The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team officially filled two of its needs yesterday when it received letters of intent from point guard Todd Lowenthal and center Todd Follmer.

Both players committed last month to play for the Rainbow Warriors, but yesterday was the first day of the "late" signing period for recruits.

"I think both those guys can come in and make a difference for us right away," said Hawai'i associate coach Jackson Wheeler, who recruited both players.

Lowenthal is 6 feet 2 and 185 pounds. He averaged 21 points, 8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game last season as a senior at Poway High in San Diego. He is also has a 4.03 grade point average.

"He's a real quality signing for us," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "He's got good size, he can shoot, and he's a good student. He's the whole package."

Lowenthal will be a freshman at Hawai'i next season and will have four seasons of eligibility. He was also being recruited by St. John's, Stanford, Creighton, Tulsa, San Diego State and Pacific.

"He's a legitimate (NCAA) Division I point guard," Wheeler said. "Even from what I saw in the junior colleges, there's no better point guard out there that we could have got."

The point guard position was at the top of Hawai'i's recruiting list. Deonte Tatum, last season's starter, is one of four departing seniors.

Hiram Thompson, a freshman reserve last season, is expected to begin a two-year mission for the Mormon church this summer.

Follmer, who is 7 feet and 230 pounds, averaged 10.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a freshman at Irvine Valley College (Calif.) last season.

"Everyone talks about his upside and how much potential he has," Wallace said. "If he keeps improving with us, he could end up being a steal."

Follmer will be a sophomore at Hawai'i next season and will have three seasons of eligibility. He redshirted one year at UC Santa Barbara prior to enrolling at Irvine Valley.

"He was a big-time recruit out of high school, so a lot of people liked what they saw in him," Wheeler said.

Follmer will help fill the void left by three departing senior "big men" — Julian Sensley, Matthew Gipson and Chris Botez.

Alex Veit, a 6-8 forward at Monterey Peninsula College (Calif.), signed with Hawai'i during the "early" period in November. He will have two seasons of eligibility.

The current signing period will end on May 17, and Hawai'i has three more scholarships to offer.

NOTES

The University of Houston was added to the 2006 Rainbow Classic, completing the eight-team field. Other teams in the tournament are host Hawai'i, Charlotte, Creighton, Nebraska, San Francisco, Valparaiso and Wyoming.

Hawai'i associate coach Bob Nash said he is still working on the remainder of the non-conference 2006-07 schedule. Among the games already on the schedule are a home-and-home series with UNLV, and a road game at Santa Clara.

The annual awards banquet for the Hawai'i men's team is scheduled for April 20 at the Hawai'i Prince Hotel. Tickets are $45 per person. For information, call 956-6501.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.