Hawaii’s Eran Ganot heads up local Coaches vs. Cancer campaign

This coming basketball season, University of Hawaii coach Eran Ganot has an important date circled on his calendar.

The local chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer’s third annual fund-raising event will be held Dec. 20 at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort.

Ganot, UH Board of Regents member and attorney Jeff Portnoy, the Diamond Head Classic committee and Outrigger Hotels and Resorts are the organizers.

“Basically, we’re in this world to help others,” said Ganot, who is part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Council, a leadership team consisting of basketball coaches and business leaders from across the country. The council oversees Coaches vs. Cancer, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches.

The first two Hawaii events raised about $20,000, according to Ganot. Past proceeds went to the Honolulu Hope Lodge, which provides free housing on Oahu for Neighbor Island patients undergoing treatment. “We want to keep it local as best we can,” Portnoy said.

Ganot became involved with the organization soon after being hired as head coach in 2015. In a telephone conversation with an Oklahoma assistant, Ganot mentioned his admiration for Sooner coach Lon Kruger’s involvement in Coaches vs. Cancer. “After the call with one of his staff members, Lon Kruger called me 30 seconds later, and it went from there,” Ganot said.

The first Hawaii event was at Murphy’s Bar and Grill. North Carolina coach Roy Williams, whose team was set to play UH, was the guest speaker. After that, Ganot took his team to visit the Honolulu Hope Lodge.

“I remember that group had an immediate family member or maybe a cousin, uncle, or nephew, or maybe a teammate (affected by cancer), so it was almost across the board how they could share they were touched by it,” Ganot said.

Portnoy and his wife Sandy were friends with Jim Valvano, the iconic coach whose battle with cancer led to the posthumous creation of the V Foundation. Sandy Portnoy died in December 2016, a year after being diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of cancer.

“Personally, (cancer) changed my entire life, unfortunately,” Jeff Portnoy said. “My wife was a huge basketball supporter and fan. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are very many people who haven’t been touched by it in their own family or somebody they know really well. If there are those people, they don’t know how lucky they are.”

Portnoy praised Ganot for his role with Coaches vs. Cancer. “It’s not just a paper thing,” Portnoy said. “He really wants to make this thing a real success. With Outrigger’s help and the (Diamond Head Classic) committee’s help, I think it’ll work.”

For details, contact Jesse Nakanishi at jessen@hawaii.edu.