Gib Arnold says ‘aloha’ to assistant coaching

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Being let go by USC might have been the best thing to happen to Gib Arnold.

Only a couple of weeks after his dismissal as an assistant basketball coach, Arnold was hired earlier this week to be the head coach at the University of Hawaii.

‘Now I’ve got to work,’ Arnold said Wednesday afternoon while scouting Westchester High players at a Comets practice. ‘Got to get some guys.’

Arnold, 41, called returning to Hawaii ‘a dream come true’ because he played high school basketball in the state at Punahou School, where he was an All-American. His father, Frank Arnold, was the Rainbows’ coach from 1985-87.

‘I always thought it would be great if I could take my family back there and now it’s happened, so I couldn’t be more excited,’ he said.

Arnold, who spent the last five years at USC under Tim Floyd and then Kevin O’Neill, said he has been recruiting nonstop since his hiring a few days ago. The Rainbows have five scholarships to fill for next season.

‘We’ve got quite a bit of work to do,’ he said.

Don’t be surprised if a Westchester player ends up crossing the Pacific Ocean for college; none of the Comets has signed a letter of intent.

--Ben Bolch