Tipped off

It arguably turned into the Kawika Hallums Show, but the UH basketball tipoff event was inarguably a success.

Hallums, the former UH guard and OC Sports pregame/postgame analyst, brought the laughs on the stage as about 450 people put down $100 apiece to attend the preseason hype event Thursday night on the floor of the Stan Sheriff Center. UH coach Eran Ganot called it a “tremendous turnout.”

Scott Robbs, Hallums and former ‘Bows point guard Johnny White co-MC’d the function, the proceeds of which mostly went toward player nutrition. The dimmed green lights, elevated stage on center court and lowered jumbotron (with plenty of last year’s highlights) lent it some real atmosphere.

Ganot, assistant coaches Adam Jacobsen, Chris Acker and John Montgomery, returnees Mike Thomas, Sheriff Drammeh and Zach Buscher, and newcomers Noah Allen, Matt Owies and Gibson Johnson rotated onto the stage in a Q&A setting.

Hallums in particular got the crowd laughing with his roast-style jokes about everyone who shared the platform.

“Apparently it’s no longer (the Tipoff Event), we’ll change it to the Kawika Hallums Show,” Ganot joked. “But they were great, they’re tremendous at what they do.”

Much of the appeal of the night no doubt lay in the guests’ appeal to take stock of the team’s many newcomers.

“The tipoff event, people are equally or more excited (than a postseason banquet) because of the unknown,” Ganot said. “Combine that with this year, with so much unknown.”

He noted it was also positive for the players that went up, to increase their comfort with the level of public exposure the program gets. Owies’ Australian accent got plenty of attention, as did Allen’s quiet but smooth delivery.

Ganot thanked SSC manager Rich Sheriff and his staff for setting up the arena, the food staff, and Sidney Hamada, who acted as point person for the event.

UH netted roughly $45,000 before expenses for the night.

On the subject of remaining competitive in the Division I arms race, Ganot said: “There’s been a lot of new NCAA regulation, in some regards, separating the haves and the have-nots. In terms of academics, summer school, nutrition, in terms of how often you can feed guys. And obviously cost of attendance (stipends) among other things. I’ve said from Day 1, we won’t be a have-not. We’re going to battle and fight through and make sure our program is right there with the rest of them. Things like this (event) allow you to do that.”

As guests trickled in, they saw a diagram of a future renovated Gym 2, which has a (perhaps optimistic) projected finish in the fall of 2018. (See below) That’s part of Ganot’s vision of getting the program on level competitive footing. There have recently been enhancements made to the basketball office’s conference room and the SSC locker room.

“At times people dwell a lot on the negatives,” Ganot said, and noted the $3 million assigned to UH athletics from the Hawaii Legislature. “The university, athletic department and our program are doing a great job fighting to make things better. A lot of things are happening. People need to hone in and focus on that.”

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See you at the Green & White scrimmage and alumni game Saturday, 1 p.m. at the SSC. Admission is free.