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Hawaii has found its new head coach

benjy taylor

Hawaii Athletics

Hawaii has named a coach for the 2014-15 season after firing former head coach Gib Arnold and assistant coach Brandyn Akana on Oct. 28. The Rainbow Warriors named Arnold’s associate head coach Benjy Taylor as the acting head coach, according to a release from the school.

“Benjy will provide leadership and guidance for the UH men’s basketball program,” Hawaii athletic director Ben Jay said in the release. “while ensuring that our student-athletes continue to pursue athletic and academic success. The student-athletes have expressed to me their desire to have Benjy at the helm and that is how we will proceed as we prepare for the start of the 2014-15 season.”

Taylor is a former head coach at Chicago State from 2007-2010 and went 39-53 in three seasons. The 47-year-old Taylor has been an assistant coach at Hawaii since 2012 and can likely give some instant comfort to a program that needs to move on quickly from recent scandal and investigation as the season approaches.

Hawaii finished 20-11 and 9-7 in the Big West last season and also received bad news when junior forward Isaac Fotu, an All-Big West selection last season and a preseason All-Big West choice heading into the 2014-15 season, was declared ineligible in the NCAA’s investigation into the program.

This will be an uphill battle for Taylor, but with the season begin so shortly, this is probably the best short-term solution for the team.

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