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Wednesday, December 6, 2000

Nearly 40
seeking UH baseball
coaching job

More expected to apply
for position that Les Murakami
will relinquish in 2001

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By Al Chase
Star-Bulletin

While Les Murakami showed improvement at Queen's Medical Center, the number of candidates submitting applications to be the next head baseball coach at the University of Hawaii increases daily.

"We have a substantial number, close to 40," UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida said yesterday. "We knew we would get a lot."

The number will continue to increase since the deadline to postmark applications has been extended to Dec. 15.

"I think what it does is give us a longer window," Yoshida said.

It also gave the university an opportunity to post an updated and more generalized version of the original advertisement on the NCAA Web site.

It corrected the starting date to July 2001 instead of July 2000, which appeared in the original.

Murakami announced last May he would retire after the 2001 season.

The Star-Bulletin reported earlier that David "Boy" Eldredge, an assistant at Brigham Young, and David Nakama, head coach at San Francisco State, had applied.

Several more candidates have confirmed they have sent in their applications. They are:

Rich Alday, head coach at the University of New Mexico the past 11 seasons and Pima Community College coach for 16 years before taking the Lobos job.

Vince Beringhele, the top assistant at UCLA the past 12 years where he works with the hitters and heads up the recruiting.

Ed Cheff, head coach at Lewis-Clark State for 24 years where he has won 11 NAIA national championships.

Coop DeRenne, a former Rainbow assistant for 11 seasons and now a professor in UH's department of kinesiology and leisure science.

Bill Kinneberg, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Arizona where he works with the pitchers and catchers.

Nino Giarratano, head coach at the University of San Francisco the past three seasons.

Chad Konishi, a 1989 Punahou graduate who just completed his sixth season as an assistant coach at USF. He is in charge of the pitchers and is the Dons recruiting coordinator.

Lenn Sakata, a Kalani High graduate, who has been involved in professional baseball as a player, coach and manager for 27 seasons.

Joey Estrella, head coach at the University of Hawaii at Hilo for 24 seasons, said, "I've decided to throw my hat in the ring. When they extended the deadline, it gave me a chance to get my resume up to date."

Once an acceptable period of time has passed to allow delivery of applications postmarked by the deadline, Yoshida said a screening committee would meet to narrow the field.

"It looks like we'll be doing interviews in late January or early February," Yoshida said.

Two head coaches whose names had surfaced as possible candidates are not applying.

Jim Morris has just signed a six-year contract to remain head coach of the Miami Hurricanes.

Wayne Graham at Rice isn't interested because, "We have a new facility and I have a contract that's very good to me."

Meanwhile, Murakami has been slowly progressing and had been moved out of the intensive care unit into a regular room at The Queen's Medical Center.

Murakami is able to respond by writing and saying a few words.

He is beginning various exercises to help him with movement and swallowing.

With the 30-year head coach on medical leave, Tom Gushiken has been added to the Rainbow staff as a part-time assistant.

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http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu