Dominick Brumfield surveyed the rapidly growing first recruiting class of new Hawaii coach Gib Arnold.

He liked what he saw.

“;First of all, it's a real big group,”; said the 6-foot-8, 220-pound freshman out of Big Bend (Wash.) Community College, who yesterday became the seventh player to officially join the 2010-11 Rainbow Warriors—and sixth over the last month. “;And that right there's a plus, because just that right there is an intimidating factor for all the rest of the teams in the conference and wherever else we play.

“;It's a young group of guys (all freshmen and sophomores), but the minute I step on the floor, I really don't take the attitude as far as 'Oh, well we're young, maybe next year. Maybe the year after.' I always try to make an immediate impact, no matter who it's against or what my surroundings are.”;

Brumfield, a well-traveled swingman, didn't bother to mask his excitement at signing on to play for Arnold, who followed his progress since he was a junior at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Calif.

A visit over the weekend—and especially a canoe session—confirmed that Hawaii was the place to be for the Carson, Calif., native, who averaged 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game at Big Bend. He considers himself a versatile guy, and figured he'd have little trouble adjusting to the island lifestyle. After a 2 1/2 -hour, three-way call late Tuesday night between himself, his family and Arnold, he chose UH over nearby San Jose State.

“;When you have two people, a coach and a player, on the same page, and have confidence in each other, then big things are gonna happen,”; Brumfield said.

He went to Missouri State out of high school, but an injury forced him to redshirt. From there, Brumfield went to Big Bend, where he showed a propensity to play and defend multiple positions and step out to hit 3-pointers.

“;(Versatility) is exactly why I liked him,”; Arnold said. “;He's a guy who can score it in different ways. He can guard multiple positions. And I really like guys like that because you can play them all at once. And they create matchup problems, I think, for the other team, as long as they're able to guard bigs and smalls, and Dominick fits that bill.”;

Brumfield said he has one class to finish over the summer to get his associate's degree and arrive with three years of eligibility.

Jordan Coleman, Trevor Wiseman, Vander Joaquim, Josten Thomas, Bo Barnes, and Bobby Miles previously committed to UH for next season in that order.

MILOVIC LEAVING TEAM

Sophomore small forward Aleksandar Milovic will transfer out of UH as he searches for a team where he can play a more prominent role.

The 6-foot-7 Milovic, of Cetinje, Montenegro, came to UH as a transfer from Duquesne last year. He played sparingly for the Dukes as a true freshman, and at UH had to sit out the entire season per NCAA rules.

“;Things back home changed,”; Milovic said. “;I explained (to Arnold) about my situation from back home and in Europe. He says he will give his best to help me with the situation to transfer to a school where I can play right away and get my degree.”;

Arnold said Milovic's best options are in the JUCO or NAIA realm.

“;When kids come over from foreign countries, their goal is obviously to play so they can return and have a future in basketball back in Europe,”; Arnold said. “;To do that, you gotta play a lot of minutes, put up a lot of numbers. ... We support him in that and we're going to try to help him the best we can. He's a great kid who deserves a chance to play a lot, and I think when he finds the right fit, he will play and have a nice future.”;

Milovic joins Ji Xiang ( graduation) and Jeremy Lay (transfer) as players to leave the team early.

Arnold now has one scholarship to hand out.