Adam Jacobsen leaving Hawaii basketball coaching staff

Associate head coach Adam Jacobsen is leaving the University of Hawaii basketball team after four seasons.

Jacobsen is a leading candidate for a similar position on the mainland.

“It’s tough to lose a guy like Adam,” UH head coach Eran Ganot told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “He’s been a huge asset to our program in a lot of ways since Day 1. … We have so much love and respect for his family. That being said, we’re looking forward to the next steps here.”

On Tuesday afternoon, UH posted the job opening for an associate/assistant coach.

“We’ve had good continuity in our staff,” Ganot said. “We’ll always have people on our staff who will be attractive (to other programs). That’s a good thing. That means we’ve hired well. I think we’ll continue to hire well. The target has always been — and will remain — bringing in well-rounded coaches who have great character, and are tremendous mentors who are talented in terms of coaching and recruiting. And who are excited about being here. I don’t think that will change. I think that’s served us well. I think we’ll continue to do that. I feel confident we’ll bring in another great addition.”

Jacobsen joined the Rainbow Warriors as an assistant coach in 2015. That 2015-16 season — Ganot’s first as UH head coach — the ’Bows won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in the program’s history. The ensuing summer, Jacobsen was promoted to associate head coach.

Jacobsen was considered one of the primary architects of the ’Bows’ four-out, quick-passing offense. Last season, the ’Bows averaged 72.3 points in Big West games while draining a school-record 266 3-point shots. Jacobsen also held the title of recruiting coordinator, and was influential in scouting and in the development of guards.

Ganot noted Jacobsen’s wide-ranging coaching duties were consistent with the coaching goals.

“We’ve always liked well-rounded coaches,” Ganot said. “It was helpful for me. It’s been helpful for them. We want to bring in guys who want to be head coaches. And I think to be a head coach, you have to be well rounded. And, obviously, the work ethic and character are absolute givens. But we’ll gravitate toward guys who have those qualities and are good and will keep getting better.”

Prior to joining UH, Jacobsen spent 14 seasons and two stints as an assistant coach and then associate coach at Pacific, his alma mater.

Jacobsen also was a standout guard at Pacific, setting the school’s career record for successful 3-point shots with 311. He has been inducted into the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame, and was voted to the first team on the Tigers’ All-Century team.

Jacobsen and his wife, DeAnn, have three children.

“We have a lot of love for him and his family,” Ganot said. “It’s always tough to lose a guy like that. … We’re very thankful for the time we’ve had with him. His family has been tremendous. We’ll be supporting them, for sure, from afar.”