When the 2014-15 men’s basketball season rolls around, Hawaii will have a new starting point guard.
Again.
Keith Shamburger, who got the starting nod in 30 of 31 games of 2013-14, intends to depart the Rainbow Warriors and play for another team. The fourth-year junior requested a release from the UH program on Tuesday and coach Gib Arnold is expected to make it official in short order. Arnold declined comment on Tuesday as paperwork was not yet completed.
"Appreciate the Hawaii fans, but just need to move on and find a better fit," Shamburger said Tuesday.
Thus, UH will have a new primary ballhandler for the fourth straight year. The last time UH had continuity at the position between seasons was when Miah Ostrowski ran the point in Arnold’s first two years, but he wasn’t around full-time he played after football season was over.
Candidates to succeed Shamburger at the point include UH’s 2013-14 backup, Quincy Smith (4.9 points and 2.7 assists in 17.1 minutes per game), fall signee Isaac Fleming of the Massanutten Military Academy, and junior college guard Roderick Bobbitt of Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College. Bobbitt gave his oral commitment to UH on Monday and can sign a binding letter of intent starting Wednesday. One source close to the team indicated Shamburger’s decision was related to Bobbitt’s commitment.
Shamburger said on Twitter he’ll graduate this summer, which could allow him to play immediately as a graduate student for another Division I team. Should he do so, his new team will be his third in five years. The Los Angeles native was a starter two seasons at San Jose State, then transferred to UH the team he initially spurned out of high school and redshirted the 2012-13 season.
The 5-foot-11 Shamburger was clearly the starter-to-be over that span, and when his moment arrived he averaged 9.3 points and 5.4 assists per game. His 166 assists place him ninth in UH’s single-season records, helping counter some struggles shooting the ball 34.9 percent from the field and 30.8 percent on 3-pointers. He scored a season-high 20 points in the Rainbows’ 87-84 overtime loss to Cal State Northridge in the Big West tournament quarterfinals, which ended UH’s season at 20-11.
He represents the third starter UH will have to replace, along with outgoing seniors Brandon Spearman and Christian Standhardinger.
Sophomore Isaac Fotu, a first-team All-Big West forward who will be a centerpiece of UH’s team should he elect to return for his junior season, said Shamburger’s plans to depart come as a surprise.
"Yeah, it did come as a surprise, but Keith’s doing what’s best for him and I totally understand that," Fotu wrote in a message. "I love playing with him, but sometimes you have to do what’s best for you and that’s what he’s doing."
Smith, who will be a junior in the fall, sees Shamburger’s departure as an opportunity.
"I wasn’t expecting it. Personally, I don’t know if any of the other guys on the team were expecting it," Smith said. "But just as a team, we gotta stay together, stay strong. Honestly, it’s just one person. We can’t let one person disrupt the whole momentum we got as a team going into next year.
"I know it’s unfortunate that he’s leaving, but it’s a great opportunity for me to definitely get more minutes and to step up and take a bigger role on the team as a leader, as a point guard, as a player. … I’m excited."
Shamburger is the second scholarship player to announce plans to leave the team early. Freshman center Caleb Dressler who did not play in any games for the ‘Bows after a preseason back injury reached a mutual decision with the UH coaches during the season that he would opt out this summer to look for a lower division school.
