Their silence said it all

Ron Lee piled a chin-high stack of videotapes onto his desk, took a deep breath and shook his head.

Normally, this workaholic of a University of a Hawaii wide receiver coach would, almost by reflex, pop a tape into the VCR, hit the switch to his CD player and begin watching some football.

But not on this day.

Not now.

Instead Lee put his head in hands, looking up only when a couple of players emerged through the office doorway.

For the longest time nobody spoke, only their sighs breaking a silence so thick you could hear the hum of the air conditioner. Words, even if they could be summoned, were not required as they shared an abiding, almost telepathic, concern for the man they call "Coach."

On this day, as June Jones, in critical condition from an automobile accident, underwent emergency surgery, football and the coming of next week’s spring practice receded deep into the background.

"He’ll be fine," Lee said, piercing the silence, perhaps to assure himself as much as those present.

It had been almost an hour since Lee and his brother, St. Louis School coach Cal Lee, had arrived at the airport, back in town from a coaching clinic. Yet the numbing news of Jones’ accident that been waiting for them upon arrival had lost little of its force.

"I’m still in shock," Lee said.

It was, to be sure, a shock wave felt statewide, heartfelt testament to the depth of the remarkable attachment Jones has gained in just two short years.

What Jones has brought to the university and, indeed, the community, goes past the 1999 O‘ahu Bowl trophy that graces the football offices. It extends beyond the greatest NCAA single-season football turnaround.

It is seen in the pride with which those who wear the green, white — and now even black — carry themselves.

It is found in the solvency of the state’s only Division I-A athletic program, one that was tottering near the brink of bankruptcy when Jones arrived to try and pick up the pieces from his 0-12 predecessor.

At UH, where this disparate 17-sport, 300-plus athlete ‘ohana finds incredible unity in times of triumph and crisis, there was a coming together not seen since the death of athletic director Stan Sheriff in 1993.

"He (Jones) isn’t about just football," said volleyball player Jessica Sudduth. "He always has a smile for you in the halls, no matter what sport you play."

"June has given us some great wins," said Leon Schumaker, an academic advisor and 22-year veteran of the athletic department, "but it is as the type of person he is that has really enriched this place."

Yesterday, in a time of concern, there was a trading of hugs, a sharing of prayers and a lending of support that paid fitting tribute to that richness.

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