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Ganot signs contract extension to stay at UH

The University of Hawaii men's basketball team defeats Long Beach State and captures the championship of the 2016 Big West Tournament at the Honda Center, Anaheim, CA on March 12, 2016. Photo: Brandon Flores.

University of Hawai’i basketball coach Eran Ganot has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2019-20 season.

Ganot, who coached the Warriors to a school-record 28 wins last season, originally signed a three-year contract when he was hired in 2015. The new extension adds two years to his contract.

Financial details were not revealed.

Here is the official announcement from www.hawaiiathletics.com

HONOLULU – University of Hawai’i athletics director David Matlin announced that men’s basketball head coach Eran Ganot has signed a two-year contract extension. Ganot originally signed a three-year contract when he was hired in the spring of 2015. His two-year extension runs through the 2019-20 season.

Last year—in his first season as head coach—Ganot guided the Rainbow Warriors to both the Big West regular season and tournament titles and the most wins in school history (28). By season’s end, he not only led UH to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002, but also guided the team to an opening-round upset over California for the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win.

“Eran embodies winning with integrity,” said Matlin. “He’s been a difference-maker for our basketball program as well as our entire department. We’re excited to extend his contract. Eran and his staff are committed to building an elite program here and this extension reflects our commitment to his vision.”

Ganot said: “I’m grateful to David and the University for their unwavering support of our program and our entire Athletics Department. I feel honored to have the opportunity to do what I love at a place that means so much to my family and I. It can’t be measured how much my family and I love this program, school, and the state of Hawai’i. We take great pride being here and look forward to being a part of the Rainbow Warrior family for a long time.”

Ganot was recognized with a pair of national coach of the year awards and was a finalist for several others in 2015-16. The former UH assistant claimed CollegeInsider.com’s Joe B. Hall Award, given to the top first-year head coach, as well as the Red Auerbach College Coach of the Year Award as selected by members of the Jewish Coaches Association (JCA). Ganot also claimed Big West Coach of the Year honors after posting the most wins by a first-year coach in conference history, surpassing the marks held by collegiate coaching giants Jerry Tarkainian and Lute Olson.

Ganot added: “Last season was certainly a remarkable run and it wouldn’t have happened without the support of those in our Athletics Department, our school, as well as our countless fans. We knew there were challenges coming in and that we would embrace those challenges. With a great group of student-athletes and a terrific coaching staff that’s dedicated to their development, we’ll continue to work tirelessly to build a program that succeeds on the court, in the classroom, and out in the community.”

The Rainbow Warriors, who welcome 10 newcomers to this year’s roster, officially open fall practice on Friday, September 30. The regular-season begins Nov. 11 with the 52nd Annual Outrigger Rainbow Classic.

9 Comments

  1. Congrats to UH for having an Athletic Dept. with an akamai director, who always does his best for all sports. The first-year MBB achievements by Coach Ganot are unreal!

    The foundations are set. will continue to proper; Fans will be prouder still!

  2. Great News !!
    Go Bows !!

  3. Coach Ganot and staff did a mighty fine job in molding and fine tuning the talent that was already there when he arrived. Good coaching along with talent and hard work wins championships. 2 year extension to Ganot’s contract is a nice reward for a job well done. Probability is slim that we will see post season play due to the NCAA sanctions. Ganot and company will lay the groundwork starting this season to return to the Dance in the very near future. Goal for this year’s team is to win 20 games. It can be done if all believe in it. Hard to believe that UH almost broke into the top 25 last year, went to the Dance and beat Cal, and Stefan Jankovic on the Miami Heat team. Epic year and the finest hour in UH basketball history. We can do it again.

  4. Mahalo “Coach” Ganot & Staff for Your Successful, Tireless, Continuous,
    And Now Extended Commitment to Our Program And Community…

    Even Extended Mahalo to AD Dave for Displaying the Patience
    To Ensure “All the Boxes” were Checked,
    Such as Proof-Positive that the Effort and Hard Work
    Extends From Classes to Court and Community,
    X’s and O’s to Travel and Sharing a Vision Worldwide…

    Next Challenge — Establish an Unprecedented String of Successful Seasons and Careers
    Born of Intensity, Integrity, Hard Work and Smart Work
    Doing BOTH, Things Right AND The Right Things

    BTW, Thanks Dave for Returning TOP Tier College BB to the SSC
    ? How Long Before we ‘Finish’ The Stan Sheriff-Mark Takai Vision of An NCAA Tourney Class Venue?

  5. I hope and pray we fans dont treat this as a throw away season. The staff is now locked up to 2020 and they already recruited a good roster of now and future stars. The postseason ban just means that this team can play with nothing to lose and pull off some big upsets. Anybody say North Carolina?

    This a very important season for the future of the program IMHO. This staff and players have to prove that they can keep the momentum going by winning games. No excuses for this team to pull a Chow and finish at the bottom of conference standings. That would stop the momentum and lose all the fans who jumped on last year. It starts with us diehard fans backing up the team from the beginning. Go Bows!

  6. I think someone or some player(s) will have to be a scorer this season. We don’t have the top 8 scorers from last season plus the top rebounders. Baskets could be hard to come by, at times. No Janks, Valdes, Roderick or Sai, etc. to bail us out, though someone else could surprise.

  7. Really Good, I think, even Great, Thoughts…

    I “Think” a Rebuilding / Re-Loading Year (it would appear to be One or the Other)
    IS A True Test of the Goodness of The Staff AND The System
    So that Even with The Loss of Five Starters OR Even theTop Eight
    “The System” (like Shoji OR Bellichick)
    ‘should’ still be Able to ‘WIN’
    It Will likely NOT Be As Dominant as last year – 4-in-a-row (or More) FIVE Times, Even up to Six, Eight in a row;
    BUT I DO think Coach Ganot & Staff will Fight to be better than 2015 where they Lost Two in a Row (Only Once) or 2014
    Where they Lost Two-in-a-Row Three Times — BOTH BTW, Originally 20+Win Seasons (until ‘our’ attorneys and administrators tried to bargain/ trade them away)

    ALL Conjecture, BUT I’ll climb onto a limb (all of six inches off of the ground) that Ganot and Staff would absolutely ‘Reject’ a 2013-raw-scallop-like 17-15 season; I ‘bet’ Ganot’s “Floor’ is something closer to St. Mary’s Five Year LOW of 21 Wins…
    Easier Blogged than done, you say…true… yet I suspect–we’ll eventually find out — THIS STAFF IS For ‘Real’…

    SEASON… Practice Tips Off Today…

    GO ‘BOWS!

  8. We will need some reports on how the practice goes. And better yet, it would be nice if we got some video. Not to encroach on secret practice, but just to see how athletic the guys are.
    Go Bows !

  9. Full speed ahead Eran! Go Warriors. Can’t wait till the first game.

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