Tak could be annoying.
He also could be critical, childish, stubborn, exasperating, and persnickety.
He was intolerant of government waste, indecisive management, and basketball referees who would not call 3-second violations on opposing teams. When he was served a cup of diet soda that was not filled to the brim, he scrunched his face into a pout, as if Santa forgot an item on his wish list. He was the same with slow service.
And just when people had it up to here — no, here! — with him, Tak would text birthday wishes, visit an ailing friend in the hospital, guide newcomers on the ways of the Aloha state, volunteer for errands, and give whatever a man with little money could give.
“He was one of those kind of guys you’d love him one minute and hate him the next,” said Bob Nash, a former University of Hawaii basketball coach and player. “He was one of those kind of guys that when you needed something, he would try his best to get it done for you. But at other times, he would piss you off to the point where, you know, you’d want to strangle him.”
But there was one thing that never waffled. Kenneth “Tak” Takeuye, who died last week at the age of 71, according to former UH coach Riley Wallace, was a loyal-and-true supporter of the UH men’s basketball program.
“He was always there for us,” Wallace said.
Texas Tech coach Jamie Dixon, a former UH assistant coach, said: “He could drive you nuts. But he was seriously loyal to the program. He wanted the program to succeed.”
Tak began his association with the Rainbows as a student manager under Bruce O’Neil in the early 1970s. He remained with the program after O’Neil’s resignation in 1976, and then volunteered for a few years after that.
“He probably was the best manager UH ever had basketball wise,” former point guard Thomas Louden said. “He was pretty cool with all the players. He also did a lot of good things outside of basketball. He helped the players. We hung out quite a bit. He was a good friend of mine on the road trips. We always had a little trip we would take outside of hours (when) we were supposed to be in our (hotel) room.”
Former guard Gary Newsome said: “Tak was the manager of the team. He not only kept things organized, but he was a part of the team. We loved him like he was family, like a brother. He was fun to be around, really funny. The combination of most of (the players) being from the mainland and him being from Hawaii, the exchange of stories and jokes, we got to know each other, and we got to know each other’s culture. It was a wonderful exchange.”
Tak and Wallace, who was UH’s associate head coach under Larry Little, formed a unique friendship. Tak was about 5 feet 2, when he inhaled; Wallace about 6-5. The height difference was only a problem when Tak was given Wallace’s old car and needed a wooden block installed to reach the clutch.
After Wallace was named the head coach in 1987, they had lunch together almost every day. They also argued as much. “He was a good person,” Wallace said. “Everyone says he was my second son.”
Tak, who was a Realtor, helped Wallace on several projects. “He was definitely a part of our program, a positive part of our program,” former UH assistant coach Jackson Wheeler said. “He loved Riley and (his late wife) Joan. He was loyal to them, but they were super loyal to him. They helped Tak because he was part of our program.”
When he began working at UH, Dixon recalled, Tak was one of the first to greet him. “That was more than 30 years ago,” Dixon said. “I still stayed in touch with him.”
Nash, who was an associate head coach before succeeding Wallace as head coach, said Tak “did bring value to UH when he was around us. He did a lot of stuff that nobody really noticed.”
Nash added: “If he was in the family, he was in the family, no matter.”