No one saw this one coming.

Not head coach Jimmy Yagi, not athletic director Ramon Goya, and not the 13 players that made up the 1976-77 University of Hawai`i at Hilo basketball team.

No one could have predicted, that in their very first season of competing against four-year schools in the NAIA, that the Vulcans would defeat NCAA Division I teams, win the NAIA District title and go to the national tournament in Kansas City.

And in the process, capture the hearts and spirits of thousands of Hilo basketball fans.

"I wouldn't say it was surprising," said Yagi, who will be on hand when the team is inducted into the Vulcan Athletic Hall of Fame this Saturday (5 pm) at the UH Hilo Campus Center Dining Hall. "It was more of a shock.  It was so incredible that it took a long time to comprehend how it happened."

The season began with a pair of lopsided wins over BYU-Hawaii (that would later be forfeited due to the use of an ineligible player). While the 127-66 and 115-76 victories opened some eyes, that was nothing compared to the awe, shock and sudden statewide attention garnered when Yagi's team upset Division I Nebraska (71-66) and New Mexico (81-78) at the Hilo Civic Auditorium.

The bandwagon was now open for business, and folks began flocking to the games in record numbers.  Wins followed over Marymount, Macalester and Pacific to wrap up the calendar year.

"Initially, this team didn't display the collective competitive character to win," Yagi recalled.  "That only emerged after they were challenged by an impossible schedule."

The next Hilo visitor handed the Vulcans their only two regular season losses. But there was no shame in losing to North Carolina-Charlotte, who would go on to reach the NCAA Final Four that spring. By now, the excitement had captured the town of Hilo and spread all the way to Oahu. A radio network was formed to broadcast games locally and in Honolulu, and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser began covering the team on a regular basis.

"That was one of the most gratifying parts of the whole season," Yagi recalled. "The fans went nuts after our early season wins and the news spread quickly beyond Hilo to the entire state."

The team continued to roll through the regular season.  After capping the schedule with a blowout win over Alaska Anchorage, the Vulcans were awarded hosting honors for the NAIA District 2 tournament. There, in front of a packed house and a television audience, the Vulcans turned away George Fox (85-79) and Willamette (86-79) to improbably claim a berth to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City.

"That is still so amazing to think about," Yagi continued. "To win the District championship and earn the right to go to Kansas City was really a minor miracle, considering all that the team overcame."

Off to Kansas City the team went, along with a contingent of Vulcan boosters, Mayor Herbert Matayoshi, County Council Chairman Harvey Tajiri, Hawaii press representatives and even hula dancers—turning the nationals into a Hawaiian party of sorts.

In the 32-team tournament, the Vulcans opened with a win over Spring Garden, before falling to Illinois Wesleyan, a team led by future NBA legend Jack Sikma. But that loss did nothing to quench the fervor that had begun and continue through the next season when UH Hilo would again win the District 2 crown and make the trip to Kansas City.

The University of Hawaii Hilo was now on the map, thanks to Coach Yagi and his collection of players from California and Hilo. The team was smarter than it was talented. Nearly half of the team would go on to coach in some capacity.

The squad had all the pieces—scorers in Jay Bartholomew (21.7) and Jay Hicks (18.3), an assist maker in Mark Lovelace, who averaged what is still a school record 9.4 assists per game and had a season best of 19, jack of all trades Bill O'Rear (11.1 points, 5.4 assists) and center Terry Huffman (6.4 points, 5.1 rebounds). Tom Ziemantz added 11.5 points off the bench and Dan Singleton contributed another seven points a game. Other important contributors included David Corbelli, Rama Camarillo, Doug Cameron, Steve Coccimiglio, Bill Naylor and Bill Walling.

Working behind the scenes with Coach Yagi were assistants Dwight Sumida and Joey Estrella, along with manager\trainer Howard Suzuki. Athletic director and former coach Goya helped the school land the host berth and took care of many other administrative details.

Most of the team, along with Yagi, Goya, Estrella and others will be together on Saturday to celebrate the beginning of an era of Vulcan basketball like no other.

"One of the realities of aging is fading health, memory and becoming irrelevant," Yagi added. "But this weekend, with most of the group returning to the original scene of the crime 40 years later, to finally be recognized as a team, I feel relevant, happy and excited."

The doors at the Campus Dining Hall will open at 4 p.m. and the ceremony begins at 5. Some tickets are still available at the door, but over 200 seats have already been reserved. For more information, call 932-7168.