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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, April 29, 2010

'Bows sign 6-8 forward


By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Dominick Brumfield

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Dominick Brumfield filled his camera with memorable photos and videos from Hawai'i last weekend.

Next season, he'd like to fill up highlight reels and create memorable moments for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

Brumfield — a versatile 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward — signed a national letter of intent yesterday to play for the Rainbow Warriors next season.

"I know Hawai'i is far away from home," said Brumfield, who is from Carson, Calif. "I'm making this decision to take care of business. I want to go there to play basketball, go to school, and then hopefully get to the next level."

Brumfield played multiple positions as a freshman this past season at Big Bend Community College in Washington. His versatility was proved in his statistics.

He averaged 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and led his team with a .408 percentage from 3-point range. In 25 games, he shot 40 of 98 from 3-point range, and also ranked third on the team with 31 steals.

"Being 6-8, I think I can handle the ball pretty well for my size," Brumfield said. "I've heard a lot of coaches and players say I'm kind of a nightmare to match up with. I have the utmost confidence in my abilities and I want to help the team any way I can. If they need me to play outside and shoot, dribble, I can do that. If they want me to go inside and post up, I'm comfortable there, too."

Hawai'i head coach Gib Arnold said he may just ask Brumfield to do all of the above.

"Dominick fits that mold where I don't have to put a position on his chest — he can just go out and play where ever we need him," Arnold said. "From day one, I said that I want guys who can score in different ways and defend different positions."

Brumfield made his official visit to Hawai'i last weekend. He said his cell phone ran out of memory because he took too many pictures and videos during the trip.

He said one of the highlights of the visit was being in the Stan Sheriff Center for the Hawai'i men's volleyball team's exciting five-set playoff victory over Pepperdine last Saturday.

"That was a great crowd," he said. "When everybody was standing up and screaming at the end, I got that on video."

Brumfield said he was being recruited by several programs, including Virginia Tech and SMU. However, his only official visits were to Hawai'i and San Jose State.

"I had a good visit over there (at San Jose State), too," he said. "But dealing with Coach Arnold for a couple years now made me feel comfortable with the whole situation at Hawai'i.

"I just pictured myself meshing with the players and coaches there. I talked it over with my parents and told them it felt like the right place for me and they agreed."

Brumfield said he first met Arnold three years ago, when Arnold was an assistant coach at USC and Brumfield was attending Taft High in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Brumfield transferred to Genesis One Prep school in Mississippi in 2007, then signed with Missouri State in 2008. He redshirted the 2008-09 season at Missouri State due to a foot injury.

He transferred to Big Bend in 2009, and earned second-team all-league honors.

"It's kind of funny how it all came back," Arnold said. "When he signed with Missouri State, I kind of lost touch with him. Then we kind of reconnected when he went to Big Bend. I knew him from when he was at Taft, and knew he could help us."

Brumfield will be a sophomore next season, and will have three seasons of eligibility. He said he still has to complete two courses at Big Bend to become eligible at Hawai'i.

Brumfield is the seventh new recruit to join the 'Bows for next season. The signing class — which may not be done yet — includes four freshmen (Bo Barnes, Jordan Coleman, Bobby Miles and Trevor Wiseman) and three sophomores (Brumfield, Vander Joaquim and Josten Thomas).

MILOVIC WILL TRANSFER

Aleksandar Milovic, a redshirt for the 'Bows this past season, said yesterday he will not return to play for Hawai'i next season.

"It's definitely nothing against Hawai'i and the coaches," he said. "There are some things going on back home, and it's just better for me to leave right now."

Milovic, a 6-foot-7 forward, is from Cetinje, Montenegro. He said he will still try to play basketball somewhere next season.

He sat out last season as a redshirt due to NCAA transfer rules. He played his freshman season at Duquesne, then transferred to Hawai'i in 2009.

He worked out with the scout team during practices this past season, and would have been a sophomore next season.

Two other players who were eligible to return previously said they would leave the program as well. Guard Jeremy Lay said he will try to transfer to another program; forward Ji Xiang will graduate this summer and said he will return to his native China.