The University of Hawaii men's basketball team is reinstating former associate head coaches Adam Jacobsen and John Montgomery. Additionally, Noah Allen has been hired as an assistant coach, and Gibson Johnson has been promoted to associate head coach.
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The University of Hawaii men’s basketball team is bringing back two former associate head coaches.
Adam Jacobsen and John Montgomery are returning as assistant coaches on head coach Eran Ganot’s revamped staff.
Former UH player Noah Allen also has been hired as an assistant coach.
In another move, assistant coach Gibson Johnson is being promoted to associate head coach. In addition to his coaching, Johnson has served as recruiting director the past two years. Johnson played for the Rainbow Warriors for two seasons through 2018.
The staff includes general manager Patty Mills, assistant coach Clay Wilson, director of player development Juan Munoz and graduate manager Jake Nishimura.
“We’re fired up,” Ganot said. “We’re really excited. We have a proven track record for having great coaches. We’ve lost a couple great coaches and we’re adding some great coaches. The first meeting we have with our staff has been the same every year. United we stand, divided we fall. It starts with our staff. The staff sets the tone. … We have a lot of work to do. But this is a staff that loves to grind and get after it.”
Jacobsen, who coached at Utah Valley the past two seasons, and Montgomery, who was at Long Beach State for two years, initially joined the Rainbow Warriors as assistant coaches in 2015. That 2015-16 season — Ganot’s first as UH head coach — the ’Bows won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in the program’s history. The ensuing summer, Jacobsen was promoted to associate head coach. Jacobsen departed for Cal Baptist in 2019. Two years later, Montgomery was named associate head coach.
Ganot has not assigned specific coaching duties. But the ’Bows were looking to fill vacancies with the departures of offensive coordinator Brad Davidson to USC and defensive coach Rob Jones to Saint Mary’s.
Jacobsen was considered one of the primary architects of the four-out, quick-passing offense that the ’Bows ran successfully during his UH tenure. The past season, Utah Valley led the WAC in scoring (80.1 points per game) and assists (18.5).
“I’ve done that for all my career,” Jacobsen said of running offenses. “Next year will be my 27th year coaching, which will be crazy when I think about that. Coaching offense is something I’ve done a long time. I love studying offense.”
Montgomery was instrumental in maintaining “the wall,” the ’Bows’ defensive scheme of pressuring the perimeter, narrowing the driving lane, and helping out in the post. He was Long Beach State’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons.
Two years ago, Montgomery left UH for Long Beach State, in part for family reasons. His sister was facing medical issues, and his parents lived about an hour from the LBSU campus. His wife, Hannah, a former UH beach volleyball player, had relatives in Long Beach and San Diego. Montgomery’s sister passed away three months after the move.
“It feels like we’re headed back home,” Montgomery, whose wife Hannah was born on Kauai. “I think sometimes change is good but I miss being in Hawaii and being part of that program. My wife always said she wanted to raise our kids in Hawaii. I’m super excited to head back. I think the program’s in a great spot right now. A lot of momentum coming off an NCAA Tournament run and going into the Mountain West. Everything is in a really good place. We’re ecstatic to be coming home.”
Adam Jacobsen and John Montgomery are the former associate coaches returning to the University of Hawaii men's basketball team.
Gibson Johnson has been promoted to associate head coach after serving as an assistant coach and recruiting director.
Noah Allen, a former player at UH, has been hired as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team.
The current staff includes head coach Eran Ganot, associate head coach Gibson Johnson, and several assistant coaches including Adam Jacobsen, John Montgomery, and Noah Allen.
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Johnson took the lead in overseeing recruiting and navigating the new era of the transfer portal and name-image-likeness deals. Of his expanded role as associate head coach, Johnson said, “I’m really excited about it. It’s not like that’s what I had in mind as far as goals. The goal was to make this place as good as possible. To have that be a byproduct of the success we’ve had is awesome and I’m honored.”
Allen, who transferred from UCLA in 2016, became a standout all-purpose wing in his lone season with the ’Bows. Three years ago, Allen put his pro career on hold because of an injury. After a successful stint selling medical devices, he decided to give basketball another shot. A year ago, he played for Culiacan in a pro league in Mexico. This year, he often attended meetings and practices as an observer with the intent of learning about the coaching profession.
“It was great to have him around,” Ganot said.