Broken jaws sideline basketball players

Two Hawaii basketball players — starting point guard Roderick Bobbitt and reserve guard Dyrbe Enos — suffered similar broken jaw injuries in an off-court incident over the summer and their status is questionable for the start of full practices for the 2015-16 season.

Both players required surgery in the wake of the incident around late July or early August and were given six-to-eight-week timetables for recovery, sources said. They have not yet participated in team skills and conditioning workouts which began at the start of the fall semester. Full practices begin on Oct. 2.

Head coach Eran Ganot deferred comment to athletic director David Matlin before leaving for Big West coaches meetings in California this week. Matlin declined comment Wednesday, citing student-athlete privacy. Bobbitt and Enos also did not respond to a request for comment.

Bobbitt, a senior, was on Oahu for summer school at the time of the incident, along with most of the returning Rainbow Warriors. Enos, a junior, is one of two local-born players on the team.

In what was described as a "wrong place at the wrong time" situation by a source, Bobbitt and Enos were hurt during a conflict with people who were not part of the team. The UH players were not described as the aggressors and the team hasn’t taken any known disciplinary action. No charges were filed, the source said.

The players are expected to begin light hoops activities in the coming days as part of their recovery process.

For Bobbitt, the reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year, it means rehabbing another broken bone going into a UH season. Prior to the 2014-15 season, Bobbitt mended a broken arm he suffered with Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College in the national junior college playoffs.

Bobbitt, despite a slow start, earned the starting job during UH preseason practices and went on to lead the nation in total steals (100), a UH record. He was a driving force in UH’s march to the Big West tournament title game and 22-win total under interim coach Benjy Taylor.

Bobbitt became the second player in program history to record a triple-double when he had 12 points, 10 assists and a UH-record 10 steals against Hawaii Hilo on Nov. 19. He averaged 8.9 points, 5.3 assists and 2.86 steals per game for the season.

Enos, a Kamehameha graduate and walk-on in Manoa, has hit 13 3-pointers over the past two seasons.