The University of Hawai'i's investigation of women's basketball head coach Jim Bolla apparently centers on whether he kicked at a player earlier this season as alleged.

Bolla is on paid leave while the school investigates allegations brought by an unknown complainant. Bolla did not attend the Rainbow Wahine's two road games last week and there has been no word whether he will be on the bench for this week's games at the Stan Sheriff Center.

UH officials have interviewed most of the team. They refused to specify the reason Bolla has not been with the team other than to say he is on indefinite leave.

When asked about the incident at yesterday's practice, acting head coach Pat Charity said, "No comment."

At least one account of the most recent incident said the alleged kick did not knock down the player — no one could confirm if it even made contact with the player — and drew snickers from some of the players present.

The incident took place earlier in the season and no one has said who made school officials aware of the allegations.

The review comes six months after the school investigated allegations that Bolla and possibly other coaches mistreated players in earlier seasons.

The findings of that review were not made public, per school policies, but people familiar with the situation said Bolla received a warning.

Bolla has not returned calls to The Advertiser.

Dallas Bolla, Bolla's wife and first-year UH women's assistant basketball coach, attended yesterday's practice at the Sheriff Center, but declined comment to The Advertiser through UH assistant media relations director Ryan Reggiani.

After practice, Charity, and junior Megan Tinnin and sophomore Keisha Kanekoa all said nothing has changed with the team.

"I think they've handled it well," said Charity, who has been Bolla's associate coach the past five years. "Everybody is going just as we always have. We have a game on Friday and we want to prepare for it. We're watching film and lifted. There is nothing different."

Added Tinnin: "Everything is the same. Same plays. Everything is the same. She's not changing anything."

"We're still the same," Kanekoa said. "We play as a team, go out there as one. The mentality didn't change. Everyone is just basketball still."

Charity took over for Bolla at the end of the 2006-07 season after Bolla was diagnosed with Valley Fever, a fungus infection common to dry, arid areas.

Bolla had a part of his right lung removed Feb. 5 of that year during a 3 1/2-hour operation at The Queen's Medical Center.

Charity, who was the head coach from 1990-97 at her alma mater Western Michigan, went 6-2 during her season-ending stint two years ago with Hawai'i.

"She has good energy," Tinnin said. "Like my freshman year, she came in when Coach Bolla was sick. So I've had her come in to coach a couple of times in the past before. It's good."

Kanekoa said the situation with Bolla won't be a distraction.

"We try to put that stuff aside and focus on the things we can control," she said. "Not get that stuff involved in how we play and how we go about stuff."

The Rainbow Wahine are 5-19 overall and 1-9 in the Western Athletic Conference.

They host New Mexico State on Friday and Louisiana Tech on Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"It's been a rough year," Tinnin said. "We expected to be a lot better. I think we are better than what our record shows. We've had a hard year, but the season's not over. What we're working toward is the WAC tournament. That's all we can look forward to right now."

Hawai'i will play home games against Idaho and Boise State next week and finish the regular season March 7 at Nevada.

Charity declined comment when asked about the possibility of finishing out the year as head coach.