Chalk another recruit up for new Hawaii men's basketball coach Gib Arnold.

And two more potential players are literally within his reach this weekend.

College of Eastern Utah coach Chris Craig said yesterday that his 6-foot-10, 238-pound freshman center, Vander Joaquim, has orally committed to play for the Rainbow Warriors for the 2010-11 season.

Joaquim, of Angola, committed to Nebraska for 2009, but had to attend a junior college first to meet academic requirements. When Cornhuskers assistant Walter Roese officially became Arnold's new associate head coach last week, Joaquim pledged to follow him across the Pacific.

Joaquim averaged 8.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and totaled 31 blocks for a team that took third at the NJCAA national tournament.

“;Huge, huge commitment for Hawaii,”; Craig said. “;He wanted to go there to be with Walter, and Gib came through here, and he fell in love with Gib also. He's really, really excited.”;

If Arnold plays his cards right, he could secure two more commits in short order.

Bo Barnes, a 6-4 shooting guard out of Westwind Prep Academy (Ariz.), and Keith Shamburger, a 6-0 point guard at Junipero Serra (Calif.) High School, are expected to visit UH this weekend before making final decisions.

Barnes recently took a visit to Iowa State and was offered a scholarship by the Cyclones.

Shamburger, who helped guide his team to the California 3A championship this season, visited San Jose State.

Arnold's first recruit, Golden Valley (Calif.) High senior Trevor Wiseman, hasn't sent in his letter yet — yesterday was the first day the spring recruits could do so — but that is no cause for concern among Hawaii fans.

“;I plan on signing it (today),”; Wiseman said.

With Joaquim, Wiseman, and fall signee Jordan Coleman in the fold, that probably leaves a minimum of three open scholarships remaining for '09-10 (if forward Ji Xiang graduates and departs as planned).

Arnold can also elect to make scholarship cuts among returning players to increase the count.

Joaquim has some schoolwork to finish before he'd be eligible to arrive at UH as a sophomore, but Craig was confident the freshman would finish his requirements this summer.

The addition of Joaquim should help shore up the frontcourt following the loss of four graduating UH post players from 2009-10.

“;He can step out, shoot the 3-pointer. He's got really good hands, really good feet,”; Craig said. “;He's a guy who can score inside and out. And he's really, really competitive. He's not a big guy who sort of lets the rebounds come to him. He's aggressive; he goes after balls. He's got a chance to be a special player there.”;