UH should move quickly to extend Beeman’s deal

Cutting down the net, after winning on senior night? Well, as University of Hawaii TV voice Jim Leahey said, "Why not?"

It worked out OK for the Indiana men, and they did it after a loss.

"I know it’s a little weird," said Laura Beeman, who allowed her Rainbow Wahine to get snippy because they won their final three games at home. "People will think I lost my marbles. I just wanted them to have that feeling of being champions, even if it is a mock championship. In no way is this meant as disrespect for the Big West tournament."

While the scissors are out, cut up Beeman’s contract and give her an extension. And a nice bonus.

Athletic director Ben Jay is going to wait until after the postseason is completed to evaluate, as he should.

But don’t wait too long.

UH hadn’t had a winning season since 2007. In her first year as a Division I head coach, Beeman has Hawaii at 17-12 overall and 13-5 in the Big West, third headed into the conference tourney this week.

From the time she was hired late last March, there have been few excuses, no woe-is-me. Nothing about needing more than one offseason to recruit, nothing about requiring lots of time to implement a system.

There was a ridiculously difficult nonconference schedule, which she inherited. But Beeman managed to turn mismatches into confidence builders, managed to convince her players that Brittney Griner is human and wouldn’t send every shot they took into the fifth row.

You can tell if a basketball team has really bought into a coach by the way it plays when the opponents have the ball. This group is not overly quick, strong or athletic, but they play inspired defense — the kind that requires effort, technique and teamwork.

Offensively they are much more synchronized than any time I can remember since Vince Goo retired in 2004. And we’re talking about a team with a starting point guard, Monica DeAngelis, who the rest of the squad didn’t even know until a few months ago.

I hope Jay has something ready to sign for Beeman as soon as the buzzer sounds on the final game for the 2012-13 Rainbow Wahine, whether it be this week in Anaheim, Calif., or — dare we speculate — at the NCAAs.

Current Fullerton and former Hawaii AD Jim Donovan was in the Stan Sheriff stands Saturday as his Titans fell to the Wahine. Donovan’s hiring of Beeman stands as a highlight of his tenure at Manoa.

Jay would do well to give Beeman good reason to say thanks but no thanks to potential overtures from Donovan and other ADs who will be more than willing to try to get her back home to California.

A time may come when such a pull is too strong to resist, especially if it comes from USC, where she was previously the top assistant, or another big-time school.

For now, UH should give this coach every incentive to continue building on her initial successes here.

With Laura Beeman running the show, it’s not hard to envision the Rainbow Wahine cutting down nets in more traditional settings.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783 or on Twitter as @dave_reardon.