Today’s arrival to paradise will be an important step for newly hired University of Hawaii assistant basketball coach Jabari Trotter.

“I’ve never been to Hawaii,” Trotter said in a telephone interview ahead of this morning’s departure from New Hampshire. “My mother said when I was in the womb, she made a visit (to Oahu) right before she wasn’t able to fly anymore. Technically, I’ve been there. But I haven’t set foot on the island.”

Trotter, who coached the past two years at his alma mater, Dartmouth, will assume several roles for the Rainbow Warriors, such as:

>> Film reviewer. “Film is my thing,” Trotter said of his passion for studying videos of games and practices. “I think you can break down a lot of things. There’s no hiding in film. When you’re showing your players, there’s accountability. Film never lies.”

But he said the study sessions have changed his view. “The last two, three years, I can’t watch a college basketball game or an NBA game the same,” he said. “It used to be purely entertainment. LeBron James coming down the lane and dunking. Kobe (Bryant) shooting a 3. Now you watch a game, it’s like, why did they get that shot? Why did they change their defense? Why did they show instead of going under the screen? That all comes from watching film. Your conceptual awareness skyrockets.”

>> Data analyst. Like many new-age coaches, Trotter, who turns 29 in August, is fascinated with analytics. At Dartmouth, the data produced information on favorable matchups, lineups, positioning and opponents’ tendencies. “I think it paints a picture for you,” Trotter said. “As a coach, it’s our duty to take all the numbers and apply some of them to our guys. You don’t want to overload them, but in the back of their minds, we do know all the numbers.”

>> Physical-education teacher: For all the stats and probability charts, Trotter said, “you have to be able to relate to your guys on more of a physical level than a conceptual level.” Translation: Players need to play.

>> Defense consultant. An abacus is not needed to figure out that extending possessions results in more opportunities to score. As rebounding coach, Trotter will stress limiting an opponent’s second chances.

“There’s a huge importance on defensive rebounding,” Trotter said. “Teams in Division I are too good to give them second or third opportunities with offensive rebounds. If you can play that defensive possession hard and smart, and limit a team to one shot, that is a win. Whatever you want to call it — 55, 65, 70 mini battles (per game) — that battle is not won until you secure the basketball.”

As a former combo guard, Trotter said he will emphasize team rebounding and positioning. “If you’re a guard and you don’t have that height, you have to have that toughness,” he said. “If a guard can do that, I don’t see why a big can’t do that, and why your 5 (center) on the floor can’t be effective in defensive rebounding.”

>> Recruiter. Trotter was born and reared in Los Angeles, which meant his preference was to play for a university in … Hanover, N.H. (population 11,416)? “You’re talking about rural New Hampshire, a small-town community, the smallest in the Ivy League, as opposed to 3.5 million (people) in Los Angeles,” Trotter said. “To me, college is about getting outside your comfort zone. And that’s how you truly grow as a young man.”

It was the pitch he used in signing four players who will be Dartmouth freshmen this fall. Trotter will promote Hawaii’s uniqueness to recruits from the mainland.

“Hawaii has a very interesting back story,” Trotter said. “You’re talking about a completely different culture, a different part of the globe. You’re talking about a different aura around the university. You’re talking about a school that is very different than every other school in its league. … Hawaii is a special place because of that. You should be able to accentuate that.”

>> Family man. UH head coach Eran Ganot often speaks of his team’s family atmosphere. A “brother” is somebody with a close relationship to Ganot; a “cousin” is someone close to someone close to Ganot. Trotter is a graduate of Harvard-Westlake High, where David Rebibo is head coach. Trotter also knows Johns Hopkins head coach Josh Loeffler. Rebibo and Loeffler are close to Ganot, and both strongly recommended Trotter. “He considers me a cousin,” Trotter said of Ganot.