At some point, every young basketball player who takes the game seriously, runs into a situation where life’s realities threaten to turn off the fun like an eclipse can block out the sun.
In a nutshell, that was the narrative of the 2016-17 men’s team at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, where some necessary ingredients for growth seemed to be in place but the team soon found itself off the path, disagreeing amongst themselves, losing focus off in the weeds.
A 6-foot-11 recruit bailed out just before the season with a heart ailment, which altered plans for those who play around the basket, and as the season developed, it became clear that there wasn’t enough size up front to compete against the best teams on a consistent basis.