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PORTLAND, Ore. — The University of Hawaii would like to run it back with head basketball coach Eran Ganot.
This season, Ganot has coached on the final year of a contract that is set to expire on April 30.
Athletic director Matt Elliott declined to reveal details of ongoing discussions with Ganot, but after the Rainbow Warriors’ 97-78 loss to SEC champion Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament, Elliott said: “I want him to come back.”
After the ’Bows failed to qualify for the eight-team Big West Tournament last year, Ganot did not receive an extension, essentially passing the decision to the next athletic director. Elliott was not officially hired until July 1, 2025.
By then, Ganot already had worked on building the 2025-26 roster, signing 7-foot Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson; guards Tanner Cuff, Hunter Erickson and Isaiah Kerr, and wings Quandre “Dre” Bullock and Isaac Finlinson, junior college’s Player of the Year. After Elliott was hired, leading scorer Gytis Nemeiksa received a waiver to return for a bonus season, and 6-10 Yacine Toumi was added. Former UH guard Juan Munoz was hired as director of player development, and 16-year NBA veteran Patty Mills signed up as general manager (and life coach).
And then Ganot left all contract matters to his representative.
“My whole life, I have great conviction and faith and belief in what we do,” Ganot said. “I’m going to talk about what we have and not what we don’t, what we can do and not what we can’t. That faith and conviction always puts you in position to enjoy where your feet are at, and whatever happens, happens. Everything happens for a reason. Right now, the whole year I have not thought about (a new contract), and now I’m not thinking about it, because that’s not why I coach. I coach for these kids, to see a team come together, and a student-athlete grow, and I’m going to enjoy that. I’m going to take a breath, and we can circle back to that stuff.”
The ’Bows, for now, will have three point guards in place for next season. This season’s offense was supposed to revolve around 6-7 Tanner Cuff’s leadership, outside shooting and post-up moves. But Cuff suffered a season-ending knee injury in preseason training. Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, who developed into an aggressive point-of-attack defender, suffered a foot injury that abbreviated his season to 17 games. Both should be fully healed this summer. Kerr became a dependable shooter, facilitator and defender. Finlinson appeared in all 33 games, starting 16, as a junior.
In the postgame locker room, March Madness turned to sadness — not for Thursday’s loss, but the end of a team bond that began with offseason training last June.
“You make all these new relationships and you go through all the ups and downs and great battles,” Finlinson said. “You become so close with them. Now that the season’s ended, you’re going to miss all the times on the road, miss all the friendships you made. Hopefully this group can stay connected the rest of our lives.”
Johnson, one of six seniors, gazed in a daze in the locker room.
“It’s a little bit of a bummer,” Johnson said of the end of his college career. “These are amazing guys. This team is incredible. Each and every one of these dudes is considered to be a brother. If we’re around anywhere in the world where these guys are, I would love the opportunity to hang out and see them and spend some time.”
Ganot said: “We’ll be a team forever, just in a different light. The ’25-’26 ’Bows exist for just one year. How can I not be proud of them? We have 106 years of Hawaii basketball. When you walk through the hallways leading to our locker room (in the Stan Sheriff Center), there’s (a plaque of) every NCAA and NIT team. There will be a plaque (of this team). There will be a ring prepared.”
In this landscape of college basketball, Erickson said, “you’ve got one year as a team. You’ve got to make it count. Our goal was to make March Madness, and we did that. We’re (Big West Conference) champs. That’s something nobody can take away from us. We all came here to be champs, and that’s what we are. Being conference champs, we’re going to be forever cemented in Hawaii history. That’s just awesome.”
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This season, Ganot has coached on the final year of a contract that is set to expire on April 30.
Athletic director Matt Elliott declined to reveal details of ongoing discussions with Ganot, but after the Rainbow Warriors’ 97-78 loss to SEC champion Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament, Elliott said: “I want him to come back.”
After the ’Bows failed to qualify for the eight-team Big West Tournament last year, Ganot did not receive an extension, essentially passing the decision to the next athletic director. Elliott was not officially hired until July 1, 2025.
By then, Ganot already had worked on building the 2025-26 roster, signing 7-foot Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson; guards Tanner Cuff, Hunter Erickson and Isaiah Kerr, and wings Quandre “Dre” Bullock and Isaac Finlinson, junior college’s Player of the Year. After Elliott was hired, leading scorer Gytis Nemeiksa received a waiver to return for a bonus season, and 6-10 Yacine Toumi was added. Former UH guard Juan Munoz was hired as director of player development, and 16-year NBA veteran Patty Mills signed up as general manager (and life coach).
And then Ganot left all contract matters to his representative.
“My whole life, I have great conviction and faith and belief in what we do,” Ganot said. “I’m going to talk about what we have and not what we don’t, what we can do and not what we can’t. That faith and conviction always puts you in position to enjoy where your feet are at, and whatever happens, happens. Everything happens for a reason. Right now, the whole year I have not thought about (a new contract), and now I’m not thinking about it, because that’s not why I coach. I coach for these kids, to see a team come together, and a student-athlete grow, and I’m going to enjoy that. I’m going to take a breath, and we can circle back to that stuff.”
The ’Bows, for now, will have three point guards in place for next season. This season’s offense was supposed to revolve around 6-7 Tanner Cuff’s leadership, outside shooting and post-up moves. But Cuff suffered a season-ending knee injury in preseason training. Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, who developed into an aggressive point-of-attack defender, suffered a foot injury that abbreviated his season to 17 games. Both should be fully healed this summer. Kerr became a dependable shooter, facilitator and defender. Finlinson appeared in all 33 games, starting 16, as a junior.
In the postgame locker room, March Madness turned to sadness — not for Thursday’s loss, but the end of a team bond that began with offseason training last June.
“You make all these new relationships and you go through all the ups and downs and great battles,” Finlinson said. “You become so close with them. Now that the season’s ended, you’re going to miss all the times on the road, miss all the friendships you made. Hopefully this group can stay connected the rest of our lives.”
Johnson, one of six seniors, gazed in a daze in the locker room.
“It’s a little bit of a bummer,” Johnson said of the end of his college career. “These are amazing guys. This team is incredible. Each and every one of these dudes is considered to be a brother. If we’re around anywhere in the world where these guys are, I would love the opportunity to hang out and see them and spend some time.”
Ganot said: “We’ll be a team forever, just in a different light. The ’25-’26 ’Bows exist for just one year. How can I not be proud of them? We have 106 years of Hawaii basketball. When you walk through the hallways leading to our locker room (in the Stan Sheriff Center), there’s (a plaque of) every NCAA and NIT team. There will be a plaque (of this team). There will be a ring prepared.”
In this landscape of college basketball, Erickson said, “you’ve got one year as a team. You’ve got to make it count. Our goal was to make March Madness, and we did that. We’re (Big West Conference) champs. That’s something nobody can take away from us. We all came here to be champs, and that’s what we are. Being conference champs, we’re going to be forever cemented in Hawaii history. That’s just awesome.”
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