High-flying wing Franciz Wai finds new home with Hawaii Pacific

HONOLULU – The Sharks found their Wai.

The Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team picked up a commitment from 6-foot-7 wing Franciz Wai on Thursday, adding a high-motor, athletic forward to the program’s recruiting reload. The former Western Oklahoma forward spent two years with the Pioneers, averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds across 32 games last season.

Wai, who hails from Australia originally, provides an intriguing developmental piece for fourth-year head coach Jesse Nakanishi and the Sharks after two years at the junior college level.

The 6-foot-7 forward began playing basketball at the age of 17, displaying a 6-foot-11 wingspan for coaches to dream about while providing extreme effort to make up for his late entry to the sport.

“Franciz is a unique talent joining our program,” Nakanishi said in a press release on May 14 after Wai’s signing became official. “His ability to impact winning with his athleticism, motor and defensive prowess will make him a fan favorite.”

Wai shot 50.5% from the field and hit nearly 76% of his free throws last season at Western Oklahoma while almost doubling his scoring output from his freshman campaign. He also made his presence felt at the defensive end, racking up 21 steals and 26 blocks as a sophomore forward.

He scored 10+ points in 16 of his 32 appearances last season and topped out with a 20-point, 5-rebound, 4-steal game in a blowout win over Loyalty College Prep. Wai had nine games with at least one block and one steal and tallied a pair of five-rejection games for the Pioneers as a sophomore.

Hawaii Pacific also picked up former USCB guard Evan Kilminster, Northern Iowa forward Marino Dubravčić and Husson wing Eric Ahlers II in this recruiting cycle. All three players will be expected to have heavy impacts on the Sharks’ rotation next winter.