Unfortunately, a lot of fans don’t get that the University of Hawaii does not exist solely for their sports entertainment.

If they did, their pea-brains wouldn’t be exploding over Benjy Taylor not being retained as UH’s basketball coach. Winning 22 games as interim coach is nice, especially commendable considering the situation he had to jump into right before the start of the season.

I like Benjy, a lot. He’s fun to talk story with. He’s witty, he can speak knowledgeably on a lot of subjects. He’s passionate. But he’s not the right person to lead UH basketball into the future.

First of all, the conference season was unimpressive; Hawaii went 8-8 in the regular season. You can say they were clutch to get to the tournament final against UC Irvine — or you can say that they choked by not putting away the Anteaters despite a late lead.

Second, the Rainbow Warriors were often heir own worst enemies due to lack of discipline. Fans like to blame the refs, but the reason UH got called for a lot of fouls was because they COMMITTED a lot of fouls, including an outrageous number of technicals.

The lack of discipline was off the court, too. There was at least one suspected marijuana use on a road trip, with little or no consequences. And multiple sources confirmed a total lack of respect by some players toward assistant coaches. We saw some of that with our own eyes, too.

Taylor was loose, and that was a double-edge sword. Players played freely, and without worry of a quick hook they made some magical plays. They liked him for that, but it is questionable how much they respected him.

That line about if he’s gone the entire team is gone? If it wasn’t in the past it’s a bluff now. Some of them won’t be able to go anywhere, anyway, if they don’t pull off some miracles in the classroom down the stretch.

If you want more about why Taylor isn’t getting the job, ask UH. They have their reasons, but they’re hesitant in sharing them so good luck with that.

After glib Gib Arnold and the engaging Taylor, UH is bringing in a coach who won’t necessarily talk a good game. We’ll see if he can win a few — and hopefully against a better schedule.

Arnold and Taylor both won more games than they lost, but they did so against weak schedules. And neither dominated the Not-So-Big West the way a program with resources like Hawaii should.

Let’s be real: UH should be the big dog in the Big West. There’s no excuse not to be.

Is Eran Ganot the man to achieve this? He’s not flamboyant and flashy, and some fans are concerned that his basketball team won’t be either.

But if Ganot is as honest as I’m told, at least they won’t have to worry about said team getting into trouble with the NCAA.

Detractors claim he will be like Bob Nash since he was his assistant. The difference is that Nash never went anywhere else to learn other styles. Saint Mary’s, where Ganot is coming from, is a very good mid-major.

So, as with the athletic director hire, the pendulum has swung completely the other way.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.