The first basketball team at the University of Hawai'i played in 1912. But true basketball fans will say the history of Hawai'i basketball started in 1970.
That's when the "Fabulous Five" team was introduced to the state.
The names are still familiar: Al Davis, Jerome Freeman, Dwight Holiday, Bob Nash and John Penebacker. They were the starters for UH during the 1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons, when basketball created a frenzy in the state.
"It was huge," said Nash, who is now the associate coach for the UH men's basketball team. "Everybody in town wanted tickets to the games. Everybody knew who we were."
The 1970-71 team had a 23-5 record and played in the National Invitational Tournament. That was the first time a Hawai'i basketball team got invited to the postseason.
The following season, every home game at the Honolulu International Center was a sellout, and Hawai'i finished with a 24-3 record. The team was ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation, and became the first UH team to get invited to the NCAA Tournament.
"I don't know what the decibel levels were, but our home games were loud," Nash said. "You looked up in the stands, and it was so packed, people were standing in the aisles."
The team lost its first-round game of the 1972 NCAA Tournament to Weber State, but still returned to Honolulu as heroes.
"There was a big parade for us and I remember signing autographs at the state Capitol," Nash said. "There was just a mob of people there. It really was a special time."
