Like father, like son: Nash will join UH
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
For the record, Bobby Nash wears a size 16 shoe.
Advertiser library photo
His father is a size 15.
Iolani's Bobby Nash, like father Bob Nash, will play basketball at UH.
With that in mind, Bobby Nash is hoping to fill nobody else's shoes but his own when he suits up for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team next season.
Nash, an Iolani School senior, made a verbal commitment yesterday to play for the Rainbow Warriors starting in the 2003-04 season. He will have four years of NCAA Division I eligibility.
"I pretty much learned basketball here," he said after a workout on UH's practice courts. "I remember dunking for the first time in here when I was in the fifth grade. I've spent so many hours in here. I guess it was a natural choice."
His father, Bob Nash, is in his 15th season as UH's associate head coach. He was the starting power forward on UH's legendary "Fabulous Five" team of the early 1970s, and still holds many of the program's rebounding records.
Bobby has been tagging along with his father to UH practices and games virtually all his life.
Still, his commitment to play for UH was not exactly a slam dunk.
The 6-foot-6, 195-pound wing player has a vertical jump around 35 inches. He was a first-team all-state selection by The Advertiser as a junior last season, when he averaged 13.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals for the state champion Raiders.
Most of his progress came during this past summer, when he participated in several basketball camps and tournaments with the nation's top high school players.
Most notable, he emerged as one of the top performers at the adidas ABCD camp in New Jersey in July. More than 220 players were invited, and Nash was one of 30 selected to play in the all-star game at the conclusion of the camp.
By the end of summer, he was ranked among the top 100 high school prospects by several recruiting publications.
"He was getting a lot of letters before that camp," said his mother, Domelynne Nash. "But after that, it really started coming in. We have just boxes and boxes of stuff from some very good schools."
The strongest interest came from Oklahoma, West Virginia, Baylor and Nevada-Las Vegas.
The only trip he made was to UNLV two weeks ago, and the Rebel coaches greeted him with a jersey and locker labeled NASH.
"Everybody kind of figured I was going to Hawai'i all along, but UNLV made it super-difficult," he said.
What's more, he has a few friends enrolled there, and his older sister, Erika, is an assistant coach for the UNLV women's volleyball team.
"What it came down to," Bobby said smiling, "is that I bleed green."
For better or worse, the comparisons between father and son will likely follow Bobby throughout his UH career.
"Sometimes, being Bob Nash's son is not a plus," Domelynne said. "(Bobby) will be under a microscope. But remember, he has my genes, too, and I'm not athletic."
Bobby said: "He was a post player, and I'm not. We have different games. The only thing I do want to have in common with him is that I want to be the best and work harder than anybody on the court to help my team win."
For now, Bobby said he wants to focus on his senior year at Iolani. The Raiders, led by Nash and returning state Player of the Year Derrick Low, are favored to repeat as state champs. Nash also made the Headmaster's List (for students with a grade point average of 3.5 or better) this semester.
He said he will sign his official letter of intent during basketball's early signing period, which runs from Wednesday through Nov. 20.
He is the third player to commit to UH for next season. Jeff Blackett, a 6-8 forward from Salt Lake Community College (Utah), and Logan Lee, a 6-2 point guard from South Plains College (Texas) are also committed to Hawai'i.
Assuming all three of those players sign, UH will have only one scholarship remaining for the 2003-04 season. Under NCAA rules, coaches — including Bob Nash in this case — are not allowed to comment on recruits until the official letters of intent are signed.
