Hawaii basketball picks up Texas transfer
HONOLULU (BVM) – The University of Hawaii men’s basketball team picked up a former consensus four-star recruit’s commitment Sunday night. Kamaka Hepa announced his decision to transfer from Texas to the Rainbow Warriors on Instagram and is able to play immediately with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Although born in Alaska, Hepa is of Hawaiian, Fillipino and Inupita descent and his father, Roland, was born and raised on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The former Longhorn’s Instagram post was accompanied with the caption “E ho’i ana wau,” which is Hawaiian for “I am going back.”
“I’m really excited just to kind of get out there and experience what it’s like to live out there because my dad is from there, so just being able to go back to his home state and really spend a couple years out there is really exciting for me,” Hepa said in an interview with KHON2.
Hawaii men’s basketball gains commitment from Texas transfer Kamaka Hepa https://t.co/9jGxeBPkCg @HawaiiMBB #GoBows #HawaiiMBB 📝 @c_shimabuku // https://t.co/9oZimTtTXJ 🤙🏽 pic.twitter.com/v6eZ1QCvrc
— Rob DeMello (@RobDeMelloKHON) April 26, 2021
The 6-foot-10 power forward appeared in 60 games for Texas over three seasons, starting 12, and averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds for his career. The original plan was for Hepa to redshirt the 2020-21 season until then-head coach Shaka Smart called on him to help fill out an injury-laden Longhorn squad which finished ninth in the AP’s final regular season poll.
Hepa moved to Portland, Ore., after his sophomore year of high school where he turned into a nationally-acclaimed player at Jefferson High. The former consensus four-star prospect was ranked as the nation’s 47th best player in the 2018 class by Rivals and received offers from Gonzaga, USC, Arizona, Oregon and others before committing to Texas.
“I also think that just where the program is now and what I want to do, I feel like it’s just a great fit overall for what I’m trying to do as a basketball player, so I feel like I’ll be able to really grow my game from a player development aspect with the guys they have on staff and that’s another big part, too, because I feel like in these next two years, I’m really going to have to show some growth and continue to become a better basketball player,” Hepa told KHON2.
Hepa will presumably bring size and versatility to a Hawaii squad that finished 11-10 this past season before a first-round exit in the Big West tournament.
