’Bows busy replacing
departed seniors
Doing more with less has been the primary task facing the Hawaii basketball team coaching staff this recruiting season.
With five seniors off this season's 21-12 team now a part of the program's history and just three scholarships to offer for next season's incoming class, the Rainbow Warriors are emphasizing quality over quantity as the spring signing period opens today.
The Rainbows appear to be on their way to filling some of their most pressing needs after signing a forward in the fall and securing a commitment from a high-scoring shooting guard last month.
Matt Gibson, a 6-foot-4 guard from Three Rivers Community College in Missouri, averaged 25.8 points as a freshman, and is expected to sign a national letter of intent to join the UH program in hopes of helping ease the loss of leading scorer Michael Kuebler.
"I know they want me to come in and help as a scorer and I feel real confident that I can do that," Gibson said yesterday.
The Rainbows can sign just three players for this year's recruiting class due to an NCAA rule limiting the number of scholarships a school can award to five in a year and eight over a two-year period. UH signed five players last year.
The UH coaches will probably need to come up with nicknames for their new additions, having signed 6-foot-9 forward Matt Gipson of North Idaho College in November.
Gibson, who grew up in Oklahoma City, said he's planning to move to Hawaii this summer and is preparing to make the jump to Division I ball after shooting 46 percent from the field and 90 percent (110 of 122) from the free-throw line last season at TRCC.
"I'm in the gym from 6 to 10 every night, I lift weights, I'm doing everything I can to get ready to help the program as much as I can," he said.
Gibson's trip to Oahu last month was the only campus visit he made during the recruiting process.
"We think it's going to be a great experience," said Lon Gibson, Matt's father. "He's going to a good school and a good basketball program in probably the greatest place on Earth.
"I think he's looking forward to trying the culture, trying to fit in and trying new things."
Gipson figures to help bolster the UH front court after finishing third in the Scenic West Athletic Conference in scoring with 16.3 points per game for North Idaho. He was also second in the league in rebounding (eight rebounds per game) and blocked shots (47).
The Rainbows could use their last scholarship to attract another big man to the Manoa campus.
Chris Botez, a 7-foot center from Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Ore., is scheduled to make his official visit this weekend, according to Chemeketa coach David Abderhalden.
Botez has narrowed his choices to UH and Western Athletic Conference rival Boise State, which he visited last weekend. Abderhalden said Botez will likely make a decision next week.
"He likes both programs and what they have to offer and he likes both coaching staffs," Abderhalden said. "It's just going to be a matter of where he feels most comfortable."
Botez was a first-team all-star in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Southern Division after averaging 12.3 points and 8.4 rebounds to help Chemeketa to a 24-7 season.
