HONOLULU — Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot will finally face his mentor in a public forum, and it’s for a good cause to boot.

UH will play Saint Mary’s College in a preseason charity exhibition game for Maui wildfire recovery efforts at the Stan Sheriff Center on Oct. 20, the schools announced jointly on Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Hawaii and Saint Mary's will play a preseason men's basketball exhibition at the Stan Sheriff Center on Oct. 20 with proceeds to aid people who have been impacted by the Aug. 8 wildfires on Maui, the schools announced Wednesday

  • UH coach Eran Ganot is a former associate head coach under SMC coach Randy Bennett, who gave Ganot his first coaching job as a Gaels volunteer

  • The Rainbow Warriors and Gaels have not met in an official game or public exhibition in Ganot's nine years as UH coach, though they met last preseason in a closed-door scrimmage in Moraga, Calif.

  • Specific information on tickets and what charitable entity will benefit from the game has yet to be announced

The Rainbow Warriors and Gaels have never officially played in the nine-year Manoa era of Ganot, who began his college coaching career as an understudy of longtime SMC coach Randy Bennett. UH and SMC last officially met in the 2013 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic third-place game.

Specifics like ticket information, what amount of the proceeds from the game will be sent to Maui, and to what charitable entity are still being worked out, a UH spokesperson said. The game is on a Friday; a time was not announced.

"It's hard to put into words how we are all feeling for Maui and its tremendous community," Ganot said in a statement. "The devastation of the nation's worst wildfire in more than 100 years has hit us all, near and far. Beyond our immediate thoughts and prayers, it has left us searching for ways we can help. We are pleased to announce this exhibition game as a way to support our friends and families on Maui. I want to thank Saint Mary's College, Head Coach Randy Bennett, everyone here at the University of Hawaii, and all those involved as we come together for a vital cause. It's been inspiring to see the full power of Hawaii and our people during this tragedy. We encourage all to continue to find ways to support."

It counts as one of the two preseason exhibitions that the teams are allowed. The official start of the college basketball season is Nov. 6.

Bennett has guided Saint Mary’s to 17 postseason appearances in his 23 seasons in Moraga, Calif., amassing 507 wins over that time.

It will be the second straight preseason UH and SMC hook up. UH went up to the Bay Area last October to scrimmage the Gaels in a closed-door setting, an unprecedented preseason trip to the mainland for the 'Bows. The score and statistics were not disseminated, per NCAA rules for closed-door games.

"It's always an excellent opportunity to take on a quality opponent like the University of Hawaii in exhibition play, but this adds an extra bonus for our team to help those in need," Bennett said in a statement. "The wildfires in Maui are a great tragedy and we are grateful for the opportunity to help those in need through this game." 

Ganot was hired for the head UH job in 2015 from his post as Bennett’s top assistant. Over the years, there have been frequent reminders of the ties between the programs; most recently, Rob Jones, a former All-West Coast Conference forward at SMC, was hired as a UH assistant in 2022.

Ganot and other disciples of the Bennett coaching tree — Washington State’s Kyle Smith, Cal Baptist’s Rick Croy, Florida’s Todd Golden and Sacramento State’s David Patrick — have tended to avoid scheduling each other for nonconference games. However, Ganot faced Patrick and Smith last season as part of the North Shore Classic and Diamond Head Classic tournaments and earned wins against both.

Potential Ganot-Bennett matchups have been teased but have never come to fruition. Saint Mary’s was supposed to play in the 2020 DHC before that event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SMC then was announced as part of the upcoming 2023 DHC field, but the Gaels dropped out this summer in favor of joining the four-team Continental Tire Main Event in Las Vegas. SMC’s DHC slot was filled by Portland.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.