Warrior Insider

Being hired less than a month before the start of official practices, Chris Gerlufsen hit the ground running as a new assistant coach with the University of Hawai’i basketball team. As the offensive coordinator for the Rainbow Warriors, he would like to see a similar fast-paced style from the players.

“I believe in playing fast, I believe in playing an aggressive style of play,” Gerlufsen said. “I love guys who can dribble, pass and shoot. I like to rely on floor spacing, spreading people out and teaching kids the read-and-react versus running plays.”

Gerlufsen was hired by head coach Eran Ganot on September 3, less than two weeks after they first made contact about the open position on the UH staff.

“It happened all probably in a matter of about 10 days,” Gerlufsen said. “Coach Ganot reached out to me and we had some really good conversation back and forth. I was super impressed with the vision that he has as well as the vision of the athletic department here.”

Gerlufsen was previously an assistant coach at the University of San Diego for four seasons. Before that, he was an associate/assistant coach at Hartford University for eight seasons.

In addition to implementing offensive schemes, Gerlufsen will work with the point guards and perimeter players. “That’s something that comes natural for me because I was doing the same thing at the University of San Diego,” he said. “It’ll be an opportunity for me to maybe bring some new ideas and also maybe improve on some things that we’re already doing.”

Although Gerlufsen had to make a quick decision to join the UH staff, it was not necessarily an unknown jump to Hawai’i. His girlfriend was born and raised on Oahu, and they made frequent visits to the islands in recent years. “She had my bags packed before I could even get off the phone,” he said with a laugh.