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Sitting out a season in Hawaii doesn’t sound half bad

Gib Arnold

Hawaii coach Gib Arnold reacts to a call during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Utah State, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, in Logan, Utah. Utah State won 77-72. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

AP

Playing college basketball in San Jose, California sounds pretty nice. It’s pretty warm most of the time, and it’s easy to get to the beach if you want to. It’s hard to imagine what could be better, honestly.

San Jose State Spartans guard Keith Shamburger has found a way to improve on his situation in more ways than one, however. The sophomore is fleeing a SJSU team that was 9-22 overall and 1-13 in the one-bid WAC. He had offers to go to Pepperdine, but apparently Malibu just wasn’t exactly the paradise he was looking for. No, it would be Hawaii or bust for Mr. Shamburger.

The Warriors are headed off to the Big West for basketball, so Shamburger won’t even have to face his former teammates in-season. He’ll have to sit out a transfer year per NCAA rules, but that just means more time to eat macadamia nuts and check out the surf, right?

All joking aside, Shamburger is a nice addition to the Hawaii squad. One commenter on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Court Sense blog said “Oh man a starting guard from a 1-13 WAC team. Not sold,” but Shamburger has some undeniable qualities that any developing hoops squad can work with. He averaged 5.2 assists and 13.1 points for the Spartans, and if he can use his season in the wings to add a decent jumper to his game, he might just break out on the island.

Shamburger is definitely going to a paradise on earth, but he sounds like he’s ready to work. “Coach (Gib) Arnold wants his players to fight,” he told Court Sense. “He wants to win games. I like that. I want a coach that’s going to push me, make me work. And I feel Coach Arnold and his staff there will do that, and make me into a better player.”

Seems there’s a little grit under those casual Hawaiian shirts.