There will not be a Wallace family reunion on the bench for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team this season.

Loren Wallace, the younger brother of Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace, was denied the vacant assistant coach's position yesterday by UH administration officials. Loren Wallace was Riley Wallace's top choice to fill the position.

"I'm not happy with the decision, obviously," Riley Wallace said. "But I was told there's a nepotism law that would make it difficult to hire my brother."

Wallace said his choice was not based on nepotism. Loren Wallace was a long-time successful high school coach in Illinois, and he ran a similar system to Riley Wallace's with the Rainbow Warriors.

In particular, Riley Wallace said he wanted to bring his brother in as a defensive specialist who could also have recruiting ties to the midwestern United States.

"Everybody in Illinois knows he's a great defensive coach and so the plan was to bring him in here and use some of his stuff," Riley Wallace said.

Riley Wallace said UH athletic director Herman Frazier told him to either choose another applicant from the original pool of candidates, or re-open the position nationally.

"I told him I'll sleep on it," Wallace said. "I don't know what I'm going to do now because my plan was to have my brother in here."

Wallace said he will fill the position, even if it means waiting until December to do it. Hawai'i's season-opener is scheduled for Nov. 19 against national power Michigan State.

Wallace said his second choice was Hawai'i-Hilo head coach Jeff Law. However, Law has already withdrawn from the pool so that he could continue coaching the Vulcans this season. Law was a part-time assistant under Wallace prior to coaching the Vulcans.

Among the other applicants in the original pool were former UH players Mark Campbell, Alika Smith, Kurt Taylor and Tim Shepherd.

The 'Bows have been practicing since mid-October under Wallace and associate coaches Bob Nash and Jackson Wheeler.

The assistant coach's position became vacant in September when Bob Burke was hired as an assistant coach for the Portland TrailBlazers.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.