There’s recruiting, and then there’s re-recruiting.
Eran Ganot will have to do plenty of both as he deals with the fallout of the NCAA’s penalties against the Hawaii basketball program announced Tuesday.
UH’s ability to recruit effectively just got much tougher with the collegiate governing body’s announcement that the Rainbow Warriors will have only 11 scholarships, down from the standard 13, for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
UH had already self-applied a single scholarship reduction for this season and next, but that was apparently unsatisfactory to the NCAA.
Coupled with the reduced flexibility and margin for error to bring in the right talent because of the small scholarship allotment, UH will have to sell current and future players on the benefits of sticking with the program through a postseason ban for the 2016-17 season.
Ganot acknowledged to local media there will be challenges in recruiting before Tuesday night’s game against Northern Iowa in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
“We don’t run from challenges, we embrace them and we tackle them head on,” said Ganot, who dealt with a two-scholarship reduction under Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s last season. “You have to be a little sharper … in recruiting. Like I said, there’s challenges but there’s always a way and we’ll find a way.”
The two players already signed with UH for next season reaffirmed their support with Ganot after the sanctions were announced.
“I can’t control the consequences that came down on UH today but I can control my effort and I’m excited to give coach Ganot and the University of Hawaii my all,” Long Beach Poly (Calif.) guard Drew Buggs messaged the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Australian point guard Matt Owies responded in kind: “I’m still 100% committed to Coach Ganot and the program and still can’t wait to be apart (sic) of UH MBB, can’t do anything about the NCAA’s penalties but it doesn’t change the way I feel about the program! GO BOWS.”
Then there’s the matter of UH’s current players. Under NCAA rules, players with one season of eligibility remaining on such a penalized team may transfer to another school without the usual penalty of having to sit out games for one season — leaving open the possibility of a mass exodus of talent from the roster.
Players meeting that criteria on this year’s team are Aaron Valdes, Stefan Jankovic, Stefan Jovanovic and Mike Thomas.
Jankovic told the Star-Advertiser on Tuesday that he was “just focused on beating Northern Iowa … I can’t really control any of that (NCAA) stuff.”
Valdes tweeted out a rallying cry: “We still got a season to play and a NCAA tourney to make. This year we just have to stay focused. Either you’re with us or against us.”
On trying to keep his team intact next season, Ganot said: “We remind them what we’re trying to do. And that’s (filling) our program with good people. No. 1, good people. No. 2, good talents. No. 3, people who understand and appreciate what it means to be in this great state representing this great university and playing for this great program.
“And in terms of knowing what their (returnees) situation will be, absolutely, we’re going to be very honest with them. That’s what I told them. We are in charge of taking care of these kids. And we’re in charge, No. 1, of leadership and doing what’s best for the student-athletes’ welfare, and we’re going to continue to do that.”
UH is hosting small forward recruit Jack White of Canberra, Australia, for an official visit over the Diamond Head Classic. White is also being sought by Temple and Boise State.
2016 Diamond Head field announced
Just as the 2015 edition of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic got underway, ESPN announced the full eight-team field for 2016.
Besides host Hawaii, the eighth year of the event will feature Illinois State, San Diego State, San Francisco, Southern Miss, Stephen F. Austin, Tulsa and Utah.
Of those teams, only Utah (Pac-12) hails from a power five conference. The Utes played in the DHC in 2010, when they were a member of the Mountain West Conference. San Diego State and San Francisco were both participants in 2012.
Three of the teams — Utah, SDSU and Tulsa — are former WAC opponents of UH.