Jace digs the dish

It always felt better to pass.

That euphoric sensation most guys get after a dunk, a big 3-pointer, a clutch free throw with the game on the line? That’s what washes over Jace Tavita when he sets up somebody else for one of those highlights.

It’s little wonder, then, that Tavita arrived back home from Hawaii’s three-game road winning streak feeling cleansed. The Hawaii senior point guard’s floor leadership, passing and ball control were instrumental in the Rainbow Warriors’ third-place Big West standing heading into Thursday’s home showdown with league-leader Long Beach State.

Passing is so ingrained in him, going back to about seventh grade in his native Salt Lake City, that he routinely passes up wide-open shots with the mind-set that he can get a teammate a better one. Tavita grew up watching Andre Miller, a Utah standout before becoming one of the NBA’s best pass-first point guards.

In Tavita’s only season of hoops eligibility at UH, the Utah transfer leads the Big West in assists per game at 5.3, while attempting slightly more than two shots per game.

As a testament to how rarely Tavita calls his own number, it’s been 18 games since he’s attempted a free throw.

"People always get on me, like ‘Why don’t you shoot?,’ this and that," Tavita said. "But especially with a team like this. You’ve got a Brandon Spearman, Hauns (Brereton), Christian (Standhardinger) and Van (Joaquim), it’s like, these guys are scoring at a good mark, good field-goal percentages and stuff, it’s like, I’ll just create for these guys and take what I can get."

Tavita had to wait quite a while for his chance once he left Utah at midseason of 2010-11 as part of a mass player exodus from Jim Boylen’s program. As a walk-on to UH — a locale that appealed to him because of familiarity with coach Gib Arnold and his Hawaiian and Samoan heritage — half of his junior season was squandered. He had to redshirt all of 2011-12 to get a full senior season in 2012-13. For a year and a half, he was valuable as a scout team point guard, but he ached to get into a real game. He called the waiting period "bumpy."

Tavita had to wait his turn again after his two-technical ejection in a Dec. 15 win over Chaminade — for which he quickly apologized to both his teammates and the Silverswords. Arnold chose that moment to open up competition at the point guard spot, and Tavita would start only four of the next 11 games while freshmen Manroop Clair and Ozren Pavlovic received chances.

"I think he’s mature. I think he understands the game," assistant coach Brandyn Akana said. "He understands what the coaching staff and Coach Arnold wants out of him. We just weren’t getting it that part of the season. He needed to be reminded, which Coach Arnold did."

Tavita reclaimed UH’s tumultuous point guard spot after a key meeting with Arnold following a 29-point blowout loss at Cal Poly on Jan. 24. In that meeting, Tavita was told the team’s fortunes were in his hands, along with fellow captains Brereton and Joaquim.

Tavita responded with a combined 23 assists against nine turnovers in ensuing road wins at UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton, raising his season ratio to 117-62 (1.9-1).

"I think Jace has always been our best leader on this team," Arnold said. "In going with some of the younger guys in the middle of the year, that is not in any way a knock on Jace. He’s also a team player and so those decisions were made with him. But I did want to get those young guys involved and I felt like that’s paid off now.

"Jace right now, as it stands, is our leader and our go-to guy as far as the point is concerned."

Standhardinger, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, tries to throw credit Tavita’s way at least once in any given interview.

He also said he hears the criticism for Tavita to shoot more. After all, he’s shooting a respectable 37.1 percent on 3-pointers this season, albeit in a small (13-for-35) sample size.

"This guy has a talent for getting you the ball where you need it," Standhardinger said with a shake of his head. "He’s the captain of the team. I wouldn’t be (player of the week) if I didn’t have Jace. … I feel responsible for giving him credit. I want everybody to know what a great point guard he is. I would say he’s the best point guard I’ve ever played with."

Team turnovers have been down significantly during the winning streak — 11.3 from the previous season average of more than 16.

Tavita’s time as a Rainbow Warrior is fleeting; only five home games remain. He said he is set to graduate after this semester with a degree in sociology, but does not know what he plans to do.

Besides pass.

"I’ve watched pretty much two seasons go by. It was a struggle," Tavita said. "But you know, it’s been worth it this year. I’m really happy I got to play with these guys."