Micah Dunhour was Notre Dame de Namur’s leading scorer while averaging more than 30 minutes a game as a starter just three years ago.

By the time the season was over, Dunhour was no longer on the team, headed back to Hawaii with his basketball career in serious jeopardy.

The 2011 graduate of Academy of the Pacific, who was second in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Fab 15 voting as a senior, was released midway through his junior season with the Argonauts because of academics.

He came back home and instead of staying with his parents on Oahu, he went to Kauai to be around his grandparents and older sister.

“I needed some time to myself, really,” said Dunhour, now a senior at Cal State East Bay. “I felt like I let a few people down. My parents weren’t too happy that I got released from the school and I needed some time for myself.”

Dunhour took a year off, found a job, and spent a lot of time with his nephews as he figured out the next step in his life.

He wanted to get back into basketball and reached out to every school in the PacWest but heard nothing.

A former teammate, who had since transferred to Cal State East Bay, told him to expect a phone call from the Pioneers’ coaching staff.

A week went by, nothing. A second week came and went with no contact.

Dunhour’s basketball dream was coming to an end.

He was out in the driveway of his sister’s place playing basketball with her kids when the phone call that changed everything finally came.

“We would have scrimmages with (Cal State East Bay) every year because they were right across the bridge from each other,” Dunhour said. “They called and said they knew a ton about me and looked at old film and would love to have me come over there and play.”

Dunhour was given a chance to use up his final season of eligibility with the Pioneers, but he had to get his academics in order first.

He enrolled in 2015 but had to redshirt his first season to concentrate on his grades.

With that taken care of after a year, Dunhour returned to the basketball court, 34 months after his last college game, and dropped 20 points in an exhibition game against San Jose State in November.

He played his old school, NDNU, a week later in his first regular-season game and had a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds in a 19-point win.

“Honestly, I thought I was going to be a lot worse that first game, I’m not even going to lie,” Dunhour said. “It was an amazing experience. I had young legs and energy again. You don’t really know how much you’re going to miss the game (of basketball) until you have to sit on the side and watch.”

The Pioneers’ season will end this weekend after they failed to qualify for the California Collegiate Athletic Association playoffs.

Cal State East Bay has lost seven in a row, with four of those losses by eight points or fewer, after starting the year 7-1.

Dunhour has started all but one game and leads the team in scoring (16.5 points per game) while also grabbing 6.8 rebounds per game.

His parents, as well as a couple of his sisters, will be in San Francisco this weekend to see him play in his final two games.

“A few of my sisters who have never watched me play I think they are coming up for the free trip,” Dunhour joked. “Both of my parents are coming up and I’m just super happy because they don’t get to see me play often.”

Transferring from a private school to a public school, Dunhour lost some of the credits he earned at NDNU. He needs to take one more class over the summer before finally earning his degree.

He hopes to continue playing professionally overseas and says it wouldn’t be possible without facing the adversity of nearly having his basketball career taken away from him.

“I’ve come to the point where I feel like everything happens for a reason,” Dunhour said. “I definitely am a better version of myself here at this school than I was at NDNU, which I really appreciate.”

STATS AROUND THE NATION

BASEBALL

>> Christian Donahue, ‘Iolani ’14: The Oregon State junior outfielder doubled home the only run in a 1-0 win over Indiana in the season opener on Friday and finished 5-for-15 with a double, a triple, three runs, three RBIs and a stolen base to help the Beavers go 4-0 in the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic over the weekend.

>> KJ Harrison, Punahou ’14: The Oregon State junior first baseman, who also played catcher over the weekend, finished 4-for-14 with a double, two walks, two RBIs and a run scored in the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic.

>> Brent Sakurai, Mid-Pacific ’13: The New Mexico State second baseman hit .375 (6-for-16) with a home run, four walks, seven runs scored and three RBIs in a four-game split with Bryant to open the season over the weekend.

>> Tyler Meditz, Kamehameha ’13: The Santa Clara left fielder went 3-for-3 with a stolen base in an 8-1 loss to Washington on Sunday.

>> Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi, Mililani ’16: The Kansas freshman started at designated hitter and went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and two runs scored in an 11-1 win over Omaha on Tuesday.

>> Emmett Covello, Kaiser ’16: The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps freshman infielder singled, scored twice and drove in three runs to help the Stags sweep Caltech over the weekend.

>> Codie Paiva, Kamehameha ’15: The Loyola Marymount right-hander was the first pitcher used out of the bullpen this season for the Lions and allowed two runs on three hits in three innings with no walks and two strikeouts in a 6-3 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Thursday.

>> Tanner Nishioka, ‘Iolani ’13: The Pomona-Pitzer senior went 5-for-12 with four home runs, a walk, four runs scored and eight RBIs in three losses to Whitworth (Wash.) over the weekend.

>> Trey Kamachi, Kapolei ’12: The Dixie State senior outfielder went 3-for-5 with two walks, two runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases in two wins over St. Martin’s (Wash.) over the weekend.

>> Kekoa Kaulukukui, Moanalua ’12: The Linfield (Ore.) senior finished 4-for-12 with a home run and three runs scored as the Wildcats lost two of three to Willamette (Ore.) on Friday and Saturday.

>> Gabe Gunter, King Kekaulike ’13: The Cal Lutheran senior outfielder went 2-for-6 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run scored in two losses to La Verne on Sunday.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

>> Alexandra Masaquel, ‘Iolani ’13: The William & Mary forward finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and a steal before fouling out of a 71-69 overtime loss to College of Charleston on Friday.

>> Ihi Victor, Konawaena ’16: The St. Martin’s (Wash.) freshman had a team-high 16 points, six rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal in a 56-41 loss to Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday.

>> LaChae McColor, Moanalua ’14: The Antelope Valley junior guard scored a team-high 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting with two rebounds in an 83-72 loss to Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) on Thursday.

>> Casey Poe, KS-Hawaii ’14: The Whitman (Wash.) junior guard scored 12 points on 6-for-13 shooting and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 63-61 win over Lewis & Clark on Friday.

>> Maegan Martin, Maryknoll ’15: The Whitman (Wash.) forward scored 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting in 17 minutes off the bench with two rebounds and an assist against Lewis & Clark.

MEN’S GOLF

>> PJ Samiere, Punahou ’14: The San Diego State junior was tied for the lead after the first round of The Prestige at PGA West and is in a tie for 10th place at 1-under 141 heading into today’s final round. Samiere opened with a 68 before shooting 73 on Tuesday.

>> John Oda, Moanalua ’14: The UNLV junior made five birdies with no bogeys to shoot a final-round 67 on Friday and finish in a tie for 13th place at 3-under 213 at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Lihue.

>> Spencer Dunaway, Kamehameha ’15: The Brigham Young sophomore closed with consecutive rounds of 73 and finished in a tie for 47th place at 4 over at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

>> Kristi Hayashida, Home school ’13: The Seattle Pacific senior scored a 9.625 on beam and a 9.600 on the floor exercise in a quad meet against Nebraska, Brown and Lindenwood on Friday. She scored a 9.625 on beam and a 9.550 on the floor in a tri meet against Brown and Lindenwood on Sunday.

SOFTBALL

>> Fahren Glackin, Kamehameha ’14: The New Mexico State junior finished 7-for-15 with three doubles, a walk, four runs scored and three RBIs to help the Aggies go 2-3 in the Troy Cox Classic that ended Monday.

>> Kalei Kaneshiro, Kamehameha ’16: The Southern Illinois-Edwardsville freshman catcher went 2-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored in two wins over Mercer on Friday and Saturday.

>> Cydney Curran, Campbell ’16: The Cal State Bakersfield freshman infielder went 2-for-2 with a double and a walk in a 2-0 loss to Long Beach State on Sunday.

>> Cassie Ho, ‘Iolani ’16: The Canisius freshman went 5-for-12 with two doubles, a home run, two runs and six RBIs to help the Golden Griffins go 2-3 in the First Pitch Classic that ended on Sunday.

>> Destiny Holani, Roosevelt ’15: The Canisius catcher went 3-for-13 with a walk in the First Pitch Classic.

>> Roblynn Kami, Pearl City ’14: The Texas A&M International catcher went 3-for-7 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored in two losses to Texas A&M Kingsville on Tuesday.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

>> Wil Stanley, Punahou ’16: The Brigham Young freshman setter had a team-high 27 assists, four digs and an ace in a sweep of UC San Diego on Saturday.

>> Gabriel Vega,‘Iolani ’12: The Stanford senior hit .481 with 15 kills, seven digs and two aces in a five-set win over California Baptist on Saturday.

>> Evan Enriques, KS-Hawaii ’14: The Cardinal junior libero finished with five digs and five assists against Cal Baptist.

>> Emmett Enriques, KS-Hawaii ’15: The Cal Baptist sophomore had two digs, an assist and a kill in his only swing against Stanford.

>> Micah Ma’a, Punahou ’15: The UCLA sophomore had a team-high 21 assists, seven digs, four kills and two block assists in the No. 5 Bruins’ three-set loss to No. 2 Long Beach State on Saturday.

Stats compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser. To submit an athlete for nomination, email: bhull@staradvertiser.com.