Stallworth leaving program

Jaaron Stallworth’s Hawaii basketball career will go down as a few DNPs.

Stallworth is leaving the Rainbow Warriors, according to sources. The third-string point guard has not been at recent practices and is not expected to be on the bench for UH’s matchup with Nevada tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound sophomore who transferred from Yuba College will likely look to transfer out at the semester break. The Elk Grove, Calif., native did not appear in UH’s first three games of the season.

Stallworth did not respond to requests for comment. UH coach Eran Ganot was not immediately available for comment.

The offseason was a long road back for Stallworth, who suffered a pretty catastrophic leg/ankle injury at Yuba. He had to observe from the side for all of the team’s summer workouts, and was only cleared for contact at the start of full practices. That put him behind the curve — and behind Drew Buggs and Brocke Stepteau — considerably.

Stallworth logged a minute in UH’s preseason exhibition against Hawaii Pacific, making the only shot he attempted. The result did not officially count. He also appeared in the Green & White scrimmage.

So what’s the immediate effect on the team? Maybe nothing, for the short term. He wasn’t close to breaking into the rotation, and wasn’t a huge off-court presence like Mike Thomas was for the team last year. But his absence removes a safety net in case of injury to either Buggs or Stepteau (knock on wood). And there was some hope that maybe Stallworth could break out later, either this season or sometime in the next two. He was just a sophomore, after all. He showed some ability to score on dribble-drives and pull-ups.

Alas, UH presses on without him.