The Hawaii men’s basketball team might yet stave off academic sanctions from the NCAA.
UH athletic director Ben Jay said on Monday that Gib Arnold’s program was still "at the cliff" of a scholarship reduction or a postseason ban for the 2014-15 season based on a subpar Academic Progress Rate score, but that some relief may come in the form of an academic penalty waiver for former Rainbow Warriors point guard Shaquille Stokes.
"Right now, in terms of projections, we may barely make it," Jay said in a phone interview from the annual Big West meetings in California. "We still gotta get all the grades in. We still figure out if kids are coming back. Anything can change from here until then. We’re not going to know something definitively (about the most recent APR calculation) until the end of the summer."
A team’s APR is based on a maximum score of 1,000 and is calculated over a four-year rolling period.
Scholarship reductions, or a postseason ban, can occur when a team dips below 930.
Student-athletes score APR points by staying with the same team year to year and remaining in good academic standing. UH has had 12 scholarship players leave early over the past three seasons, including Stokes, who transferred to Hofstra to be closer to his family after the 2011-12 season. Stokes — who was later embroiled in a theft ring and removed from the Pride — received an NCAA waiver to play right away after transferring out of UH.
"That was the point that we’re asking to get back," Jay said. "Getting that point back obviously would help our APR score a little bit. Every little bit helps."
Jay confirmed the men’s hoops team was safe from sanctions for the 2013-14 season, but he emphasized he was concerned about the big picture.
"What I’m trying to impress upon the coaches is that academics matter," he said. "As much as coaching good teams is obviously what we want, I want all of our coaches to make sure they’re paying attention to our kids’ academics. I don’t want to be living on the 930 edge all the time. We need to make sure we’re doing our job in graduating our kids and making sure they’re staying and doing what they need academically."
Meanwhile, UH announced the official signing of City College of San Francisco point guard Quincy Smith for next season. The 6-foot Smith is the fifth player UH signed for 2013-14 and will have three years of eligibility.
Smith’s offensive numbers were a modest 9.1 points and 3.6 assists per game, albeit for a team that went 31-1. He was hailed for his defensive mind-set and 2.3 steals-per-game average en route to all-conference honors as a freshman.
"I believe the most important stat for point guards is wins," Arnold said in a UH statement. "Quincy won more games than any point guard for the No. 1-ranked team in California. He is an outstanding defender, plays with great control and makes his teammates better. He’s quick and athletic and an outstanding student. With three years of eligibility, he’s another great addition to our team."
