A new wrinkle in Isaac Fotu’s game could send coaches scrambling to film rooms, and opposing big men hustling out to cover the 3-point line.
The Hawaii basketball sophomore forward has been taking and making 3s in practices over the last two weeks, and demonstrated that ability better than ever in Saturday’s officiated intrasquad scrimmage, the second of the preseason.
Fotu shot 5-for-8 from long range as part of his 32-point effort over the course of two 20-minute halves. He carried his Black squad in a 48-39 loss in the first period, and was instrumental in a 39-30 victory with a new set of teammates in the second.
Only senior guard Brandon Spearman (33 combined points) filled up the cup more.
"Coach (Gib Arnold) makes us hit 50 3s, 50 free throws every day," Fotu said. "And I think that’s been helping me a lot. I’ve been shooting a lot of 3s in my own time as well."
UH was light on available big men Saturday, making Fotu especially dangerous on pick-and-pop situations where Fotu, the screen setter, would then flare out to the perimeter for an open look.
"If we spread the floor and the defense goes all the way down, that’s what we’re hoping, we can shoot it," Fotu said. "Setting screens and popping is a big part of my game."
It is now, anyway. Last season, Fotu took all of three 3s, missing each. He was never encouraged to step out of the paint as the biggest body on the court growing up in New Zealand, and at the start of his UH career it wasn’t a necessary facet with his polished low-post game carrying him to 10.1 points per game and Big West Co-Freshman of the Year honors.
But he’s clearly got confidence in his shot now, and has earned faith from teammates.
"I feel like every one’s going in," junior point guard Keith Shamburger said. "Fotu worked out a lot this summer as you can see and with his bounce and with his shot. And that shot is looking real good right now. I just feel comfortable with him shooting as much as a shooter shooting the ball. He’s a shooter to me right now. He’s everything."
Arnold rated the overall progression of the scrimmage from the previous Saturday’s session as reasonable. A single wide-open transition layup by Fotu from Shamburger earned the coach’s ire, but not much else.
Fotu, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound New Zealander, had an expanded role Saturday with the team’s other likely starting forward, Christian Standhardinger, out sick.
He seems ready to claim a role that big men Bill Amis and Vander Joaquim filled in Arnold’s offense in past seasons.
"We want him to shoot that trailing 3 from the power forward position," Arnold said. "It adds another real dimension to his game, and it really adds to what we can do. We want him to do it. He could do it last year, but he didn’t. … He can make that shot, so we’re really emphasizing that we want him to shoot it. We got a lot of stuff in there for him to shoot it, and today he took advantage of it. I think it’s going to be a really, really good weapon for him."
Standhardinger also has the ability to hit from 21 feet, going 15-for-45 (33.3 percent) last season.
Freshman point guard Niko Filipovich (shoulder) and freshman center Caleb Dressler (back) sat out the scrimmage.
With UH’s official Green & White Scrimmage at the Stan Sheriff Center this coming Saturday, UH will begin implementing zone defenses and a fullcourt press on Monday. The ‘Bows have played exclusively man-to-man to this point.
