Thirteen former University of Hawai‘i men's basketball players suited up for an alumni game on Wednesday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The event, which was closed to the public, still drew approximately 100 people in a crowd of boosters, family and current members of the program.
Team Green edged Team White 88-85 in a competitive affair, capping off a week of fellowship for UH head coach Eran Ganot and his former players, who had dinner together the night before.
With the exception of Negus Webster-Chan, every player that suited up on Wednesday played at least one official season under Ganot, who took over as head coach in Mānoa in 2015.
One of the few common threads linking the Rainbow Warriors of the past and its current team was Gibson Johnson, a two-year captain for the 'Bows from 2016 to 2018 and a current assistant coach for the 'Bows. Despite being the oldest player in the game at 33, Johnson posted 17 points with multiple rebounds and assists.
No moment on Wednesday night symbolized Johnson's role more than a timeout during the game's closing seconds. With his alumni uniform on and coaching clipboard in hand, Johnson was drawing up a play for his team with his son, Kai, eagerly watching behind the team's bench.
"I still play as much as I can," Johnson said afterwards. "I'll get in practice when they need bodies. I'm gonna play as long as I can. My bounce back is poor. I'm gonna be feeling this one for about 72 hours. But when I get going, I feel like I can go."
Admittedly still a hooper at heart, Johnson made the seamless transition to coaching after completing his collegiate eligibility. His first gig was at Salt Lake Community College, the same school he began his college career as a player.
Johnson then returned to UH as a graduate manager in 2019, eventually earning a master's degree in education in 2021, then served as the director of player development for a season. After two years at Utah Tech, Johnson was brought back as one of Ganot's main assistants in 2024.
"I really grew here as a player and grew a lot (as a coach) as well," Johnson said. "And then for the opportunity to come back as an assistant coach in an elevated role, it's amazing, honestly."
When asked by Aloha State Daily about Johnson, Ganot fondly recalled Johnson choosing the Rainbow Warriors over North Carolina State despite an impending postseason ban for the 'Bows in 2017. The ban was eventually overturned a week before the 2017 Big West Conference tournament.
Johnson started 59 games for Hawai‘i, averaging 10.9 points and 4.7 rebounds during the course of a Division I career that was delayed by a two-year mission in Brazil.
"Basically, I kind of hired him three times," Ganot said. "We recruited him, he became a captain for us. The same intelligence, competitiveness, team-first attitude that made him a good player, his work ethic, is making him a great coach. He's got a bright future, and people forget he came under one of the hardest times for us. So, his loyalty is significant.
"When he came his first year, that was the actual year we had the postseason ban and another year of scholarship losses and he came through the tough times. When I started coaching, some of my mentors told me one of the greatest things is when you coach long enough, you're able to hire your former players."
Former point guard Juan Munoz, the team's new director of player development, scored a game-high 25 points for Team Green on Wednesday.
After going 15-16 in the 2024-2025 season, the Rainbow Warriors underwent a major roster overhaul, adding eight players from the NCAA transfer portal. Half of them in Tanner Cuff, Hunter Erickson, Isaac Johnson and Isaac Finlinson hail from Utah, Johnson's home state. Gibson Johnson, who also serves as the program's recruiting coordinator, was credited as a central figure in landing their commitments.
"I just gave them the same pitch that I was given, the same things that really were big to me were big to them," Gibson Johnson said. "In college basketball, honesty and transparency will get you far. I feel like they saw that and felt that and trusted that. And a lot of these guys are guys who either I have had a relationship with or my family has had a relationship with for years. I'm lucky to be from a great, big family in Utah and have a lot of connections.
"Recruiting has changed so much with the transfer portal. But honestly, I've always believed this is paradise for grad transfers, and so that's kind of who I tried to hone in on. Some of them just happened to be from Utah, but I really just want to bring in older guys, experienced guys that can finish their careers in Hawai‘i. There's no better place in the world to play basketball and have a one or two year experience to finish your college career."
Finlinson, the 2024-25 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Player of the Year, began his college career at Utah Tech before transferring to Snow College in Utah. Citing his pervious relationship with Johnson, he chose the Rainbow Warriors over a bevy of other mid-major offers.
"Coach Gibson started recruiting me earlier last season. We stayed in touch all year, and we had that previous relationship because he coached me at Utah Tech, and then him and coach Ganot came out to one of my games. We set up a visit, and after, I'm like, this place is great. This is where I want to play. [Johnson] coached me previously and we had a good relationship, and he recruited guys from my state that I knew, and he's building something special. That relationship we already had played a big role in me coming here in the end."
By all accounts, the 2025-2026 season will be one of the most consequential in program history with Ganot entering the final year of his contract and the Rainbow Warriors playing their last season in the Big West Conference before becoming full-time members of the Mountain West in 2026. With a revamped roster aided by one of his former players turned assistant, Ganot likes where things currently stand for the Rainbow Warriors.
"He's a well-rounded coach because he's good on the recruiting trail, he's good on the floor, he's great in mentorship," Ganot said of Johnson. "That's why he's got all the tools to be a really good head coach and he's really been impactful for us already."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
