, besides playing basketball.
    I wish both of these great human beings the very best! Two awesome guys on and off the court…

  42. Team GPA going down with Stef leaving and Shidler College of Business losing a good student.

  43. For now, it doesn’t look like the UNC game will be much competition for UNC. DHC, i don’t know too, even if on national TV.

  44. Ganot would be better off not filling all the scholarships we have available. Worst thing to do is recruit players that aren’t D1 caliber and then be committed to them for 4 years. It’ll get easier to recruit next year after this postseason ban is in the rear view mirror. Key for next year is to develop the young players and turn out a respectable product on the floor. Would be real happy with 3-4th place in the BW, although 6-9 might be more realistic.

    Big ups to Thomas for sticking this out. I’m sure he knew everyone else would be leaving so it’s all the more impressive that he’s returning. He’ll be an all-conference player imo.

  45. Warriorfan,
    You are not “committed to them for 4 years”. Scholarships are renewed on a year to year basis. Lots of coaches upgrade each year, and if they have no scholarships left, they can take one away from a returning player. Such is the nature of the beast.
    So, despite a post season ban, this next year should not be treated as a throw away yesr, one to not even fill our (limited, due to sanctions) allotted number of scholarships lol
    That’d be downright ridiculous to do

  46. WeBleedGreen, I do get that as a technical matter the program is not obligated to renew contracts, but I’d have to think that if you’re building a program the right way, you don’t want a reputation for recruiting players for one year then pulling scholies solely for basketball related reasons. That might hurt future recruiting.

    I also want us to win next year, just think it’ll be hard given the circumstances. We need Purchase to be a big contributor right off the bat, and for Drammeh to continue to develop. Don’t think we have a starting PG on our roster right now so one of the new recruits will have to be thrown into the fire. Going to support the team regardless, though!

  47. Warriorfan,
    Everyone does it. Literally everyone. Gib did it a ton in his first few years, and it didn’t hurt his future recruiting efforts. His recruits kept getting better. You have to fill with the best available talent, then re-evaluate the next year and improve where you can.
    It doesn’t hurt future recruiting because each new recruit feels that they are good enough to make it. Any examples of past athletes losing scholarships or “moving on for.more playing time” are chalked up as the player not being good enough…
    Trust me, there is no image problem if that happens.
    Calipari dumps guys every year…he dumped 7 returners when he took over kentucky lol
    He doesn’t seem to have image problems or problems getting new recruits

  48. Of course most coaches never make it look like they are taking a scholarship away, it’s always that a player is looking for more playing oppurtunities elsewhere or the much used, ” wanting to play closer to home”

  49. ^^^exactly warriorfan

    Very confusing when u two have such similar names but opposing views lol

  50. I meant warriorfan2…see, confusing lol

  51. As far as Jovanovic transferring, I agree it’s a lateral move at best, but LMU is but a half-hour drive from his hometown so his family and friends can watch him play. And, with Niko, Janks and Valdes (with whom he and Niko used to work out with in Cali) all leaving, I think it helped make this difficult decision easier.
    LMU finished 7th in the WCC, but they only had two seniors and have signed three players so perhaps it’s a program on the rise. Big Stef will surely help, but doubt if they’ll make the NCAA tournament..
    Anyway, mahalo and best of luck to the high-school teammates, two quality individuals who represented UH well.

  52. Calipari loses frosh and others to the NBA each year, plus he has top talent coming in every year.

  53. Believe Coach needs to build for the future. Having an opportunity at post season play would be great, however…

    Meanwhile, win, win all regular season games, build your system and develop your players…Winning is the key. And moves you from one season to the next…looking forward to next season.

    Can’t wait to see M Thomas coming in at a solid 220 lbs.

  54. Sorry for the confusion.

    Is this the last of the transfers?? 5 scholarships to give out, hoping for 3 guys that can play right away and two big time transfers ( Janks style)

    Formerly Warriorfan2.

  55. Clyde,
    Re: jovanovic true reasons, exactly!! Not closer to “his” hometown, as his family is in serbia, but his extended family and future agent is right down the street, now that he left uh lol

  56. Is his future agent Niko’s dad?

  57. Webleeedgreen any scooops on who the coaches are recruiting? I am a little bummed we haven’t heard about anyone making recruiting trips and all we have heard about is Giga and Kavaughn Scott.

  58. all i say about drammeh is he was a UH freshman so not much expectation and has potential…players with quickness and athleticism have potential ala quincy

  59. Well we shall see how it works out for Stefan. Good luck to him.

    Time for UH to move on and bring aboard the next generation of Warriors.

  60. Per Ganot, go to Pam A, Plan B , and Plan C. All 3 in play. An opportunity to get equal or even better players for the future. I have no doubt he will bring in quality and quantity. Stay tuned. Some JCs, or even transfers who can play right away.

  61. Webleedgreen/rainbowwarriorhoops – that’s a fair point. I think we can all agree that Gamot will have an uphill battle filling up the available scholarships this late in the game with quality players, although I’d love to be proved wrong of course.

  62. I don’t think it will be an uphill battle at all. He already landed a steal in Leland Green.

  63. Not many transfers or JC players would want to come and play with a post season ban looming for next season. Example, Sai transferred for his one year because of the chance to play for the post season.
    LMU is ranked pretty high as a regional university for academics.

  64. Transfers have to sit a year anyway, some players just want playing time period!! Sai transferred here to play period, he had no idea UH would be an ncaa tournament team, they hadn’t been to the post season the past previous years.

  65. No, in a warrior insider interview before the season began or so, Sai said he came to UH to play for the post season and said he knew that UH had very good chance of going to the NCAA’s with the team and players that UH had.
    Not all transfers have to sit for a year such as graduate ones.

  66. I understand everyone’s decision except Jovanovic’s. Kind of disappointed. Best of luck to him. He’s going to need it.

  67. Speaking on Sai, I hate to knock on guys when they’re already gone but he was a bit of a disapointment to me. Yes, he did hit some good 3s for us that helped us out but only really contributed on defense at the end of the season and sadly, lost his 3 point touch in the NCAA’s. Maybe it was due to only being at UH for 1 season and not being totally comfortable in the system. Just think if he made some of those 3s against Maryland though? Could’ve been a sweet 16 for us.

  68. Transferring doesn’t guarantee anything. It doesn’t mean a winning season, it doesn’t mean any postseason tournament and it doesn’t mean he NCAA tournament either. You got Gonzaga’s, St. Marys, BYU, and Pepperdine, etc. to contend with. Living close to home is a plus. Good luck to Mr. Jovanovic. I liked his efforts and he certainly made a difference off the bench. Too bad he didn’t finish what he started like Thomas. He could have improved his play if he had stayed. Oh well, next man up! Go get em Ganot.

  69. If you don’t transfer, chances are you won’t play in any post season including the year-end league tournament. LMU played two games in the WCC tournament this last season with a chance for more in the coming one.
    Stef said the post season ban was the reason for not coming back to UH. Aaron said the ban was a large factor for his leaving.

  70. islandman,

    LMU is the equivalent of Northridge or Cal Poly in the BWC. No way are they going to make it to the NCAA.

    Also, LMU’s fanbase is nothing compared to what UH has to offer.

    Lastly, UH still has the UNC game, Rainbow Classic, and DHC. One could argue they’re more prestigious than playing for a very mediocre team in the WCC tournament.

    Good riddance, Jovanovic.

  71. Respect his decision, UH should be able to find a capable replacement.

  72. Jeezy33, I can’t take you seriously if you think Drammeh is going to ever play point guard for us, let alone be forced to. You tell me you watch all the games, but he’s never once touched the point, because he isn’t a point guard and he never played the position. Its not like we dont have point guards coming into the class. You’re making up reasons to dislike his game. I never said he’d be a star for us, but there’s nothing wrong with him giving us 15-20 solid minutes a night, which he will give us. If you watch the games, you clearly don’t know what to look for.

    For the record, I never said he was a good shooter. I said he had good shooting form, which are two separate things. having good form means he could easily improve and become consistent. If he were merely a decent shooter with bad form, his potential would be capped, but he’s a medicore shooter with good form, which means he has a lot of room to improve.

  73. the808, i dont think you understand what a troll even is.

  74. It makes sense for him that’s all that matters, and u are an idiot.

  75. UGH,

    Where was LMU three years ago when UH gave him a scholarship? Some respect for Hawaii is in order. Like I said, LMU is a step back so it’s definitely insulting.

  76. ‘Makes sense for him and that’s all that matters’ is just selfish. The state and university that brought him in should matter too, no? All other players released heartfelt statements and all their decisions made complete, unbiased sense. Not Jovanovic’s.

  77. Wow !!!! Every scholarship player vacated except Mike he kept the team together I applaud him true leader indeed future coach on the horizon.

    Coach Ganot received all of Gib Arnold awards I predicted the the team to the final four until Fleming departure his strength was the team weakness.

    Drammeh good player just lacking confidence.

  78. Again. it’s his life his decision, You don’t know the whole story, Jovanavic doesn’t owe UH or UH fans anything. He’s been here three seasons and is ready to move on, it’s win win for both parties, trust me!! it’s just basketball.

  79. TAVS take a chill pill lol

  80. rainbowwarriorhoops,

    I need three chill pills; I’m a die hard UH basketball fan.

  81. Stefan leaving isn’t the end of the world dude, UH will be fine and Stefan is doing what’s best for him, it’s all good. Chil out.

  82. There you go again xer21…I generally agree with your comments but your pompous attitude is irritating at best. Everyone is entitled to an opinion without being put down.

  83. Ok Warrior Insider here’s the real deal: Javanovich leaving for LMU is his decision BUT if he really thinks he is going there for an invite to the NCAA tournament he is badly mistaken !

    LMU will be door mat once again in the WCC. I KNOW this is because I go to their games every year when they play St.Marys as my former teammate Brad Pineau son plays for the Gaels. LMU can’t beat Gonzaga, St. Marys or BYU. They may split with Pepperdine but unlikely with Pepperdine roster all in tact for next seson. Santa Clara will be strong as well as Portland. LMU will be sharing the bottom quite frankly all by them selves with the hopes that USF, Pacific and USD are just as bad as the Lions. LMU plays before a small crowd every game that the ushers won’t even let the bleacher folks come down to at least make their cracker box gym look fully seated for television !

    Filipovich leaving basketball altogether is quite sad. I gather all the lack of playing time, bench mop minutes and broken promises he heard from every coach that he was under at Hawaii just made him become discouraged continuing to play college basketball altogether. I and my Chapter Alumnus will be reaching out to him celebrating his contributions playing for Hawaii. A luncheon is in the plans at King’s Hawaiian in Torrance celebrating his home coming back to his roots with all of us helping him with any professional support he needs. Our hope he continues to finish school and graduate !

    As far as Mike Thomas is concern can’t say enough words of appreciation to him coming back for his final year at Hawaii despite the probation in which Hawaii will be afflicted with. This decision by Mike to come back speaks VOLUMES about his character and LOYALTY playing for the Rainbow Warriors! Rest assured I will be at his games here in Fullerton, Northridge and Long Beach State cheering him on and presenting him California gifts n kind for his selfless act remaining with the team despite all that has choosed to leave in which they have every right for their own personal decisions.

    Proud of Mike Thomas continuing as a Bow !

  84. Mahalo, Cliff

    Way to “Go” Mike!

    As Only said in Hawai’i
    Mike Going Stay

    Cliff would understand ‘cos he was a ‘Bow even if it got tough
    The Tough get Going

    Football Fighting to Get Back to WINNIN’ and Respectability
    Defend Pride Rock
    Coach cCalls Mike ‘The Rock’
    THE Foundation of The Team
    The Expectation OF Workin’ Hard ALL the Time
    First-Team Standhardinger Used to Worry, Couldn’t Handle Mike
    Neither Could Maryland

    Get MT & Jack Purchase At Least TWO More Talented / Fighting (Or Both) BIGS
    AND Watch The ‘Bows Battle…

    Get One or Two More ‘Dominant’ Players
    An Immediate Eligible Standhardinger or Young (Future ‘Coached Up’) Fotu
    AND Watch Out,,,,
    WE ALL Might Learn What “SMART” Basketball Looks Like…

    BOTTOM LIME: Mahalo, Mike

    Thanks Cliff for Looking After
    Thanks, Niko, Stefan: Three Years’ MAX Effort, Three Coaches (Four Now for Stefan)

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