Choices, choices.

Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan said as of last night he had received “;about 30”; applications for the vacant UH men's basketball coaching job.

“;There's a lot of interest out there,”; Donovan said. “;We're talking to people with lots of basketball coaching experience.”;

Sources say Saint Mary's associate head coach Kyle Smith is one of the applicants, meaning the lead recruiter and No. 2 man on an NCAA Tournament-bound team is willing to take a stab at turning around the derelict Rainbow Warriors program.

Smith, 36, would seem to be a viable candidate. He's been the associate head coach under Randy Bennett for the past five seasons, and has helped lead SMC (26-5) to seven straight winning seasons. He was unavailable for comment yesterday as the West Coast Conference champion Gaels prepare for their showing in the Big Dance next week.

There are connections between UH and SMC, including former Rainbows point guard Mark Campbell as a current Gaels assistant, and UH assistant Eran Ganot as a former member of the SMC staff.

Smith joins former USC assistant and Punahou basketball player Gib Arnold, 40, on the known list of front-runners for Bob Nash's former post.

UH reviews of applications started at 4:30 yesterday afternoon. The interview process has begun for Donovan and his five-person advisory committee, but the application window is continuous, meaning more can be submitted.

Indications are that Donovan still has a keen eye on the time remaining before national letter-of-intent date on April 14. When he announced the nationwide search Monday, the same day he fired the UH basketball legend, Donovan said he hoped to hire someone “;within a few weeks.”;

“;It's only been four and a half days, but it's been going,”; he said last night. “;There's been a lot of interest directly to me. Some through human resources, some through people with the basketball program and the athletic department.”;

Time is of the essence to replace at least five scholarship players on the UH roster. Donovan has said several times that Nash was adversely affected by being hired by Herman Frazier past the national signing date in 2007, and wants to avoid the same mistake.

The contact period, when coaches can visit with players on or off campus, starts Tuesday and runs through March 22. There is another such period soon after the NCAA Tournament is over on April 5 and before the national letter-of-intent date.

Other names, such as former UH player and NBA assistant Jarinn Akana, and former UH assistant Scott Rigot (now at Duquesne), have come up frequently, despite no public word from those parties.

Local Division II coaches Jeff Law (Hawaii-Hilo), Ken Wagner (Brigham Young-Hawaii), and Matt Mahar (Chaminade) have all expressed some interest.

KHON2 reported that Joe “;Jellybean”; Bryant, the father of Kobe Bryant, plans to apply as well. He coached the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks to a 25-9 record in 2005-06, and more recently coached teams in Japan and Italy.

Another applicant took a much more open approach to his candidacy. Former NBA player Micheal Ray Richardson called in yesterday morning to the KKEA 1420-AM radio show “;On Point with Artie Wilson”; to announce his interest. Wilson, too, hasn't ruled himself out.

“;I filled out the application and sent in my resume, and I'm definitely interested in taking over the University of Hawaii basketball program,”; Richardson said over the phone soon afterward.

He's currently coaching Lawton-Ft. Sill Cavalry (Okla.) in the Premier Basketball League. He led that team to the CBA championship in 2008 and '09 before the league went under.

“;I think I have a lot to offer these kids. I think by being a professional athlete playing in the NBA, it kind of gives me an edge on recruiting,”; he said.

On Wednesday, the application for UH associate head coach also was posted. The window for that position closes March 25.