An instrumental part of head coach Eran Ganot’s staff, Adam Jacobsen begins his fourth season at Hawai‘i. The 20-year coaching veteran has helped UH win 59 games in his first three years, including a school-best 28-6 record, both the Big West regular-season and tournament titles, and the program’s first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament in 2015-16.
Jacobsen serves as the team’s recruiting coordinator and is heavily involved in scouting and program special events. He is also the team’s offensive and shooting coordinator and player development coach for the UH guards.
In 2015-16, UH led the Big West in scoring (77.6 ppg), while ranking 22nd nationally in scoring margin (+10.4). Under Jacobsen’s direction, senior point guard Roderick Bobbitt earned first-team all-conference and second-team all-district honors.
UH continued to thrive offensively in 2016-17, leading the Big West in assists per game (13.9) and scoring 114 points in an overtime win over Long Beach State, the most points ever for UH in a conference game.
In 2017-18, he helped guide a trio of backcourt players to standout seasons, including Sheriff Drammeh, the Big West Hustle Player of the Year. Success is nothing new for Jacobsen, who came to Hawai‘i after 14 years on the men’s basketball staff at the University of the Pacific,
including his last two as associate head coach. During his tenure at Pacific, he helped the Tigers to five Big West championships and four NCAA tournament appearances (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2012-13) under then-Head Coach Bob Thomason. The team boasted seven 20-plus win seasons during that span, including seven total postseason appearances to go along with an outstanding graduation rate.
Jacobsen began his coaching career for the Tigers during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, went on to coach his high school alma mater for two seasons, then returned to Pacific for the 2003-04 season. Following his return, the Tigers not only boasted tremendous team
success, but also numerous individual accolades. Among them were 11 all-conference selections, three AP All-Americans and three Big West Players of the Year in Miah Davis (2003-04), David Doubley (2004-05) and Christian Maraker (2005-06). Maraker was also a two-time academic All-American selection.
Jacobsen also enjoyed a decorated playing career at Pacific where he graduated in 1997 with a degree in Sports Sciences. He served as team captain for four seasons and guided the Tigers to two Big West championships. He was later inducted into the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame, and recently was voted to the first team on the Pacific All-Century team.
He is the career three-point leader at Pacific and is second all-time in the Big West with 311 three-pointers made. He is also the career assists leader (436) and second on the career steals list (160). With 1,513 career points, he ranks sixth all-time at Pacific, averaging 12.6 points per game over 120 games. He was a three-time all-Big West Conference second-team selection and is a 2010 inductee of the Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame.
Jacobsen also enjoyed a successful two-year coaching stint at his alma mater, Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, Calif. During those two seasons, he directed the program to a 39-18 record and two CIF playoff appearances. After the 2002-03 season, he was voted Pacific League Coach of the Year and named All-Area Coach of the Year by the Glendale News Press. He has since been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.
Jacobsen and his wife DeAnn have three children — Presley, Ava and Luke.
