Meza, Sharks enjoying benefits of perfect portal match

HONOLULU – Last April wasn’t Quentin Meza’s first rodeo in the wild, wild world of college basketball’s transfer portal period.

After spending his first college season on the east coast and appearing in 32 games for Wofford, the Cyprus High School (UT) product found himself wanting to return closer to home. Idaho State quickly emerged as an attractive landing spot, giving the 6-foot guard an opportunity to play home games just two hours from his hometown with an open starting spot at the point.

After committing to the Bengals, the 2023 Utah HS Gatorade Player of the Year saw those starting hopes take a hit with Washington State sophomore guard Dylan Darling committing to join the ISU program six days later. Darling would win the starting job on the way to earning 2024-25 Big Sky Conference Player of the Year honors while Meza contributed as a reserve in 21 games and got under eight minutes of action per night.

“Really great player, really good person as well,” Meza said of Darling, who parlayed his single season in Pocatello into a spot in the St. John’s rotation after transferring again last April. “Even though I wasn’t getting the playing time that I wanted, I was still learning a lot in practice while guarding him … So, Dylan Darling and [Wofford guard] Corey Tripp really helped me improve my game.”

After two seasons playing behind all-conference guards, Meza spun the wheel again and hopped in the portal on the first day of April in hopes of finding another spot to compete for a starting job.

He didn’t have to wait long for the phone call from his future home.

It did help that the first contact came from a familiar face, though.

Hawaii Pacific University associate head coach Cam Flabel, an Idaho native and former student manager for the Idaho State men’s basketball team, was back home in June 2024 hosting the annual Gate City Basketball Camp when he reached out to the Bengals’ coaching staff in search of camp workers.

ISU had just started summer workouts and Meza was quickly recommended by the staff to work the camp. After spending a few days helping shape the next generation of hoopers together, the two went their separate ways for the season.

Quentin Meza & HPU associate HC Cam Flabel pose with a camper during the 2025 Gate City Basketball Camp. Meza has worked the camp for the past two summers with Flabel. | Photo Credit: Cam Flabel

Fast forward to the first day of April in 2025 when Meza entered his name into the portal database officially, Flabel wasted no time reaching out.

Head coach Jesse Nakanishi needed very little selling on the soon-to-be junior guard, watching the scoring power and playmaking potential Meza possessed on tape while images of an improved assist-to-turnover ratio as a team danced through his mind.

Meza’s resume didn’t hurt either.

“He was Gatorade Player of the Year, had an incredible amount of production and played at a high-level high school,” Nakanishi pointed to when asked what made him believe Meza could be a key piece for the Sharks after two seasons as a backup. “I thought with a bigger role and getting him back to [a style of play] and a team where he could be that type of role he was in high school that he could flourish and really thrive in this type of environment.”

The HPU coaching staff built their pitch to Meza around their ability to help him return to the form that saw him finish his prep career as one of eight players in the history of Utah high school boys basketball to score 2,000 or more points and finish in the top five in state history for assists.

The presence of returning starter Avi Halpert and another battle for playing time didn’t deter Meza, who bought into the idea of playing in tandem with Halpert or a platoon to best suit the team.

“I wanted to come to a team that was excited for me to be there and play a big role,” Meza recalled of his desires after hopping into the portal for a second time. “[The HPU coaching staff] are really good people and they seemed super excited about me from the start.”

That excitement from the staff only grew after Meza got on court.

Summer workouts made it clear that the guard was primed for a major role on a new-look Sharks roster that wanted to put an emphasis on faster play and a higher-powered offense.

Meza’s first impression was memorable, being named PacWest Player of the Week for the first time on November 24 after leading HPU to a three-game win streak while averaging 20 points per game on 57% shooting from the field.

Meza pulls up for a deep 3-pointer during a home win by the Sharks. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

He has continued his big impact in his first year in the islands more recently, being named PacWest Player of the Week again on January 26 after helping the Sharks remain towards the top of the conference standings with a pair of key home wins as he poured in over 20 points and five rebounds per night over a three-game stretch.

“Just really proud of him,” Nakanishi responded when asked about the junior guard becoming the first player in his three-year tenure to earn multiple conference Player of the Week honors in the same season. “He’s grabbed this opportunity by the horns and just ran with it. He gets to play with a lot of freedom, and we believe in him a lot to take big shots and get downhill and create for himself and others.”

Meza has rewarded that trust and belief with his best collegiate season yet, averaging 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists in more than 31 minutes of action per game across 13 contests. The junior ranks in the top 10 in the entire conference in a multitude of categories, including points per game (5th), total assists (1st), assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd), 3-pointers made per game (10th) and overall field goal percentage (6th) heading into the final week of January.

Even with eyes back on him like when he was a high school star, Meza believes that his return to form would not have been possible without finding such a good fit.

“It’s been great for me personally,” said Meza of the season so far in his new home. “I feel like we’re really tight and we’re like a family here … My teammates and coaches are putting me in positions to be successful, finding me in open spots. These [Player of the Week awards] aren’t just for me, it’s really a team award for all of us.”

Meza claps alongside his teammates during a home win for the Sharks. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Meza and HPU hope to continue the great vibes into February and beyond, sitting two games back in the loss column of first-place Chaminade as they hit the road for a critical Westmont, Vanguard and Azusa Pacific stretch on the continent before a clash with the Silverswords next week.

While November, December and January have gone swimmingly for the Sharks, the team remains focused on writing each chapter as it happens while looking to return to the PacWest Tournament for the second time in the three-year Nakanishi era.

“Standings are probably more on a coach’s mind than anything but we kind of break different parts of the season into chapters or sections,” said Nakanishi ahead of another crucial road swing. “This [section] is kind of the separator, if you will, where we’re on the cusp [of the top] in a crowd of teams and we can stay in that upper tier above that mix [in the standings].”

Hawaii Pacific (12-5, 8-4 PacWest) gets a second shot at Westmont on Thursday, January 29 to open the three-game trip away from the islands with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m. HT. The Warriors (10-8, 7-5 PacWest) beat the Sharks on January 22, 88-69, inside the Shark Tank and sit one game back of Nakanishi’s squad in the PacWest standings.