Three major areas for UH men’s basketball to target in the transfer portal

HONOLULU – Portal Combat, FIGHT. 

After an underwhelming season led to missing the conference tournament for the first time in head coach Eran Ganot’s 10-year tenure, the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball program opened the transfer window with three major commitments by the time the calendar flipped to April. 

Tanner Cuff, Isaac Johnson and Hunter Erickson provide the Rainbow Warriors a solid foundation while reloading a roster after a multitude of graduations and transfers. Hawai’i did see standout freshman point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor reaffirm his commitment to the program, retaining one of the lone bright spots from last season to pair with incoming three-star prep guard Hunter Carter (Rosemary Anderson). Veteran forward Harry Rouhliadeff also is expected to return to the islands for his senior year after taking another step in his development. 

Deep reserves Logan Robeson and Jacopo Van der Knaap hit the portal after playing less than 20 combined minutes throughout their first-year campaigns while Roy Igwe and AJ Economou are each expected to remain at UH. Other spots opened for Hawai’i to fill with sophomore forward Akira Jacobs transferring to Fordham following two seasons in Mānoa and sophomore co-captain Tom Beattie entering the portal on April 16 after 24 starts last year for the Rainbow Warriors. 

Kody Williams announced he would be testing the portal on April 17 after three years in Mānoa, spending two as a walk-on and deep reserve before earning his way on scholarship and into a bigger role last season. 

With lots more work to do and a wide-open Big West, here are three areas Hawai’i needs to address before returning for summer workouts.

Multiple Shooters on the Wing 

One of the most glaring issues with the 2024-25 Hawai’i men’s basketball team was a lack of shooting threats from 3-point range. The Rainbow Warriors ranked second-to-last in the Big West in both total 3-pointers made (203) and 3-point percentage (32.0%), only above last-place Cal State Fullerton in each category last year. 

Two of the last three Big West Tournament champions have shot above 36% as a team from behind the arc, proof of the bigger trend in the sport that forces teams to be able to space the floor to compete at the top level. Nine of the 11 teams in the conference had at least one player finish with 60 or more made 3-pointers last year while Kody Williams’ 36 makes from distance led Hawai’i. 

When digging deeper, the more concerning issue was UH’s tendency to not fire away from long range often enough. Only one player eclipsed triple-digit attempts from behind the arc – forward Gytis Nemeikša, with exactly 100 tries. All three of the Big West’s top squads in UC San Diego, UC Irvine and UC Riverside finished the season hoisting at least 750 times from deep and all had three or more players with 100 or more 3-point attempts. 

Hunter Erickson provides a nice start to the shooting transplant operation for Hawai’i and 7-footer Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson gives the Rainbow Warriors actual five-out offensive potential with the ability to space the floor from the center position with his 34% clip from distance. Still needing to fill multiple spots with glaring holes in both the starting and backup forward positions, Hawai’i needs to target legitimate shooters on the wing who are willing to fire away from 3-point range at a higher volume than anyone on last year’s team. 

It seems like the coaching staff recognizes the need as well – Snow College F Isaac Finlinson will reportedly visit the University of Hawai’i early next week and would be a high-quality shooting addition for the Rainbow Warriors. The 6-foot-8 forward knocked down over 38% of his 169 3-point attempts last season, earning both NJCAA and the JUCO Jam National Player of the Year honors after leading the Badgers to a 32-2 record and averaging a team-best 18.7 points per game. 

Finlinson would continue early recruiting momentum, but Hawai’i needs at least two strong shooters to join the fold still. 

Some bounce and athleticism, too 

Why stop at shooting? Athleticism is also at a premium in today’s college basketball world, especially on the wing where it can benefit teams on both sides of the court.  

One of the bigger criticisms of the program under Eran Ganot’s watch has been a “boring” style of play offensively. Conversely, one of the best features of the team when it finds success under the longtime coach is a high-quality defense. 

Last season’s defense missed the mark for the Rainbow Warriors, allowing opponents to score more than 70 points per game for the first time in Ganot’s 10-year tenure. UH had some fun moments with Tanner Christensen powering his way under the rim for big dunks, but a lack of overall athleticism and strange unwillingness to push the pace consistently greatly limited the rest of the roster’s total slams and opportunities at easy buckets. 

With a pair of talented passers leading next year’s roster in Tanner Cuff and Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, Hawai’i should make it a priority to add alley-oop threats and athletes who can run in transition and create high-percentage looks. While more alley-oops and dunks make centers come to mind, the perimeter shouldn’t be forgotten or neglected either. 

Hawai’i struggled against bigger, quicker scoring guards last year and did not have consistently strong rim protection to rely on when perimeter defenders got beaten off the dribble. Aaron Hunkin-Claytor showed encouraging signs on the defensive end but needs to add more muscle this offseason to compete at the highest level in a starting role and the rest of last season’s rotational perimeter players have hit the portal.

South Dakota transfer Quandre Bullock is reportedly taking a visit to the islands this weekend as Hawai’i continues a hot pursuit of the 6-foot-6 shooting guard. His athleticism would fit nicely with the above issues, racking up highlight reel dunks on the regular over his last three years at the Division I level with lateral quickness that allows him to compete on the defensive end. 

Bullock’s career 37.2% clip from 3-point range would also be a welcome addition to the major minutes that Hawai’i has open for a few different contributors with some positional versatility. 

A lot more legitimate size 

Some of Ganot’s most successful seasons in Hawai’i have come with teams that employed skillful bigs and strong rim protection. Of note, the two best seasons the Rainbow Warriors have had under the 10th-year head coach came in 2015-16 and 2022-23, campaigns that UH was able to total 3.0 or more blocked shots per game and flexed strong depth in the frontcourt. 

With Akira Jacobs and Jerome Palm entering the portal and Tanner Christensen’s eligibility running out, the lone returner in the frontcourt is rising senior Harry Rouhliadeff. The addition of former Utah State center Isaac Johnson is a good start to the reset of the Hawai’i’s bigs and Rouhliadeff provides an intriguing small-ball 5 option to Ganot and staff, but the overall state of the frontcourt leaves a lot to be desired. 

Tanner Cuff can play multiple positions, but likely is better suited to play small forward rather than power forward or center. Johnson, a former four-star recruit and rotation piece on two different NCAA Tournament teams, will likely soak up most of the minutes at the 5. 

Hawai’i leaned heavily on the 6-foot-10, 270-pound Christensen last season, playing him the second-most minutes of any player on the team (777). Johnson’s highest count for playing time came two years ago when he tallied 526 minutes (15 mpg) as the main starter for Danny Sprinkle and Utah State, so “Big Fish” is looking at his biggest role yet. 

UH can lift some of the burden from Johnson by adding a more effective center to back him up than Christensen had last year. Hawai’i saw a significant drop off when going to the bench as Jerome Palm struggled in the backup big man role, posting the worst turnover and rebounding rates of his three-year D1 career. 

Before transferring out, fans loved former backup Mor Seck due to his thunderous dunks, vertical leaping ability and raw rim protection ability. While an imperfect player, Seck had numerous runs for the Rainbow Warriors that helped win games and flip momentum as an alley-oop threat and shot blocker. 

After suffering a knee injury and having a lackluster year at Fresno State, Seck coming back for a reunion might not be in the best interest for either party. Hawai’i should instead look for an answer with a local solution, giving a player with similar traits as pre-injury Seck in UH-Hilo center Nadjrick Peat a try. 

Hawai’i allowed former Vulcans standout Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones to escape the Big Island for conference rival UC San Diego a few years ago, watching as the New Zealand native developed into the Big West Player of the Year this last season. While Peat isn’t on the same level offensively as Tait-Jones, the shot-blocking and rebounding ability that the 6-foot-11 Jamaican big man brings would be a welcome addition to the Rainbow Warriors roster. 

Peat has multiple seasons of starting experience for a strong PacWest playoff squad, finishing his time with UH-Hilo as the program’s all-time leading rebounder and a two-time conference defensive player of the year. While the step up to Division I ball might cause for an adjustment period, the bouncy big can provide immediate vertical offense as a lob threat along with his shot blocking.