UH signs Carter, This new math is not adding up for the Hawaii basketball team. After receiving the paperwork on incoming junior point guard Jason Carter yesterday afternoon, the Rainbows have two scholarships left ... and three players they'd very much like to sign.
pursues 3 more
But the Rainbows have
just 2 scholarships to giveBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comTwo were teammates at Weatherford (Texas) College this season, the other is a former teammate of current Rainbow guard Mark Campbell at Clackamas (Ore.) Community College. Lithuanians Emigijus "Lukos" Lukosius and Vaidotas Peciukas of Weatherford, and Mike Kuebler out of Clackamas are all very talented players who would likely have an immediate impact for the Rainbows.
There are going to be some tough decisions made on both sides of the Pacific Ocean in the next week or two.
Making his campus visit last weekend was the 6-foot-7 Lukosius, a 220-pound power forward who averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds this season at Weatherford. Hawaii coach Riley Wallace put Lukosius on an airplane Sunday evening, then left for Texas yesterday to try to sign the Lithuanian in person as early as today.
Wallace is also planning on again visiting with Peciukas, a 6-6 guard who tore up the Texas JUCO ranks this past year as a freshman. Peciukas, who could transfer in as a sophomore with three years of eligibility, was expected to visit Manoa later this week.
Wallace visited with Lukosius and Peciukas last month prior to Hawaii's NCAA Tournament first-round game in Dallas. The Rainbow coach apparently had hoped to bring in Peciukas in another year as a junior, but the recruiting war heated up late in the season with other schools showing a lot of interest in the high-scoring freshman.
Also scheduled to visit Hawaii this week is Kuebler. The 6-5 guard was the conference MVP, averaging more than 25 points for the Cougars and hitting more than 50 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Carter, from Indiana, is the second player to sign with Hawaii during the late signing period. This past season, Carter, who has a reported 40-inch vertical leap, averaged 16.4 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Cougars.
He chose Hawaii over South Carolina.
"He's very athletic, has speed and will be a crowd-pleaser with the way he can dunk," said Hawaii assistant coach Jackson Wheeler. "He's a very good player and comes from a top JC program. We're very happy to get him."
Said Wallace, before leaving yesterday: "Out of high school, Jason was one of the top 100 players in the country. He's quick and a good perimeter shooter. With his 40-inch vertical, he's a great finisher in the open court."
Signing with Hawaii last week was Dane Dmitrovic, a 6-9 forward from Vrhnika, Slovenia, who will come in as a freshman.
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