If you were to sketch a player who could be the answer to the prayers of the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team this recruiting period, he would probably look — and shoot — a lot like Brayan Au.

Au is a 6-foot, 4-inch junior college shooting guard who thrives under pressure and is a deadly shooter from 3-point range. And, as an added bonus, he has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

The package is so enticing that you can imagine the excitement when UH coaches laid eyes on him in action in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament in Kansas in March.

It was where Au came into his own, leading the tournament in 3-point baskets (12) and 3-point accuracy (54.5 percent) while averaging 14.8 points per game and also hitting a game-winner from the corner to help Ranger (Texas) knock off the No. 1 seed, Northwest Florida State, in the semifinals.

Au helped lift the Rangers, who went 31-4, to the championship game before losing to Vincennes (Ind.).

For a UH team that loses the school’s career 3-point leader, Jack Purchase, as well as Brocke Stepteau, Au is a compelling recruiting target whose importance to the ’Bows grows by the day.

Overall this season, he converted 45.5% of field-goal attempts and 42.6% from 3-point range. And as one of his former high school coaches, Mike Stephenson, put it Monday, “He is only going to get better.”

Until the NJCAA tournament, Au was a largely undiscovered commodity. Originally from Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico, in Chihuahua state, about three hours’ drive from El Paso, Texas, he moved to the U.S. in high school, where he played at Anthony (Texas) High, a jump shot from the New Mexico-Texas border.

A two-time Texas Basketball Coaches All-State 2A selection who averaged 28.7 points a game, Au generated some interest from four-year schools but got his only scholarship offer from wily Billy Gillispie, a former Texas-El Paso, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Texas Tech coach who is restarting his career at Ranger.

Under Gillispie at rural Ranger, between Fort Worth and Abilene, Au’s game picked up as the season went along and he earned freshman of the year and all-region honors, averaging 12 points a game in the regular season. His first offer from a four-year school was the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on March 6.

For UH the problem, now, is that the same abilities that quickly caught the eye of the ’Bows’ coaches were not missed by dozens of other coaches on hand at the NJCAA tournament also seeking shooting guards.

When asked who else has shown an interest in Au, Gillispie answered, “Everybody.”

The list is said to include Texas A&M, New Mexico State and Auburn.

For UH, however, Au takes on added importance with each day that passes. He visited the Blowhole, posting a May 6 photo with family on his Instagram account, but has yet announce a destination.

Meanwhile, the ’Bows still have yet to announce recipients for three remaining scholarships, and time — as well as worthy recruits — is getting short. The National Letter of Intent signing period for Division I men’s basketball expired six days ago.

While UH can still award financial aid agreements, the pool of players who can help lift the ’Bows back into being a contender in the Big West becomes shallower with each week. Au has shown he can hit timely shots. His addition to the UH roster would demonstrate that the ’Bows can, too.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.