How about these three?
When it come to the UH basketball situation, I get my info maybe third or fourth hand. But first hand, I’ve had nice conversations with Gib Arnold and Brandyn Akana. They’ve always been nice and friendly to me. Disclosures: 1) I covered Arnold when he was a Punahou student as part of my ILH basketball beat a long, long time ago; 2) I got to know the Akana family while covering Jarinn Akana as part of my UH basketball beat a long, long time ago.
If I only gave an opinion when asked, I’d never be able to give an opinion at all. And since nobody is asking me, these are my choices to take over the team on a one-season-only basis:
> Riley Wallace, of course, because he knows the system, knows local politics and the politicians, has good ideas and, most of all, we all miss G game and an occasional coat throwing.
> Artie Wilson has not only a high basketball IQ,but a high overall IQ, as well. He knows basketball, he knows how to coach, and he has connections in the business world. He also has a successful aura, and I think that’s needed in what’s become a gloomy athletic department.
> Chris McLachlin is Mr. Fix It. He was that way when he coached basketball and volleyball at Punahou. And he’s been that way as a consultant, providing motivational speeches and visualization sessions to UH teams. These are fragile times, and McLachlin, who embodies the slogan “relentlessly positive,” can bring back the positive energy. Plus, he’s a heck of a coach.
Why do people have animosity towards riley wallace?
Foist!
Good choices!
….to be 2nd! 😈
Have a terrific day erryboddy!
Remember, always take the calls from yer better half… 🙄
4 Prong:
I think if you’re a public figure and around long enough, you become polarizing. Look at Daniel Inouye. He was losing some steam until he was called a slur during the Watergate hearings. Then he was popular for a while. Then he wasn’t. And near the end, when people realized how much juice he had in Washington, he was popular again.
UH just needs someone to run the program for a season. And during this time, the search should be on for a permanent coach.
It sounds like the decision to keep Arnold and Akana as employees through January is a bureaucratic move that might delay the search a couple months. We’ll see.
What about Alika Smith?
Please don’t bring up Alika Smith. That guy has a lot of personal issues that would instantly exclude him from the conversation.
Sad. Too much turmoil. Situations need to stabilize. Why are we so quick to be adversarial? These are good men that are fighting for their reputations. Let’s not throw them under the bus without substantial proven cause. Firing someone “without cause” and not disclosing the reason and letting them defend themselves is not fair. Is this what we have become? “I come not to praise Caesar.” Familiar?
You gotta feel for the players. The biggest question is whether the NCAA will grant a waiver that will allow them to freely transfer without sitting out due to the sanctions. I know that one AAU coach connected with a current player has already fielded calls from other schools asking if the player would be interested if the waiver was granted.
Good morning there will be a domino effect through out the basketball program with players leaving at the end of the season. The program will be in limbo for a couple of years until a new coach can bring it back to a favorable level. I doubt if the AD will survive all this turmoil.
Not knowing the details of the situation it is hard to understand. But firing a coach a few days before the season starts seems ill timed. This investigation has been going on a very long time. If a termination was appropriate (and I don’t know if it was or not) there was plenty of time for the school to do its own investigation, make a move if needed and be thoughtful about the amount of disruption it would cause to the players and the season. It would also be possible to allow the NCAA process to take its natural course, use the 90 day appeal process if it was appropriate and let the season unfold. The big schools seem willing to challenge the NCAA and not cave. This does not feel like a bold, wise and decisive move to me but rather like a little child running from a bully. I could be wrong of course as I don’t know the facts. But even if the facts support this move UH again feels profoundly dense in the way they handle public relations. I am starting to question my sanity in expecting anything different moving ahead. Very poor clock managment.
Is this what we, the fans/supporters, can continue to expect from Ben Jay as UHAD?
Anyone know if BJ has created a major influence in Hawaii? As a solicitor for funds, how good is, personally?
Snickering: what was he thinking when wearing an Ohio State t-shirt at Costco as the new UHAD???
#11
Yep. I agree!
My gut feeling is it was something personal that triggered Gibs firing. When you look at the timing it doesn’t make sense. IMO I think Gib stepped on someone’s toes one too many times. I get the impression the UHAD didn’t view him as a “company man.”
GOOD MORNING, HAWAII!
Transparency. I believe that’s what the UH President said he would foster going forward. Not in this case.
The reason for the current state of affairs is because of the lack of ANY transparency. If Coach Arnold and Coach Akana committed violations, so be it. But, what were they. We have an inkling of what Coach Akana did. He was suspended; not he has been relieved. Guess no such thing as “double jeopardy for him.”
But what did Coach Arnold do? Is UH implementing the new NCAA policy that holds a head coach accountable for actions of his underlings, even if he or she did nothing? Presumption of guilt because they can’t prove anything? Seems like that’s what they are doing. Why? Don’t know because UH is shut up tighter than a clam.
And, if that’s the NCAA policy, then Ben Jay should also resign, and also the UH President. All the way to the top.
I honestly would like to see Artie get a chance to take over for this season while they look for a permanent coach. He has experience working with a lot of these players from the summer leagues and he knows his basketball.
Why not allow Benji Taylor to be acting HC until a new UC is selected? I do not know him or his credentials. Provide the players with some continuity and comfort.
He has been with the program 2/3 years, knows the players, and vice versa.
Why create more turmoil by bringing in a “temp HC” immediately?
18.
I agree, but if having to choose between the choices ST suggested, I would choose Artie. Although either way they may need an additional temp assistant or something because aren’t there only two coaches on staff remaining?
What’s wrong with Benjy Taylor?
Benji Taylor. period.
Too big of a pay cut for Artie
North Carolina basketball/athletics program being investigated for academic cheating going on over several years & NCAA president Mark Emmert calls UNC report ‘deeply troubling.’
No talk of UNC head coach(es) being fired. Yet, UH takes preemptive action & fires Arnold w/o official investigation results & due process.
I think UH’s reaction is ‘deeply troubling.’
The lack of transparency is alarming. There is talk on the BC show that Fotu’s eligibility is in question due to financial compensation he received. What’s with that?
I think what people really should look at is WHY?? all of this turmoil has occurred since Ben Jay came to the UH. The athletic program is in shambles, community support is waning, and people gave-up on Chow last year…
Benji Taylor. period. Critical decision for the players sake. No outsider temp head coach. Period.
The timing of the self imposed sanctions are dictated by when the NCAA findings would be released. It’s not ideal timing but this was all driven by the NCAA investigation and it’s timelines. No one in their right mind would fire a coach a week before games begin.
Come on…let’s all get on board with UH.
The ship is sailing into uncharted waters.
There’s always a rainbow overhead.
Wait…what’s that? I hear music. They are
playing the Titantic theme song.
🙁
I understand why people are calling for transparency. Gib Arnold is a public figure at a public university. However, he is/was a state employee. Personnel decisions are confidential, and have been put into place in order to protect the employee’s privacy rights. Ben Jay and the university may not be able to comment directly on why Gib Arnold was terminated, but Gib and everyone else may comment freely, if they so choose. Revealing confidential personnel information regarding Gib’s termination may violate state and federal law.
Timing-wise, an action had to be taken prior to the commencement of the 2014-15 season. The self-imposed sanctions may include suspending Isaac Fotu and applying for reinstatement, rather than his being ruled ineligible for the entire season, and forfeiting the games he played. My issue with the firing is not meeting with Gib face-to-face. He found out from his wife, who found out from the media. Uncool.
Actually, yesterday’s blog comment by Z was a brilliant idea.
Try get Anthony Carter. If not him, maybe hire from China,
the big man, Yang. Would be fun to see him standing next to
BJ…
As taxpayers, I believe that we deserve to know the truth.
Ooops, sorry, Timmy, meant Yao Ming.
#26 Given what you stated ( and I agree with it), one would think that with a large system such as UH, there would be a HR department that would manage such events, like terminations, harassment, etc. It is baffling that in this situation it appears that this was not the procedure with coach’s termination.
My only speculation on the matter was that an insider leaked the pending release to the press who wanted to scoop the story and went ahead and announced, prior to the process.
On a completely different, off the subject note, what is your relationship to the Hanalei pier? It is Hanalei pier, right? Just curious.
Gib finding out from his wife is just pitiful…a bad reflection on our leadership including BJ and our President. Hey, at least have the class to face to face before letting the news get out. Sad sad sad.
We need a lot of help.
Who’s Timmy Yang?
Sorry again.
Enough.
The world is ending.
#23
Not everyone has given up on Chow. Go Bows!
Re-Did anyone else happen to listen to The Call the Coach Show last evening?
Let me say this, even as one of Chow’s circling sharks, he sounded good.
So many other times I’ve listened to Chow he’s on the ropes, backpedaling, and exudes an aura of insecurity.
But not last evening. Last evening he was in the red zone, marching down the field for a score.
His voice had energy, confidence. He answered questions, like a blossoming flower. And that’s the way I like it.
For example when Chow was asked how recruiting was shaping up:
The sun came out.
“Our coaches are working hard at recruiting, in addition to their regular duties,” said Chow. “They are constantly in contact with recruits, making phone calls, mailing out letters, studying film and doing evaluation.”
And you could hear the excitement in his voice… that had a captivating touch to it. “Sorry I can’t name names per the rules,” adds Chow. “But all I can say is that there are an exceptionally good group of defensive linemen this year.”
This much I can say in Chow’s defense is that here’s a man that has so many burdens in his (now) personal life and that as a head football coach. Yet from this one talk show I can sense that whatever fate comes Chow’s way in the future he is going to go out by putting his best foot forward. That’s the way to do it.
Why is/are UH administrators so willing to hide behind closed doors or heavily tinted glass?
Are public universities/colleges on the mainland the same way? Shouldn’t matter, but just curious. No, my name is not George!!!
Bring in Nick Nolte so he can bring in some top Blue Chips
#34:
that sounds good, but until “they” DL commits put it in writing on NOLI day it just fodder for talk shows.
question is: will Chow change the offensive mind-set and call plays that will be more energetic and fun for players and fans – If he continues to by “up-da-middle” and “up-da-middle” and flat passes to the LOS, then who comes in on NOLI day will not matter
that being said, I do hope the Coach Clune will stay at UH for many years – either as a DC or HC.
Of the three options mentioned… I’d pick McLachlin. Benjy Taylor is already the interim coach. He knows the team and can run the offense/defense that he knows they can do. I’ve always thought of McLachlin as being a great motivator. He might be able to help the team without butting heads with Taylor when it comes to x’s and o’s. On the other hand, I think what the current coaches need the most is someone to manage the team from a paperwork/politics/admin perspective so they can concentrate on BBall. In that case, I’d pick Wallace.
37.
Yes I agree. The person coming in should be used more in a supportive role. Taylor has head coach experience so he knows how to do the administrative and PR side of it, but considering they just lost two staff members, it would allow him to concentrate more on the on-court things.
Buffoman, that is a picture of Waimea Landing, with Ni’ihau in the background. Very beautiful sunsets on the Wesside.
I think Benjy Taylor needs to be announced as the head coach for the season immediately to prevent the kids with eligibility past this season from transfering. We have young talent that were highly recruited, so I could see them siting out this semester and transfering if there isnt the continuity of having Coach Taylor take over.
Are people actually serious about Artie. That guy has no real coaching experience and the summer league does not count. Nice guy and great friend of the program but if we are considering Artie we are in a bad place.
OOPS! on # 34 I plugged in the wrong blog refernce. 24 not 23.
Haven’t seen or heard anything for me give up on Gib either.
Go Bows Go!
reference…………….fingers and brain stuck today………poho
Good morning everyone!
I think ST’s suggestions for an interim coach is for the credibility of the fans and attendance this year. The players have continuity in coach Taylor. This is not a knock on Coach Taylor’s abilities– the team need a “public face” that is known and credible to fans. One that can draw the fans, stand in front of TV cameras, and credibly reassure fans things will be OK even if the team hits a losing streak (heaven forbid).
And I’m not sure Artie has a graduate degree, which is now an institutional prerequisite for such head coach positions.
Sometimes, one can actually have too much institutional knowledge and history; and my personal opinion is that is the case for Artie (not considering his almost absolute dearth of head coaching experience).
I agree with those that see the wisdom in keeping Benji Taylor as the interim coach. Maintain continuity and system, until a head coach can be selected. Taylor is short staffed (2-short), so Ben Jay needs to step on the gas. Heck, there are a lot of coaches out there…please, no locals. Not even for the interim. That includes Riley Wallace and his antiquated freeze frame, slow mo, half-court stall. Make this professional and avoid another political choice. Manoa has had enough. Do it right.
I say let Benjy coach the team and see what happens. If it doesn’t work out then AC or Jamie Dixon (I know we got no chance but I can dream can’t I?…lol)
artie is not the choice… how can ne one s;ay that… he picked uh to loose.. dont u all remember.. you want a coach.. who will pick another teame over his own alma mater…sick to me.. he has no tact… in my book .. just on that one point. . as much tact as I have.. he he he..
chris.. or the present coach… be fine.. for me..
some of the pluses that ST MENTIONED… are not plusses to me for a temp coach.. be nice to have a coach that is not tied to politics.. money etc..and could not care a hoot about whose toes he stems on IN COACHNG..THAT IS HE HE WILL BE HIRED TO DO.. not all that other epolitical crap.. and ass.. kissing….one year and out… sounds good to me till they find a new one..
I believe the UH Men’s Basketball program was just about to take-off. By removing Coach Arnold now, all that excitement and anticipation has been drained out. I saw this season’s basketball team as being the bright spot in an otherwise gloomy year for the athletic department – based on enthusiasm, excitement and a growing fan base.
What started this downward slide was self reporting by UH’s Compliance Office. Is the Compliance Office’s role to keep UH out of trouble by catching things before they become a violation (e.g., catching an altered form/document before it is submitted to the agency that acts on it) and correcting the error in-house? Or, is it to act as the NCAA’s investigative extension to report any suspicious activity?
All of the alleged violations that were reported in the Star Advertiser were small manini things (not a major violation like North Carolina’s reports of people taking tests for the players on their basketball team). UH should have waited on any actions until they received information from the NCAA on what infractions were found. You don’t amputate your arm if the injury is a paper cut on your finger!
Based on the NCAA’s penalties for Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, etc., the AD wisely hired the law firm that had worked out the insignificant/no penalties imposed on those schools (Texas A&M, Auburn, etc.) so patience in reacting should have been justified.
I hope that the talented players recruited for this season’s team are taken care of and encouraged to remain Rainbow Warriors. If not, we will be starting at the beginning in trying to build up the basketball program to where it is now. It is up to the UH administration and Athletic Department to make the players feel welcome and taken care of after their father figure has been suddenly and unexpectedly removed from their lives. Failure to retain our players after this season rests firmly on the shoulders of the UH administration and the Athletic Director.
Polly I heard the same things in Chows’ voice and demeanor last night and I too was surprised by how well he handled some tough questions thrown his way. Didn’t hear all of the show but you would have thought that he just came off a win by the way he addressed the audience and callers.
37 mr. polly…. defense does not seem to be his problem.. maybe he should be a defensve coack for a while and get a offensive coach… that can get our team to move the ball ..more then 10 yards… hopeflly 15 or 20 yards at a time.. and learn to march down the field n 4 or 8 plays… resulting in some points.. .. then his enthusiasm will be fine on the other side of the ball.. just my two centavos worth..
turfwar, i think polly is being sarcastic. All the responses he was citing sounded like chow was just giving very generic, canned responses.
as far as basketball goes, i actually think the flex motion can be effective. There are schools that run variations of the flex motion that are very successful (like gonzaga). idk why people are hating on riley wallace aside from ST’s reasoning. however, my only worry is that it’s pretty late into the preseason, and bringing in a new interrim head coach that isn’t currently on the staff would basically involve implementing a whole new offense, plays, philosophy, and defense.
The learning curve will be steep.
lucky get one heavy vog at UH from yesterday and the head coach of football can be transparent even tho, one more loss will knock the team out of the Hawaii bowl for the 3rd year in a row.
Well I didn’t hear the whole show but Chow really did sound positive and upbeat in his answers. And like Polly said he has in the past radio shows sounded at times unsure, defeated and hesitant in his responses but he really did sound like a guy in control of things last night.
I don’t think UH has money to bring in another head coach so Riley or anyone else outside of the present staff coaching this season, in my opinion, is out of the question.
With every new head coach there will be new growing pains. Whatever progress has been made, or lack thereof in some eyes, will have to start out from scratch. Either way, this is not good for the university. Then again, seems that’s how UH does business.
Anyway, will be interesting to see what the infractions committee officially releases in terms of the offenses that were committed.
sorry ST, but those are all terrible choices. i like all three as people but don’t believe they would be a good fit for this team as a coach. i say let Benji coach the team for the rest of the year. he was a former head coach and knows the players. bringing in someone from outside the program at this time would be disastrous. UH handled this whole thing badly and i say fire all of the BOR, Ben Jay, the new president and anyone else involved in this fiasco.
Gib was out on the field at halftime with his whole team at halftime and two days later you fire him? calling his wife to tell her Gib got fired and not telling him face to face? outrageous. its a clown show and we need to fire the entire circus ASAP.
McLachlin wouldn’t want to take on the stress involved with coaching UH basketball. He had a stroke, but looks recovered .
As to reasons, they should come out after the NCAA investigation results are released. Until then, UH is supposed to keep mum.
One commentator says you are supposed to tell the truth to the NCAA, whatever that is. NCAA comes down hard on those who “lie” to them, even though the initial violations may not have been major ones.
According to a Mark Carpenter tweet, someone from the UH administration did talk to Gib about his removal, albeit a few minutes after Gib saw it on line.
The Navy has had the policy that the Captain of ship is responsible for what happens to his ship even though he had nothing to do with or had knowledge of what had ocurred.
Maybe that is why the AD/NCAA took the action that he did.
But not to talk to Gib before the action was taken and not to notify him before the press got to it goes against common decency.
tom… n ts boy….common decency.. is not spoken at UHAD…
THE AD SHOULD BE FIRED FOR HIS ACTIONS.. PERIOD.
Proper way is to .. call coack.. then press release.. saying
“the new coach is”…. so and so… whom ever it is and if benj.. then
follow wth some reason.. as to keep the program and recurits happy..for
those that may be on the way.. well surely take a step back.. they have no common sense.. and no regards for the program..or the athletes…. they should be caring for.. sucks.. big time for ne athlete.. to be n a UH uniform…
and the uhad web site.. gets our an e mail me receive yesterday… uh promotions and news.. etc.. same old same old.. wonder how long the advertser would stay in business.. if their paper had the same headlnes every day.. day afte4 day for years…. not at all … relevant…their e mail.. fire that dude also..
oops forgot.. that whole place UHAD… STINKS WORST THEN TAMASHIRO MARKET.. HE HE HE
The one consistency of this whole UH athletic affair is the unbiased reporting of Mr. Tsai. Reardon is as biased as they come so don’t expect him not to be.
Tsai has given it much thought and the three that he suggested sounds good to me.
All the hogwash you hear is just what it is – hogwash.
How about a REVERSE !
Maybe the NCAA comes down with decision that comes with the note that dismissal of coaches is way to harsh. It’s kind of a bad precedent anyway.
I am open to REVERSING THE DECISION. Why not?
Strange things happen all the time.
REVERSE IT. No harm no foul. Reverse it, and throw in a coupon for poki.
Why not?
Stick with Coach Taylor for continuity purposes.
All of these violations pale in comparison to the UH – Honolulu Ford Scandal/Violations. I still remember watching that commercial on TV with the Bows players and Aku, and thinking, “Oh man, this can’t be legal or good.”
Article of interest about USU’s (Punahou grad) Brian Suite:
http://www.sltrib.com/sports/1759074-155/suite-hawaii-logan-state-utah-aggies
some of the comments above are totally ignorant, the university is not going to reveal any personnel reasons as these are not privy to the public, in time some information may leak out as to the additional sanctions, violations , in response ,Riley would make a good interim coach, he knows the territory , Benjy is part of the recent rejime that got us in the mess so I dont know if he should be taking the reins . The prisoners are not to be running the asylum and telling the rest of us adults who they want to play for. And no coach should say, ‘they only want to play for me ” come on. !!!
Aloha Tsaiko Nation !
Sorry to hear about all the basketball troubles at UH. Situation takes me back to my days as a Bow with the Cutter Ford Commercial, Bruce O’Neal unable to contunue as coach with 3 prominent players transferring as a big afro freshmen kid from Compton, California came on the scene enduring the 2 years probation and staying the course completing his elgibility and graduating with a degree 33 years ago as a PROUD alumnus from the University Of Hawaii. I’m sure with time if the program had troubles then to where it is now it will all take care of it self. Too many good folks who are out there including Tom Mui who saved the basketball department once are compassionate about Rainbow basketball and won’t see the program fall on “rags and tatters”
On another note I am honored to write that I have been nominated for the UH Distinguished Alumnus Award 2015. Heavy support from my board members of the LWC who has endorsed my name for consideration in which IF selected I will be the FIRST student athlete from the mainland to bestowed this honor since 1988 when the award was conceived, a period of 27 years. This nomination I tried in 2003 as I made the finals but was not consider an awardee of the beautiful crystal trophy. Now 11 years later a strong contingent of supporters from my end has come forth with Rhino Records, Merryl Lynch, ABC World News, Phil York Attorney Esquire, Tracyn Nagata UH Admission Office Director, Allison Bogli PR Director of the Los Angeles Lakers and many friends, fellow professional colleagues and former teammates all writing on my behalf to HOPEFULLY walk among the elite Distinguished Alumnus for the year 2015. Over 30 nominations will come forth and only 5 or 6 will be picked as the deadline for all nomination materials are due by November 10th with the selected winners announced at the Royal Kona Ball Room Waikiki May 13th, 2015.
I am asking from you GREAT folks of Tsaiko Nation support. A letter of reccomendation from your outstanding writing skills on my behalf. The letter should be made to the attention of Ken K. Hayashida / President University Of Hawaii Alumni Association. Please e-mail it to Courtney Chai Executive Director Of the Letter Winners Club. Her e-mail address:ckchaiathawaiidotedu.
In closing folks I have put in 33 years to the education profession with 22 of those dedicated years at The Al Wooten Center which yesterday marked my 22nd consecutive year at this safe have with out ONE day absent from the task at hand. During this time at Al Wooten I have empowered THOUSANDS of inner city disadvantage children by way of higher education, job readiness skills, community civic minded citizens or serving our branch military services. I KNOW I am at the end of this wonderful journey in which 1981 I received my degree from the College Of Education and came back to Los Angeles serving in many positions as a qualify professional male educator who’s chief’s desire was to always render a professional service representing U of H as a proud graduate alumnus.
This award IF acknowledged will set a precedence that former athletes can graduate and contribute in their community while changing and impacting young lives along the way. My nomination is competing against some outstanding alums who are retired judges, philanthropists, research scientists, engineers as the award stands for “who have achieved outstanding accomplishments and made valuable contributions in their professions and the community” as I have done that and so much more !
Thank you all for taking the time reading my post on some difficult times at UH but rest assured you have a former Rainbow that LOVES his alma mater and has done great things to warrant this nomination. I need your support of letters writing on my behalf so I may represent you and many others who has believed in me from the 808 since “I dived all over the court for a loose ball” trying to win for the Rainbow Warriors. If you may cc your comments to my e-mail address cliffsanchezatgeemail.com I will greatly appreciate !
I have 13 days to build my case. Your Universal words of writing greatness is needed. Mahalo for your kokua !
Imua Warriors !
mayabe so hon2255… but you have to admt.. most of the coments our of the UHAD are more then ignorant… if there is a word for it.. maybe boola can comment on ignornat.. he he he..
How would u like to be fired.. and at work and have the boss call your wife and say.. please to relay to ur husband that he is fired… and re3lay to him not to come to work ne more… gosh ..you mean bj not have his cp number… give me a break… like sumone here said yesterday.. ignorance begets ignorance.. hence maybe the opinons that you consider ignorant..
Trojan, you all fired up, my friend.
Mahi mahi sandwhich should settle you down a bit. Otherwise, glad to see you so passionate about an issue.
He he he.
Who cares if norm sounds confident and upbeat?
We need wins, and a winning program. Can norm deliver this? His record says no.
I’ll settle for a non-confident sounding, monotone-speaking, coach who can deliver wins, anyday, over a confident-sounding upbeat-sounding norm who cant punch in the W.
If Artie Wilson or Chris Mclachlin are picked as the interim coach (no pun intended), after the season is pau you’ll have an abundance of atheletes transferring out of the program.
And if Wallace is picked (again no pun intended), the program will also have an abundance of athletes asking for their release….and Wallace will most likely be the Head Coach again, and Wheeler be his point man in recruiting 2 year transfers (JUCO).
LOL…Wallace last few years, the Bows wasn’t competitive at all.
A no brainer, the Interim Head Coach should be Taylor…the players are already comfortable with him and the style of play.
Breaking News: Hawaii’s Isaac Fotu ruled ineligible!
ST
All your three nominees are great supporters of the UH and know their craft.
However, to keep the boat afloat, and knowing the team, you keep Benjy as the interim and perhaps Artie and/or Chris can assist
Now there goes the Hawaii Men’s BB Season…
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20141029_Hawaiis_Fotu_ruled_ineligible.html?id=280871302
Why is Artie Wilson’s name keep coming up? He has not coached in any organized game before. Summer league does not count cause you have people coming and going as pleased and its really not a organized league. More of a glorified park league.
I rather have some HS coach who is coaching now and has experience teaching young men as oppose to some guy who thinks highly of himself as a basketball coach but who have never coached anywhere.
The UH athletic department would be a great setting for a comedy show. Actually it could be a reality show and the comedy writers would not be needed. It could go something like this: We could a fire coach who was winning (Wags) and replace them with ones who cannot (Fred Von A). Then we could have a period of success with a coach with swag and vision (JJ) but hold out on a contract extension until he gets PO’d and leaves. We replace him with a nice grandfatherly man with a propensity for inappropriate and embarrassing public comments (Mac) who we also run off and replace with an older and somewhat grouchy fellow (Norm) who says he’s too old for this. We could sprinkle in a dose of sending money to criminals for bogus rock concerts, thinking of rehiring BB coaches that we ran off (Riley) because we fired the BB coach (Gib) without cause on the cusp of one of the most promising seasons in recent memory. We could cycle through a bunch of AD’s of all of whom promise to balance the budget and generate community financial support while the red ink grows and grows. We could add in a very competent womens BB coach who we are sure will run for her life first chance she gets in case this insanity is a communicable condition like Ebola. And the of course there is the completely inexplicable case of coach Shoji just to throw the viewers a twist and keep the off balance. I am sure others could add more story lines but we must try to be a little restrained as the public will start to think that it’s not really a reality series and we made all this stuff up.
Oh and of course we would have to add screwing up the eligibility of the most promising men’s BB player in recent memory
I am curious to see how the NCAA deals with University of North Carolina Tarheels and their scandal. UH takes preemptive measures to try lessen the penalty received by the NCAA.
What ever happened with UH warrior BB and the alegations against them, I can’t imagine it being worse than North Carolina’s scandal.
Providing something of monetary value vs. Providing paper classes (bogus classes) for players to stay eligible.
Fotu ruled ineligible, but UH is petitioning for reinstatement , if you didn’t hear .
Some other players considering transferring out.
All it would take now is for the NCAA to hand out sanctions and the players can transfer without sitting out. Mass exodus like the Cutter Ford era is possible.
It sounds like Fotu is ineligible by the school at this point and not the NCAA so if the stuff he received is not a huge lump of money but just a lap top for school as has been rumored then he could still be ruled eligible after a handful of games. That would be a great thing.
No Fotu. This the pits.
On Anthony Carter. I can remember guess who talking about how nice it would be if he came here to coach.
How do we know if it just a lap top. The general public does not have all of the information that the NCAA committee has. Let’s just wait and see. Lot’s of speculation at this point.
I have an analogy about why I think ST the 3 suggested interim coaches above… at least for Wallace and McLachlin. Do you remember the movie “Deep Impact”?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_(film)
A huge comet is on collision course with earth and will knock it back to the ice age. The UH basketball faithful is the earth. A space mission is assembled to navigate to the comet and place nukes to blow it up. A team of young astronauts is assembled for the task. A old veteran and well known astronaut (Robert Duvall) is selected to nominally lead the mission, much to dismay of the youngsters who feel he is only a figure head.
Yes, Duvall is the face of the mission– the veteran who increases confidence in the people that he’ll get the space ship to intercept the comet and plant the nukes. Things will be under control or handled enroute. HE does not know how to plant nukes or know the young crew personally but he is an experienced leader.
Wallace and McLachlin are the veterans who could become the face of the 2014 UH basketball program. Give the fans some confidence that things are under control and the BB spaceship will survive the season. These men know their role, and will allow Coach Taylor to develop the team and plant the nukes. But they are flying the ship, which fans will accept is not flying out of control.
You remember what Tarkanian said when asked about the sanctions he was about to face? It went something like this, the NCAA got so mad at Kentucky that they really made South Dakota State pay. Or something like that.
Using that we could swap schools and say “North Carolina” for that big rich and powerful school and use UH as the no consequence institution who will be slapped silly.
Cleveland State
As much as I would love to see Riley Wallace back on the sidelines, I think the University of Hawaii should keep it simple, and just hand over the reins to Benjy Taylor. Yes, his won-loss record is poor, but nobody can win at places like North Carolina Central(pre-D1) and Chicago State. And also, before firing Gib Arnold, perhaps, the university could have called St. Mary’s for advice.
UH Football at home on Saturday against Utah State … then 4 more conference games … then Colorado (Pac-12 … with 12 teams), Ohio State (Big 10 … with 14 teams … hopefully they aren’t one of the big ones), and Wisconsin (Big 10 … ditto) in 2015. Took guesses at the 2015 conference games based on 2012-2014 seasons … “You Know It Don’t Come Easy” … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emKEFXWk4Yc
11/1/2014 Utah State (Military Night) Home
11/8/2014 Colorado State Away
11/15/2014 San Jose State Away
11/22/2014 UNLV (Senior Night) Home
11/29/2014 Fresno State Away
9/5/2015 Colorado Home
9/12/2015 Ohio State Away
9/19/2015 UC Davis Home
9/26/2015 Wisconsin Away
11/28/2015 Louisiana-Monroe Home
2015 season Nevada Away
2015 season San Diego State Home
2015 season New Mexico Away
2015 season Fresno State Home
2015 season Boise State Away
2015 season Air Force Home
2015 season UNLV Away
2015 season San Jose State Home
Kekaula ended his KITV sports report this evening saying that when the NCAA report on the men’s BB program comes out it is going to get really ugly! Is he privy to what has been found, has inside UH confidants or just speculating?
None of the other two stations even close to his prediction.
For continuity and to keep some semblance of stability for the team, BT should lead.
Benjy Taylor did win some coach of the year honor when he had that one winning season because that program was historically terrible.
Wonder what the MBB ticket sales were like before and after the announcement.
The NCAA must really be mad at North Carolina for handing out degrees based on paper classes (bogus classes). For that, they are really going to hammer Hawaii for rules violation.
I remembered Jerry Tarkanian’s quote and I had to laugh after thinking about it.
“The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky. They’re going to give cleveland state another year of probation.”
Thanks for helping me remember that this is still the NCAA. I thought that was funny. Of course it’s not funny for UH. I was looking forward to the BB season. The season hasn’t even started and it’s starting it’s season under a difficult situation.
Some players who were on the news said that they wanted coach Benji so I an fine with it. I do think that UH needs to hire some assistants so that he can do the HC job.
Improper benefits for Fotu. Really bad. I hope this is not the beginning of the snow ball.
Let’s also not forget that these athletes, albeit young and immature at times, have a responsibility to not accept improper benefits. IMO he is just as accountable as the program is. So if he in fact accepted things he shouldn’t have … beat it. I don’t care how good he is.
Does the fan base really have an influence over what the AD does or does not do? Highly unlikely. What we do have control over to a great extent is how the players react to all of this. The fan base needs to get out and show support for the student athletes and quit second guessing the AD. Karma has a way of working itself out, good or bad. What we, as fans, need to do is let the players know that we still want them around regardless of what’s going on politically. Otherwise, they will leave in droves. If they see and hear the fans support regardless of who is coaching they will stick around. If all they see or hear is negativity and political BS, garans they will look for a place where they are appreciated.
Throw Ben Jay in the Lava
The hiring of the law firm– experienced at dealing with NCAA issues– by UH and the decision to impose sanctions on itself based on the advice of the law firm were good. However, UH should have hired this firm sooner and maybe the investigation and sanctions may not have gone the way they did. The investigation by the NCAA was not taken seriously enough. UH should have hired a law firm experienced in NCAA investigations to do its own investigation so early on the UH would know what it was dealing with and be able to put the facts in the best light– that is what lawyers do for many big time schools investigated. It is too late once the NCAA is turned loose and it encounters some people joking about the investigation, and some efforts to cover things up. We all saw one “story” of what was going on, and the NCAA saw another and more– all coming out in a disorganized mess looking as bad as possible for UH. The law firms conclusions were apparently very severe (it was rumored that the firm thought that loss of scholarships was a possibility given the facts which involved). The only way for UH to show it had cleaned house and fixed the problems that occurred was to fire the coaches on whose watch the infractions occurred and to suspend at least one of the players involved– Gib and Akana were hit with the responsibility they already had to hopefully prevent more sanctions on the school. Maybe early investigation by the law firm would not have helped Gib keep his job, but it would have put the facts in the best light early on and prevented the way facts tumbled out over the long investigation by the NCAA.
http://workatuh.hawaii.edu/Jobs/SrchResults/2965080/1/postdate/desc
I checked the UH site for any job openings for head basketball coach or interim basketball coach and found nothing. What does that tell you?
If UH wants to clean house and show contrition to the NCAA the school should hire it’s next head basketball coach or interim that’s squeaky clean. Right? Yet the rumors surrounding the current interim coach suggests otherwise. Does that make sense?
No comment on the BB situation. I justwant to win some football games starting this week. Posted numerous times a “law” I learned coaching in one of the best high school programs in the nation…..we gotta score 21 points on O to win games. Lets do that and more this week. Turnovers field positon or drives you gotta score 21 points on O to be a winner. Go Warriors!!!!!
Maddog50, in college the rule is you must score 30 points to win consistently. In order to win consistently, coaches want to control a game NOT guarding a 3 point lead, 3 points behind, or tied or within one possession of being tied. If you score early or always have the threat of scoring 30, you help your defense by forcing the opposing team to throw more and become more predictable and thus more open to blitzing and forcing turnovers and interceptions. Especially today with explosive offenses, thirty points is the target.
Just to add to the 30 point rule. In the Pac 12, only two teams average less than 30 points per game. And in the SEC, only three teams average less than 30 points per game.
Finally, in the Mountain West, only three teams score 21 points or less– Hawaii, Wyoming, and UNLV– all the other teams in the conference average more than 21 points a game. San Diego State is the next up from the lowest three at just over 23 points per game. So not easy to win games by scoring only 21 points.
If we are looking for a kicker, there is a kid from Redondo Union High School that kicked a 49 and 47 yard field goals in one game. His name is Dominik Eberle, not sure if he is committed anywhere but he is a senior.
http://tbrnews.com/sports/redondo-still-unbeaten-in-league/article_5afaf1d0-5bfb-11e4-a2ac-4f80e4f78d24.html
#98: I agree. Nobody should ever express critical opinions about UH football or the athletic department. Don’t ask questions. God. Who would do such a thing? Everyone should just cheer and smile, dammit, and wave your flag. You’re not supposed to think. Just clap your hands and keep giving money and pray that everything works out.
That’s why dave reardon is such a hack. how DARE he have an opinion that doesn’t back UHAD and the football program 100%. Doesn’t he know that the role of the press is to be a cheerleader for whoever is in power???
Here’s today’s post: http://hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=25656