Even before the dust settles from the stunning termination of head basketball coach Gib Arnold and assistant Brandyn Akana on Tuesday, the University of Hawaii is bracing for the next shoe to drop.

It could be as big as size 15 with concerns about the eligibility of the Rainbow Warriors’ top player — 6-foot-8 all-conference forward Isaac Fotu — apparently yet to be resolved.

Athletic director Ben Jay refused Tuesday night to say whether Fotu would be available when the ‘Bows play an exhibition game Nov. 6 against Hawaii Pacific University. “I won’t discuss him or our other student-athletes,” Jay said.

Fotu’s name came up in the NCAA investigation that precipitated the termination of the two coaches, and he was reportedly interviewed by investigators on several occasions, including as recently as this month.

Players were not made available to the media Tuesday after the announcement of the coaching change, and Fotu did not respond to text messages from the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser. He did, however, participate in a closed-doors team practice Tuesday evening.

Fotu is believed to be the only current player whose eligibility could be in question, although issues surrounding some former players have been under review.

Arnold, the 19th coach in program history, met with his players in the Stan Sheriff Center locker rooms for about 20 minutes Tuesday afternoon.

Arnold, a Punahou graduate, took the job in 2010 as a former assistant from USC looking to redeem his father’s name in the islands. Frank Arnold went 11-45 in two years as UH coach in the mid-1980s.

Gib Arnold’s first Division I head coaching job ended with a four-year record of 72-55, including 20-11 in 2013-14 — UH’s first 20-win season in a decade. But UH’s only postseason appearances were two bouts in the pay-for-play CIT (CollegeInsider.com Tournament), and the ‘Bows went 1-4 in conference tournament games under Arnold.

Specific reasons for the dismissals of Arnold, who according to UH was terminated without cause, and four-year assistant Akana were not provided by UH.

Arnold issued a statement that read in part, “I am being fired ‘without cause.’ That means that UH does not need to prove they have a reason to fire me. It pains me that they are taking my team and career away based on unknown allegations from unknown sources that have not been proven and that I have never been able to defend.”

Arnold will be paid the remainder of his $344,000 annual salary. More details could be forthcoming when the NCAA issues a letter of allegations to UH. The Star-Advertiser has reported multiple potential violations since last season, including the alleged altering of a document related to admission of a student-athlete and allegations of extra benefits, including an iPad.

Meanwhile, in the immediate aftermath of Arnold’s dismissal just before entering his fifth season, eyes turned to Arnold’s right-hand man, associate head coach Benjy Taylor, who like Akana joined Arnold in his first season at UH.

Taylor, one of two remaining assistants, was named acting head coach by Jay.

Taylor led the team in a shorter-than-normal practice behind the closed doors of the auxiliary Gym 2 late Tuesday afternoon.

“We needed to get on the floor and be with each other,” Taylor said. “(The players) are very, very upset right now. They just lost a family member, a patriarch. … I thought they needed to get on the floor and sweat a little bit and just try to move forward somehow.”

Players did not speak to media on their way in and out of the closed practice. But the team’s lone senior, Garrett Nevels, tweeted shortly after the news broke, “I love how my team stays positive thru it all.”

Taylor, a former college player at Richmond and a head coach at Division I Chicago State prior to joining Arnold’s staff, said he will not make wholesale changes to the team’s system so close to the Nov. 14 start of the regular season.

UH has a closed-doors scrimmage against Brigham Young-Hawaii on Saturday preceding its exhibition against HPU the following week.

“The team has to take on my personality now a little bit,” Taylor said. “You know, me and Gib are a lot alike, so we gotta figure out a way to keep those individual agendas aside. ‘Cause right now, when the head coach leaves, you got guys who kind of want to do their own thing, and I’m hoping that these guys will feel better in the morning. I don’t think I will, but we’re looking forward to getting back here tomorrow and working and sweating.”

With Arnold and Akana gone — half of the team’s four coaches — Taylor has only first-year assistant Senque Carey to turn to for help. Carey, the team’s recruiting coordinator, has been on the mainland for most of the preseason to this point. He is expected to return soon.

Taylor said he’d look into elevating some of the team’s graduate assistants into coaching roles for further assistance.

Taylor’s status could be up in the air as well.

Speculation has surrounded former UH head coach Riley Wallace, the school’s winningest men’s basketball coach, as a temporary head coach until a replacement for Arnold can be hired.

Jay confirmed that he talked with Wallace on Tuesday but said the post wasn’t offered. “It was a courtesy call,” Jay said.

Jay apparently did not immediately contact any other prospective interim coaches.

“I’m going to do what I think is best for the kids,” Jay said. “My only focus is doing what’s best for the kids.”

Taylor said the players were resolute in not playing for another coach besides himself.

“They’re not going to play for any other coach. If I’m coaching they’re fine. That was the consensus in my meeting today with them,” Taylor said Tuesday night.

Taylor, who said he spoke to “a lot of parents” of players Tuesday, also said not to expect comments from the players until the program’s path is clear.

“They really don’t want to talk to anybody until this is fully resolved,” Taylor said. “They’re not making any statement. … There’s a lot of uncertainty. I can’t really fault them for that.”

Taylor said Arnold sat down with Wallace in the past to discuss the program.

“He’s a legend,” Taylor said of Wallace. “I’d like to talk to him, but I don’t want to put him in a bad situation. I’ve been a head coach twice, and I’m looking forward to eventually getting past this … (and helping the team) produce in a way (it) was supposed to do from the beginning of the year.”

Wallace, who celebrated his 73rd birthday Tuesday, told the Star-Advertiser he would consider the position on a temporary basis until a new head coach could be hired.

Wallace was 334-265 in 20 seasons (1987-88 through 2006-2007).

“It is something I would look at if they are interested in me,” Wallace said.

FOR THE RECORD

Gib Arnold compiled a 72-55 record in his fours years as coach of the University of Hawaii basketball team. 

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII BASKETBALL TIMELINE

>> Jan. 9, 2014  “A men’s basketball coach submits an altered document that was essential for admissions purposes,” UH reports.

>> Feb. 12  Assistant coach Brandyn Akana is absent from the team during a road trip to California, raising questions about his status. Head coach Gib Arnold says Akana’s absences are “absolutely nothing.” Athletic director Ben Jay says they are a “personnel matter.”

>> Feb. 25 Akana is absent from the annual team picture-taking and has missed eight of the Rainbow Warriors’ past 10 games. 

>> March 18 Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the NCAA will conduct an in-person investigation of the UH men’s basketball team. Arnold says, “I am confident when all is said and done and the correct information is shared, Brandyn will be just fine and will be able to continue being the great assistant that he is.”

>> April 30  Players say they are being questioned by the NCAA about a wide range of issues surrounding the program. 

>> May 1  At team’s postseason banquet Arnold declares, “We are building a program the right way. We will continue to do this the right way. We aren’t cutting corners. I’m proud to sleep well tonight knowing we’re doing everything we can so that the people of Hawaii can be proud of this basketball program.”

>> May 17  In a statement, UH publicly acknowledges for the first time “there is an ongoing NCAA investigation of potential rules violations” hours before the Star-Advertiser reports the NCAA is investigating a UH fan whose car was used by senior center Davis Rozitis. 

>> June 16  In response to a state open-records law request, UH acknowledges six “ongoing” cases involving potential NCAA rules violations by the men’s basketball program.

>>June 24  Former UH coaching staff members confirm they have been interviewed by NCAA investigators.

>> July-August  Arnold hires prominent Kansas City, Mo., attorney Scott Tompsett, whom the National Law Journal calls the “go-to counsel for coaches involved in NCAA investigations.”

>> July 1  A “guaranteed” one-year extension of Arnold’s contract kicks in by virtue of having won 20 games in the just-completed season. 

>> July 9  Jay says Arnold will get a three-year extension and $21,000 raise above his $344,000 annual salary under terms of a new contract that is in the works.

>> Aug. 11 UH confirms it has hired a high-powered Alabama law firm — Lightfoot, Franklin and White — to represent the school in the ongoing NCAA investigation. 

>> Aug. 12  Reports surface the NCAA is investigating the reported gift of an iPad to a player as an extra benefit in possible violation of NCAA rules.

>> Oct. 17 NCAA reportedly completes its investigation.

>> Tuesday UH announces that Arnold and Akana “have been relieved of coaching duties and are departing employment from the University of Hawaii.”

GIB ARNOLD STATEMENT

“I would first like to thank former AD Jim Donovan, former Chancellor Hinshaw, and former President Greenwood for the opportunity to return home and coach at the University of Hawaii. We inherited a losing program with very little support and transformed a 20-loss team into a 20-win team in four short years. Our players represented the state of Hawaii on the floor, in the community and classroom. We recently set an all-time high in GPA and our “Give Back Hawaii” campaign has touched thousands of children. I am very proud of these accomplishments. We leave Hawaii loaded with great young talent and great kids. This program is definitely far better off than when we arrived.

“I am being fired ‘without cause.’ That means that UH does not need to prove they have a reason to fire me. It pains me that they are taking my team and career away based on unknown allegations from unknown sources that have not been proven and that I have never been able to defend. I do know we have never paid any players or recruits, never committed any academic fraud, never had an off-court issue involving domestic violence or criminal behavior. We ran a program the people of Hawaii could be proud of.

“I am aware of new NCAA legislation that all actions of assistants or administration fall upon the shoulders of the head coach, even if they have no knowledge of the situation. I strongly believe I deserved the right to address those allegations against my assistants or administration. I certainly don’t feel the NCAA changed this legislation so administrators can fire head coaches without cause. I feel that UH administration acted prematurely offering the heads of both Coach Akana and I before we were given due process. 

“As for now, my family and I look forward to the next adventure life brings. I want my players to know I love and support them and to always fight for what’s right. I also want to personally thank all the wonderful people of Hawaii for their love and aloha.”