Maybe it’s not a four-gone conclusion.

None of the players who would be the senior core of next season’s University of Hawaii basketball team has said if he will or won’t return for his final season of eligibility.

For weeks, months even, UH fans have assumed that Stefan Jankovic, Stefan Jovanovic, Mike Thomas and Aaron Valdes would leave Manoa after this season because of the team’s ban from postseason competition in 2017, and the rule that allows them to transfer and play their final season right away.

But whenever they’re asked about it, the players express much less certainty about any potential departure.

Maybe it was the emotion of the moment. After Sunday’s NCAA Tournament’s second-round loss to Maryland, Jankovic said at the very least his heart will always be in Hawaii.

“For at least two weeks, I’m going to be thinking about this one,” the Big West Player of the Year said. “… If it came down to how much I love Hawaii, it wasn’t my last game (as a Rainbow).”

UH appealed the sanction stemming from an NCAA investigation. Athletic director David Matlin said he was informed Tuesday that the NCAA expects to announce a decision at some point between May 8 and July 7.

Waiting that long would make transferring or going pro difficult, at best, if the appeal is denied. For example, Thomas said earlier this week he’d hoped to decide by next month.

“The timetable is tough,” Rainbows first-year coach Eran Ganot said. “But we’ll approach it like we approach anything. We’ll be up front and we’ll give them accurate information. And then we’ll talk. We care a lot about our guys.”

Too bad the NCAA doesn’t provide that info quickly enough for the student-athletes to make informed decisions.

Regardless of the appeal’s outcome, UH will have a new starting backcourt since Roderick Bobbitt and Quincy Smith were seniors.

Thomas is probably the only one of the juniors who improved his personal stock at the NCAA Tournament, scoring 19 points with 11 rebounds against the Terrapins. But all four could contribute quality minutes for almost any college team.

The UH fans, for obvious reasons, love them. If the answer is in the ti leaves maybe they stay.

The foundation Ganot wants to build would get a huge boost. Remember, we’re talking about three starters, including the conference player of the year, and a key reserve from the team that made it to the final 32 at The Dance.

If they all leave, it will be like so many other teams in various sports over the course of UH history: A brief period of scintillating success followed by a huge drop and starting over again.

“I do know they have a great affinity for Hawaii,” Ganot said. “There’s a lot of things still in play. There are a lot of positive things, including an opportunity to make an impact on an entire state.”

They’ve already done that once, just last week. The governor plans to validate it with a proclamation next week. No one will think less of the juniors if they leave.

But if these four decide to return with the appeal unresolved, the impact Ganot refers to would be immeasurable and more impressive than anything that ever happens on a court — and then double-shame on the NCAA if it doesn’t release the postseason ban.

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