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If it hadn’t been Job One already, University of Hawaii men’s basketball recruiting definitely took on renewed urgency this week.
Between a fifth consecutive loss and the senior-night-driven reminder that two starting mainstays are both exiting, coach Gib Arnold had plenty of incentive to hit the recruiting trail aggressively and quickly after that numbing ending to Saturday’s regular-season finale.
Which is part of why you suspect he was already reported among the coaches eyeing the nation’s leading junior college shooter in Kennewick, Wash., on Sunday evening.
Mark McLaughlin, a 6-foot, 6-inch guard who has been averaging 28.4 points a game for Tacoma (Wash.) City College, was the chief draw to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges tournament that wraps up today. Inspiration, no doubt, for one of the stopovers en route to UH’s Western Athletic Conference tournament opener Thursday in Las Vegas for Arnold.
Perhaps the only folks more well traveled than McLaughlin (he had either committed to or had cups of coffee at Baylor, Nevada, Washington State and Seattle University prior to attending Tacoma CC) are the coaches who are checking out and pursuing him.
This is a critical recruiting year for the ’Bows, one that needs to be the best of the three crops Arnold has assembled in his tenure if the program is to advance as it heads into the Big West Conference.
The late hiring of Arnold in March 2010, less than a month before national letter of intent day, put UH in an 11th-hour scramble for recruits two years ago. And the ’Bows paid for their haste when four players from the group — Jordan Coleman, Dominick Brumfield, Anthony Salter and Bo Barnes — either quit during the season, were asked to leave or transferred after it was over.
Then, this past year, four of six initial signees — Dillon Biggs, Gerry Blakes, Ronnie Stevens and DeShawn Mitchell — didn’t qualify for admission. Together they were losses that took an obvious toll on depth in what has, to date, been a 15-15 (6-8 WAC) season.
Meanwhile, Zane Johnson, the ’Bows’ most prolific 3-point shooter, and point guard Miah Ostrowski, the WAC assists leader, will soon exhaust their eligibility. Johnson, who arrived as a redshirt during Bob Nash’s tenure, and Ostrowski, a heaven-sent gift from the football team, have been key cogs the past two seasons. Not easily replaceable ones, either.
The hope is that guard Orel Lev and forward Christian Standhardinger, signees who sat out this season, and incoming freshman center Caleb Dressler will help build a foundation for 2012-13. But that remains to be seen, and they can use some help.
And there are questions hanging over the admissability of a key member of the class, 6-foot-8 Isaac Fotu, a heralded signee from New Zealand.
With perhaps two scholarships still to work with unless there are other, as yet unannounced vacancies forthcoming, the ’Bows need to make their last couple of shots at this recruiting class count.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
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