Canda misfortune

If you have not yet seen it in our subscriber content, Hawaii hoops recruit Bryce Canda did not gain admission into UH Manoa for the fall semester, we reported in Wednesday’s paper.

There is a possibility — though it doesn’t seem particularly likely — Canda could latch on with the team at a later time, if he completes another course independently. He said on Tuesday he was hoping to get in at the semester break.

Regardless, the Central Wyoming College transfer won’t be around as the team comes together during preseason practices and gets into the thick of what coach Eran Ganot wants to drill.

This is an unfortunate turn of events for Ganot and the Rainbow Warriors, who have a solid group returning from last season’s 22-win team — but not many new players to turn to for added depth now.

Ganot finalized the addition of freshman point guard Sheriff Drammeh a few days ago, easing the sting of the Canda loss a bit. But Canda — who worked out with the team over the summer — seemed ready to contribute right away, while Drammeh is something of a question mark.

Sai Tummala, a graduate student from Arizona State, is expected to make an impact at forward in his one season of eligibility. Jack Purchase, an Auburn transfer, is redshirting this season.

It’s them and the returning ‘Bows — most notably Roderick Bobbitt, Aaron Valdes, Stefan Jankovic and Isaac Fleming. So the cupboard is far from bare; there’s no reason to panic because of the Canda loss. It just would have been nice to add another dynamic guard to the fold — especially one with Canda’s 40-percent-plus shooting ability from long range.

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On the positive side, word is that team performance analyst Jamie Smith will be around for the coming season. Smith was hoping to stick around on Ganot’s staff and endured through the changeover of the last couple of months.

This is great news for people who bought into his sometimes-eccentric themed game nights. But he’ll have a good deal of other responsibilities as well.

There’s a good chance Smith, basically the director of operations, won’t be allowed in the gym during practices for the coming season as part of UH’s self-sanctions to the NCAA.