With less than a month from the Nov. 8 start to the NCAA’s early signing period, the Hawaii basketball team has secured 2024 commitments from two guards.

AJ Economou, an athletic and sharp-shooting wing, has accepted a scholarship offer from the Rainbow Warriors.

Last month, point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, who played at ‘Iolani through his sophomore year, also pledged to sign with the ’Bows.

Economou attends Southern California Academy, a prep school that competes nationally. The Rams arrived in Florida on Monday for a two-week tour, which will include a game against national power IMG Academy. Later, the Rams will play in a junior-college tournament in Colorado.

Economou is 6 feet 5, 180 pounds with a 36-inch-plus vertical jump. He projects to compete in the off guard position at UH, where he will have five years to play four seasons. He also is expected to develop into a three or point guard.

Accompanied by his father and step-mother, Economou completed a UH-sponsored recruiting trip this weekend.

“It was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had, especially with basketball,” he said. “I felt accepted from the day I got there until I left. It was really a fun time. I had a lot of fun and made some good connections.”

During the trip, he attended one of the Los Angeles Clippers’ practices. “It was kind of cool, especially to see them in that Hawaii gym,” he said, referencing the Clippers’ training camp in Hawaii.

Economou was born in Connecticut and has lived in North Carolina, where his father worked for the NBA’s then-named Charlotte Bobcats; New Jersey; and now California. Through his junior year, Economou attended Santa Monica High. He then transferred to SCA for the basketball program and academic curriculum.

“My dad and mom said it’s always ‘student’ before ‘athlete,’” he said. “You’ve got to take care of academics first.”

Economou’s mother, Betsy Given, was a lacrosse and soccer star at Loyola Maryland. His father, Greg Economou, played college basketball at UConn and pro ball in Greece, and is co-founder and CEO of Game1, a content studio.

Hunkin-Claytor is a 6-foot-3 senior at Salesian High in Northern California. In 2022, Hunkin-Claytor and his family moved from Hawaii. Last season, he was named his league’s most valuable player. He said he received 13 offers but ultimately chose the ’Bows.

“Hawaii is just home for me,” said Hunkin-Claytor, who also has lived in Virginia and Georgia as part of a military family.

He said he wanted to go to “a place I know, and the people know me. … It was the best fit.”

Hunkin-Claytor grew up as a football fan but switched his allegiance to basketball at ‘Iolani because of the sport’s fast pace and required quick thinking. His father, Mario Claytor, who retired from the military, played basketball at Hawaii Hilo.