Ganot will match wits with another friend from St. Mary’s days

Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot can be a reluctant reunion attendee.

Ganot is one of five former Saint Mary’s assistants who became Division I head coaches.

“That coaching tree, family, whatever you want to call it, we’re close,” Ganot said. “We root hard for each other, and should, and we’ll continue to do that. But it’s never fun when you’re going against each other.”

Ganot will face off against a former colleague when the Rainbow Warriors play UC Riverside in today’s road game in SRC Arena. Ganot’s two stints at Saint Mary’s bracketed David Patrick’s six-year stint at the school. Although they overlapped for six months, Ganot said, “we’ve known each other for a long time. He’s a great coach. He’s done a great job. He has a great family. We root like heck for each other.”

Both teams enter the Big West matchup on different paths. The ’Bows have won five in a row, and are 11-5 overall and 2-0 in the Big West. The Highlanders are 6-13 and 0-3.

But Ganot said the Highlanders’ record is not reflective of their talent. “They’re good,” Ganot said.

The Highlanders lead the league in successful 3-pointers (8.8 per game) and free-throw accuracy (71.7 percent). Guard Dikymbe Martin is averaging 16.1 points per game. Forward Ajani Kennedy has connected on 56.7 percent from the field, including 53.7 percent from behind the 3-point stripe. Two 7-footers — Menno Dijkstra and Callum McRae — have combined to average nearly 37 minutes per game.

“Martin is an all-conference talent,” Ganot said. “They’re big inside. They’re balanced. They have the combination of shooting, two 7-footers inside, and a really dominant guard. And they’re good at home.”

The Highlanders are 5-2 in SRC, but 0-10 in road games and 1-1 on a neutral court.

Since moving into UH’s starting lineup, guard Eddie Stansberry is averaging 17 points. He scored 25 in Thursday’s road victory over Cal State Northridge. The ’Bows have six players averaging at least 7.1 points per game.

“That’s basically what we’ve always wanted to have in our program,” Ganot said of the balanced scoring. “We can overcome one or two guys maybe not playing at their best. We’re going to need to do that.”

Ganot also said 7-foot freshmen Mate Colina, Dawson Carper and Owen Hulland are gaining experience in expanding roles. Colina helped seal the low post in a second-half cameo against CSUN.

“They all need to be ready to go,” Ganot said. “Riverside is a big team. It’s nice to have those guys. Like I told them after (Thursday’s) game, experience is good for them in the long run. As young freshmen, 18- and 19-year-old kids, those games will help them, like they helped the younger guys before. You take it for granted. You see our older guys who are playing well now. But it wasn’t always easy for them the first couple of reps. But it helped them in the long run, and it’ll help these guys in the long run.”