The transformation of the men’s basketball roster at the University of Hawaii at Hilo was completed Monday when the school confirmed the enrollment of Onyx Boyd, a 6-foot-11 freshman center from Virginia Beach, Va. ADVERTISING The transformation of the men’s
The transformation of the men’s basketball roster at the University of Hawaii at Hilo was completed Monday when the school confirmed the enrollment of Onyx Boyd, a 6-foot-11 freshman center from Virginia Beach, Va.
Boyd, who had earlier committed to Coastal Carolina University, a Division I school in Myrtle Beach, S.C., gives the Vulcans a true big man in the middle to play around the basket with fifth-year senior Darius Johnon-Wilson, 6-6, who missed the 2015-16 season with a knee injury.
“He really fits what I was looking for,” said coach GE Coleman, “because last year, if you could name just one thing that consistently hurt us the most, it would have been what I call rim protection; there were simply too many times in every game that we gave up far too many easy, uncontested layups right around the basket. Onyx will help change that for us.”
Boyd represents the fifth and final recruit of the offseason after a 2015-16 season that started out 0-9 when the Vulcans were hit by injuries and player departures, but they rallied in the second half and had a chance to gain the Pacific West Conference playoffs going into the final game of the season.
“It’s a great opportunity for me, I really couldn’t be happier,” said Boyd, whose interest in Coastal Carolina ended when his high school transcript was denied under Division I rules. “They were interested in me and I was interested in them but my transcript didn’t clear, apparently.”
By the time the NCAA ruled on Boyd’s transcript, it was June and most all D-I rosters had long since been filled. He looked at Chaminade, but was not greeted with the interest shown by Coleman.
“I just heard about him from other coaches back around April,” Coleman said, “so I was researching, keeping my eye on him when I heard about Coastal and that sort of got the wheels turning.”
Boyd has only played basketball for four years, he missed half of his senior season with a procedure to clean out some loose knee cartilage, but he sounds ready for a new chapter in his basketball and educational life.
“It feels a little like I have only just started,” Boyd said, “so my intent is to come to Hilo, get settled in and start learning. I just want to develop my basketball skills and get a good education, that’s an important thing in my family.”
His mother, Kim Boyd, is the associate professor and director of the Behavioral & Community Health Sciences PhD Program at Virginia State University.
“I’m thinking about psychology as a future for me, too,” Boyd said, “but that’s not for certain, let me get enrolled first and look around a little. I know how excited I am to get out there and to meet some new teammates and start working out.”
Boyd has undergone two major growth surges and a physician has told him he might have another inch to grow, still.
“After eighth grade, it just started happening,” he said, “I grew four inches after that and then after my ninth grade year I grew three more inches. It was kind of crazy, really, I can’t tell you how many shoes and pants and shirts and things I had to go through.
“Growing that fast, it was just hard making the adjustment,” he said, “because it seemed like I never stopped (growing).”
As a junior, he was sixth in the state of Virginia in scoring, but fell off the horizon of many recruiters after the knee procedure last season. He was named to the Junior All-America team, but even he admits he has a ways to go to be the kind of player he hopes to be.
“I feel like I’m just getting started,” he said. “I know I have a lot to learn, but I think I can play, too, I just need to get to work.”
The Vulcans already went through a drastic makeover with Coleman’s first four recruits, all of them adding height to a roster that was the PWC’s shortest a year ago. Boyd represents the capstone on the recruiting class that will present Big Island fans with a whole new look on the court in the approaching season.
“It finally feels like we have a full-fledged D-II basketball team here,” Coleman said, “and that’s pretty important because we play in the toughest (D-II) conference in the country.
“I never get too excited,” Coleman said, “because the PacWest is so tough, but let’s say I’m optimistic that all these guys are going to get in here with a work ethic that will pick up the program.”
The five offseason men’s basketball recruits:
Brian Ishola: 6-6 junior wing, North Dakota State.
Eric Wattree: 6-3, freshman wing, South Kitsap High School.
Ryley Callaghan: junior point guard, Peninsula Community College.
Donavan Taylor: 6-3 junior wing, Chaffey Community College.
Onyx Boyd: 6-11 center, Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School.
