Next to the who-done-it conjecture about the string of lower campus break-ins, the biggest buzz around University of Hawaii sports is speculation about where Vander Joaquim might be posting up next season.

Such as: Will the Rainbow Warriors’ center be back for his senior year?

What seemed less of an issue when the season ended in March has increasingly become the stuff of rumors in the wake of the departures of four teammates who had eligibility remaining.

Especially with word circulating that Joaquim has been discussing his future with some advisors on the mainland.

It could, of course, be routine in an offseason that has, so far, been anything but for the Rainbow Warriors. Indeed, the cross-your-fingers hope is that Joaquim further sharpens his game overseas this summer and returns to lead a Rainbows resurgence. For sure there won’t be one anytime soon without him.

If he decides to return, the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Joaquim will be the biggest force in the Big West and UH’s best hope for a winning season. If he doesn’t, well, let’s just say it could make for a very forgettable campaign.

But ever since the post-banquet Shaquille Stokes departure shocker, would anything that happened now really surprise you?

Even before that there were indications that Joaquim was seriously reviewing his options. For example, it is said he was less than thrilled about the prospect of the divisive Joston Thomas returning to Manoa and it wouldn’t be hard to imagine such sentiments weighed in a decision to show the mercurial forward the door.

But Joaquim probably wasn’t expecting such a wholesale roster change to follow, either.

Publicly, at least, Joaquim has dropped few hints about joining the exodus. But if you are the ‘Bows’ leading returning scorer, rebounder, shot blocker and, yes, assist provider, too, you have to take stock of the current landscape in plotting your future.

When he looks at what UH has coming back, the holdovers, redshirts, recruits and, especially, the outside shooting component, does he feel comfortable they can help rebuild the team and best showcase his abilities for the pros?

Or, in surveying the supporting cast left by the upheaval of the past two months, does he find himself staring at a task deemed Sisyphean?

They are questions probably best posed toward summer’s end when he sees what kind of interest — and offers — his offseason performance generates among international pro teams. As an Angolan who is also said to be the owner of a Portuguese passport, Joaquim has certain pluses for the international game. People familiar with the global circuit say he would be very attractive because, while his game has been honed on U.S. courts, he would not count against the limits many leagues place on American players.

If Joaquim’s situation doesn’t reach the level of Colt Brennan’s will-he-or-won’t-he 2007 episode, it still makes for compelling summer ruminating about a team that hasn’t lacked for drama, in season or out.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.