Reserve guards Leland Green and Brandon Thomas will leave the University of Hawaii basketball program at the end of the spring semester, coach Eran Ganot confirmed.
Green and Thomas recently requested — and received — a release from their basketball scholarships. Their names have been entered in the NCAA transfer portal, a list of available players that is circulated to NCAA schools.
“They’re going through that process,” Ganot told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “They’ve elected to move on. We’re appreciative of all their efforts on and off the court. They’re great young men. We wish them the best, and we’ll continue to support them the best way we can.”
This month, both guards completed their junior season with the Rainbow Warriors. At the end of the semester, each will have two years to play one NCAA season.
In his first two seasons, Green played 57 games, starting 36. He underwent shoulder surgery following the 2017-18 season, which kept him out of the lineup for last summer’s exhibition games in Australia. Green played in 27 games this season, averaging 2.6 points and 8.3 minutes. His most productive game was on March 8, when he came off the bench to score 10 second-half points in a comeback victory over UC Davis.
Brandon Thomas joined the ’Bows in August 2017 after a freshman season at Riverside (Calif.) City College. He played in 23 games in 2017-18. This past season, he started the first three games, but played only 13 games thereafter, logging 18 DNPs. He averaged 1.2 points and 6.1 minutes.
Their departures expand the ’Bows’ 2019 recruiting class to five. They already have allotted one of the slots to former Kahuku guard Jessiya Villa, who committed to the ’Bows in 2017, the same year he was named the Star-Advertiser’s player of the year. After graduating, Villa went on a two-year church mission. He joins the ’Bows this summer.
The ’Bows will use their four remaining scholarships to replace three seniors. Jack Purchase, Sheriff Drammeh and Brocke Stepteau have completed their NCAA eligibility.
