Hawaii Loses Two Touted Basketball Recruits

By Fred Guzman

Recruiting players is not a problem for University of Hawaii basketball coach Gib Arnold.  Getting them into school is another matter. 

UH lost a second signee for the coming season when power forward Ronnie Stevens, a highly-touted prep player from Southern California, was unable to meet      academic requirements.

Instead, the 6-foot-9 Stevens will have to attend a junior college in Iowa and work toward earning an AA degree before become eligible for Division-I in two years.

Of course, there is no guarantee that even if Stevens becomes eligible that he will necessarily attend Hawaii.  Still, by going to Indian Hills, one of the top JC programs in the country, Stevens will be playing for Barret Peery, who just happens to be Arnold’s cousin.

Last month, UH lost high-scoring JC swingman DeShawn Mitchell, also because of academic issues.

That leaves Hawaii with four recruits for next season.  Point guard Shaquille Stokes and small forward Hauns Brereton are already in school and taking summer courses.

Stokes, in particular, has become a fan favorite in the Oahu summer league, which features current and former college players.  The 5-foot-10 Stokes the reigning New York City prep player of the year.  He’s averaging 27 points per game in the summer league.

Two other players —  Gerry Blakes and Dillon Biggs — , are attending summer school in California, seeking to become eligible by the fall.  Tyler Brown – a 6-7 power forward from Virginia – has accepted an invitation to walk-on at UH.