Proving the door to the NCAA transfer portal swings both ways, the Hawaii basketball team lost two players, including forward/wing Akira Jacobs, and gained a multi-skilled, four-position player.
Jacobs and Logan Robeson, an energetic member of the scout unit, both applied for the portal, UH coach Eran Ganot confirmed.
In 30 games, including eight starts, Jacobs averaged 6.9 points and 2.6 rebounds. Jacobs, who has dual American and Japanese citizenship, competed for Japan’s national team in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Tanner Cuff, who started all 27 games for the University of Evansville this season, said he has accepted a scholarship offer from the Rainbow Warriors. Cuff will have two years to play two UH seasons. He said he will join the ’Bows in June.
Cuff, who is 6 feet 7 and 210 pounds, can play both guard positions, the wing and the four spot. This season, he averaged 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds — he had double-digit boards in four games — with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.6 (103 assists against 40 turnovers). He averaged 1.3 steals per game. One service rated Cuff as a 4-star transfer.
“The main point of my game is one who can create double teams and help set up my team for success,” Cuff said. “And to be able to get (teammates) in the right spots, and share the ball, and try to play basketball the right way.”
After starring at American Fork (Utah) High, where his father was the head coach, Cuff served a two-year church mission in Kentucky.
“It was a really cool experience,” he said. “I grew the most in every aspect being able to communicate with people, being able to help and serve people, and grow closer to God. It was a really amazing experience for me.”
He then played at Salt Lake Community College before transferring to Evansville. He received a medical redshirt after suffering a broken right hand in the fourth game of the 2023-24 season.
Cuff, who earned a degree in finance, decided to transfer because Evansville did not offer the type of MBA program he sought.
“School-wise, I wouldn’t have been able to progress here,” Cuff said. “I was looking for an opportunity to go somewhere to win games. I was looking for a spot where I could thrive and win games and help a program out.”
Cuff said UH assistant coach Gibson Johnson was influential in his decision. They have known each other since 2019, when Johnson was an assistant at Salt Lake Community College and Cuff was a prospect at American Fork High.
“I’ve always liked him as a person,” Cuff said of Johnson. “He introduced me to the (UH) staff. … He told me about the opportunities I could have at the University of Hawaii. … It’s Hawaii, also. … I’m married. Me and my wife were like, ‘There’s no way we can turn down this opportunity to go play basketball in Hawaii.’”
Cuff’s wife, Jessica, attended BYU-Hawaii for a semester.
