Full practices are under way for the Hawaii men’s basketball team, but that harbinger of an upcoming season hasn’t shifted coach Gib Arnold’s ongoing contract negotiations with UH out of neutral.

The talks appear to have stalled out months after the parties agreed to renegotiate the coach’s initial three-year, $240,000 annual deal shortly after the 2010-11 season. In his first year in Manoa, Arnold led UH to a 19-13 record with an appearance in the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament.

Sources with knowledge of the talks indicate Arnold and UH remain apart primarily on the length of contract, with the university offering three years and Arnold desiring five. A $105,000-per-year raise to $345,000, which would make him the highest-paid basketball coach in program history, hasn’t been sufficient to budge his stance on time commitment.

Arnold’s side has pointed out that other new coaches in the Western Athletic Conference — Rodney Terry at Fresno State and Michael White at Louisiana Tech — were granted five-year contracts.

It is believed that the UH Board of Regents came close to finalizing a five-year deal for Arnold in the summer, but changeovers in board personnel led to the contract being reworked to three years.

Two months later, the parties haven’t been able to get past that item.

UH athletic director Jim Donovan denied the talks were in a standoff, saying "It’s still in process." He declined further comment.

There’s no deadline on negotiations, as Arnold continues to operate under the original agreement he signed in March 2010. A final, take-it-or-leave-it offer hasn’t come up — yet.

When asked about his contract situation after a team practice on Saturday, Arnold replied: "I’m focusing on the season." He noted negotiations on his end have gone through attorney Russell Kaupu.

UH has an exhibition game Nov. 11 against Hawaii Pacific and opens up the regular season on Nov. 14 against Cal State Northridge.