Many if not most of you know by now that Jimmy Borges — a man on the very short list of Hawaii’s all-time greatest entertainers — has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The jazz man remains incredibly upbeat through it all. When Borges speaks of his mortality, which is rare, he talks of a “fulfilled dream.”
“Then the dreamer becomes the dream-maker,” Borges said Thursday, after his beloved University of Hawaii basketball team beat Fullerton in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament.
“I really like the coach (Eran Ganot). I don’t know exactly what they’re running, but they’re not scared to shoot.” Jimmy Borges Musician
That quote could easily be about teams playing for their fans. But it came in response to me reminding Borges of his penchant for working with student musicians … as he has done for decades (including last fall) with the Citrus College (Calif.) Blue Note Swing Orchestra.
Citrus pumps out professional entertainers the way USC does football players, and Borges has a lot to do with that. He facilitates (and leads) a show by the students annually at the Royal Hawaiian, lending them his name, talent, leadership and passion for his craft.
It’s lucky for music fans Borges wasn’t a little bit bigger. If he were, he’d probably have followed his idol Herman Wedemeyer’s juke steps further in football. Or played pro baseball instead of singing his way to fame. Even in his 50s he was still a slick- fielding second baseman on the celebrity softball circuit.
Hoops is right up there among his favorite games, too, and Borges’ love affair with UH basketball goes back more than 40 years. That’s how many times he has sung the national anthem to start the Rainbow Classic.
“Back to the early ’70s,” said Borges, who counts Riley Wallace among thousands of close friends. “Red Rocha and I would always tease each other about being Portuguese.”
Borges is the embodiment of how substance and style intersect to create stardom. And he also had this in common with UH’s Fabulous Five teams: Hawaii had seen nothing like them.
The high-flying, aloha-attired Fab Five exploded into the state’s consciousness right around the time Borges hit Hawaii’s nightlife scene, after returning home from the Bay Area (his family had moved from his native Kalihi when he was a kid).
“They were the first here to really have the city approach to basketball, a playground style,” Borges said. “And they had great marketing. The Fabulous Five name isn’t unique, but it certainly fit them.”
As for the current ’Bows, Borges sees the not-so-flashy aspects of their game as a ticket to unprecedented heights.
“I really like the coach (Eran Ganot),” he said. “I don’t know exactly what they’re running, but they’re not scared to shoot. It’s that defense that sets them apart, though.”
At a January home game, Borges was named an honorary Rainbow Warrior. “I almost (sang the anthem) that night,” he said. “But the air just isn’t there so much anymore.”
One of Borges’ few unfulfilled dreams is something all UH basketball fans want to witness, something even the Fabulous Five did not accomplish.
If the Rainbows win their next three games, the coolest 80-year-old man in the state — who proudly wears UH basketball jersey No. 1 — can check NCAA Tournament win off his list.
The dreamers become the dream-makers, indeed.
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.
