Regardless of how the NCAA investigation of the University of Hawaii basketball program pans out, if UH tries to punish head coach Gib Arnold — especially with termination — the school can expect a fight.

In terrain that often produces more questions than answers the further you venture into it, that much appears clear.

As Ferd Lewis reports Sunday, an analysis of Arnold’s contract with UH by an experienced attorney concludes with basically no specific conclusion. Arnold’s level of responsibility for NCAA violations in the basketball program would likely be determined by his knowledge of and direct participation in them.

It is important to remember that Arnold hasn’t been directly accused of anything publicly at this point, but it appears that irregularities may have occurred under his watch.

But what exactly does "under his watch" mean?

How much is a head coach responsible for what staff and student-athletes under his supervision do or don’t do off the court?

If an assistant coach is accused of doctoring a document with another person’s signature on it, is that the head coach’s responsibility?

Now, we have also heard of talk of the practice hours limit being exceeded, and that would seem to fall clearly on the head coach, unless assistants were holding their own workouts.

Another hot topic of speculation is a player getting an excessive number of free meals and he and perhaps others receiving additional improper benefits. If the head coach sees no evil, hears no evil, speaks no evil is he accountable?

You might consider it sacrilege to mention him here, but I’m reminded of John Wooden. He is considered by many not only the greatest coach ever, in any sport, but also among the most pious of men.

But it has been widely reported that Sam Gilbert, a later subject of federal money laundering and racketeering charges, provided all kinds of benefits to UCLA players against NCAA rules — and that Wooden knew.

The NCAA never went after UCLA while Wooden was coach.

One of the first things UH athletic director Ben Jay tried to do when he started here at the beginning of last year was make the language in the coaches’ contracts clearer.

He quickly found that a daunting challenge, in that he wasn’t only negotiating these changes with coaches’ agents, but also their unions. Maybe it’s just me, but I believe people should have one or the other, an agent or a union, not both.

That is one reason why language regarding discipline in these contracts is so muddy.

Arnold has history going back to high school with the court of law as it pertains to the court of basketball. He took on the Hawaii High School Athletic Association when it disqualified him from playing for Punahou in the 1987 state tournament because he was a fifth-year senior.

His appeal 27 years ago was unsuccessful, but no one should expect him to leave UH quietly if it should come to that in the coming months.

Whether you like him or you don’t — and there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of middle ground among UH basketball fans — it’s easy to see Gib Arnold is a fighter.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.