Maximizing time

It wasn’t exactly a standing ovation, but neither was it a chorus of boos.

Eran Ganot‘s first introduction in front of Hawaii fans, several thousand at Friday night’s Rainbow Warrior volleyball match against Stanford, was moderately well received.

Shortly after his brief appearance and wave to the crowd on the Teraflex, Ganot was asked how he felt about the reception he’d just gotten.

“The same way I’ve felt about the reception I’ve received since I’ve been here,” he replied. “It’s been overwhelming. You know, you knew you had some support. I knew I had known a lot of people (in his assistant tenure). But to have that reinforced is nice. It’s a great gesture. I feel good about what we’re going to do and I have a lot of confidence. But it’s nice to get another boost. Like I said, Hawaii’s a special place. The teams need to support each other, the people need to support each other. The administration, everybody’s gotta get on the same page. This is one big team. Like the men’s basketball program is a team, (it’s) part of a way bigger team.”

There are still plenty of fans out there who believe retaining Benjy Taylor was the best choice UH administration could have made coming off that surprising 22-13 season.

Others still liked Taylor but are willing to give Ganot a fair shake.

Ganot’s been a very busy man since his (re-)introduction on Thursday morning; his first 48 hours were all about maximizing his time with media obligations, phone calls and meetings. He met with players in a 1-on-1 setting for much of Friday. He said he was able to meet with “pretty close” to the entire team.

“I want to keep some of that between me and the guys, but I’ll just say I’ve enjoyed getting to know them,” Ganot said of the tone of the conversations.

One of his most pressing issues, assembling a staff, remains a work in progress. He was asked if he has a date targeted to announce at least one new person, or if one of the current assistants — Senque Carey, Brandon Loyd and Brad Autry — will remain with him.

“I don’t know if I’ve set dates on anything,” Ganot said. “But obviously sooner is better. Getting the right guys is the most important thing. No question. And I think that’s the same with recruiting, and everything we do. We’ll never rush into a decision; we’ll make sure we get the right decision.”