Walter Roese was officially named the new associate coach of the University of Hawaii men's basketball team today.

Roese, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Nebraska, becomes the first member of new head coach Gib Arnold's staff.

"I'm very excited to have Walter join the UH family," Arnold said. "I believe he's perfect for what we are trying to accomplish. He is a relentless recruiter who has coached in the Big 12, Mountain West, and West Coast Conference. He is considered by the basketball community as one of the hardest workers in the country. He not only is a great recruiter and coach, he is a great fit for Hawaii."

Roese is a former player and volunteer assistant coach at Brigham Young-Hawaii. Prior to his stint at Nebraska, he was also an assistant coach at BYU (Provo) and San Diego.

Roese said: "My family and I are thrilled to be returning to Hawai'i, a place that has been so good to us, where my wife and I met, where we both went to school and where both our children were born. Some of the best years of my life have been spent in the islands and I'm proud to now be joining such a fine institution as the University of Hawaii. I'm excited about Coach Arnold's vision and I look forward to raising my family in Hawai'i and helping build a championship program."

Roese, who was raised in Brazil, is known for his extensive ties in Brazil and South America. He has been a coach in the Brazilian national program since 2006. He is currently serving as the head coach of Brazil's under-18 national team that has toured South America, Europe and the United States.

Roese is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

"Walter has a great recruiting network throughout the world," Arnold said. "His connections will allow us to take a global approach to our recruiting efforts."

Arnold still has two assistant coach positions to fill for his staff. The public postings for the assistant positions will remain open until Thursday.