From the time he committed to spend his senior season with the University of Hawai‘i men's basketball team, Tanner Cuff pictured himself celebrating a Big West Conference championship with his teammates. Although the team's ultimate goal came true, the part Cuff didn't envision was that he'd be in street clothes when the moment occurred.
Cuff, who transferred to Hawai‘i after two seasons at Evansville, was the team's starting point guard in its first two exhibition games ahead of the 2025-2026 season. The 6-foot-7 guard displayed much of the versatility that allowed him to average 8.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists at Evansville. But ahead of the regular season opener at Oregon, Cuff suffered a torn right ACL, ending his year before it had a chance to begin.
The Rainbow Warriors went 24-9, making their first NCAA Tournament since 2016. The 'Bows were able to do so despite having no true point guards available by the time the season was over, as Aaron Hunkin-Claytor also suffered a season-ending foot injury in January. UH relied on Hunter Erickson and Isaiah Kerr to man the position, even though both entered the year primarily as shooting guards.
Despite not being able to play in the Big West championship game, Cuff made a contribution by drawing a technical foul on UC Irvine during a skirmish. Cuff stood closely to a UC Irvine player, drawing contact and embellishing it by falling to the ground. The 'Bows won 71-64, their final game as members of the Big West. The 2026-2027 campaign is their first as full-time members of the Mountain West Conference. Cuff, who admits he was not used to observing as many games as he did as opposed to playing in them, says the experience grew his appreciation in being back on the court.
"Just trying to learn everything I did from those guys, try to be an extension of the coaches and help them in any way that I could," Cuff said. "Just being able to have that experience to go and win a Big West championship and then go play in the NCAA tournament just got me super hungry to go and do that myself."
Cuff, who received surgery on his knee in the weeks following the injury, has methodically followed a rehabilitation process since then to get back on the court. He was cleared in September and was a full participant in the team's first official preseason practice on Sept. 21.
"I've been fully cleared. Just easing my way back into things, and so it's been super fun to be with this group, play with these guys, and just to be back on the court and flying up and down," Cuff says.
Of the 15 players on the roster, Cuff and Isaiah Kerr are the only returnees from the 2025-2026 team. Cuff's younger brother, freshman guard Tiger Cuff, is among the 13 newcomers.
Tanner Cuff's knee injury allowed him to medically redshirt and gain an additional year of eligibility. He could have entered the transfer portal and played his final year elsewhere, but he says there was far too much unfinished business to do so.
"Just the fans, the community, coaches. I got a little taste of it playing in the exhibitions, but I never got to play in an actual game last year, so immediately when (the injury) happened, I knew that I wanted to play for Hawai‘i, wanted to play for the the name on my chest, and play for this community and these fans."
The recovery process wasn't all bad for Cuff, as it allowed himself and his wife, Jessica, to spend more time with their newborn daughter, Halo.
"My daughter was born two weeks before my injury, and so I had surgery on the one month (anniversary) of her being born," Cuff said. "Being able to spend a little bit more time with her and my wife and help her through that, I felt bad for her because it was like she was taking care of two babies, basically, because I wasn't able to walk. But yeah, it was super special to be able to be there for some special moments and then just see her grow up. She's 11 months now and so it's been great."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
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