STAR-ADVERTISER Hawaii coach Eran Ganot gestures from the sideline during the first half of a game against the UC Riverside Highlanders in February 2023 in Honolulu. In the search for a versatile forward, the University of Hawaii basketball team found “Nemo.”
1/1 STAR-ADVERTISER Hawaii coach Eran Ganot gestures from the sideline during the first half of a game against the UC Riverside Highlanders in February 2023 in Honolulu. In the search for a versatile forward, the University of Hawaii basketball team found “Nemo.”
In the search for a versatile forward, the University of Hawaii basketball team found “Nemo.”
Gytis “Nemo” Nemeiksa, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward from Lithuania, has accepted a scholarship from UH and will join the Rainbow Warriors next week for offseason training.
“I felt like I got the attention of the entire Hawaii team,” said Nemeiksa, who is transferring after one season at Xavier University. “The presentation went very well. I like everything about Hawaii: the weather, the people there. The Hawaii basketball team feels like one big family.”
Last season, Nemeiksa played in 34 games for Xavier, starting 20. He scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds against Providence, led by Big East Player of the Year Devin Carter. Nemeiksa had 10 points and five rebounds against two-time NCAA champion UConn.
Before Xavier, he attended Vytautus Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, but played as an amateur for the Zalgiris Kaunas club. He averaged 11.7 points (36.4% on 3s) and 6.1 rebounds in leading Zalgiris Kaunas to the 2023 NKL championship. He was named the 2023 Final Four Most Valuable Player.
As an undersized wing during high school, he developed ball-handling and outside shooting skills. He said he had a growth spurt when he was 17.
Upon joining Xavier last year, he said he wanted to experience the “high level of competition” of the NCAA. He praised his time at Xavier, highlighting: “the coaching staff was great, my teammates were great. … I think I grew a lot that year. I am very grateful for this experience.”
But Nemeiksa said he entered the transfer portal looking for more playing time — an opportunity the Arcos could offer. At the end of the 2023-24 season, positions Bernardo da Silva and Justin McKoy completed their eligibility for UH. Mor Seck, a 7-foot center who is recovering from an ACL injury, transferred to Fresno State.
Last spring, the Bows signed 6-10, 275-pound center Tanner Christensen, a transfer from Utah Tech, and point guard Marcus Greene from Houston Christian. Last November, the Bows signed guards Aaron Hunkin-Claytor and AJ Economou. Economou enrolled at UH in January and was redshirted for the spring 2024 semester.
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