When roll is called on the first day of the fall semester, all 15 University of Hawaii basketball players are expected to say, “present.”
Beginning today, players who spent the summer off island will begin arriving in Honolulu and then going through the quarantine protocol. While four players from Australia — Mate Colina, Junior Madut, Biwali Bayles and Manel Ayel — might be delayed slightly because of border issues, assistant coach John Montgomery said, “we’ll have everybody here before school starts.”
The first day of UH’s fall semester is Aug. 24.
The Warriors have not had an in-person practice since March 11, the eve of the Big West tournament in Anaheim, Calif. The next day, the tournament was canceled and then the NCAA put an end to the rest of the postseason because of the pandemic. But the Rainbow Warriors have managed to cobble an offseason program through Zoom sessions and video chats.
This summer, the ’Bows started weekly online sessions featuring guest speakers. Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs and Phil Handy, a former ’Bow and current assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, were among the speakers. The meetings expanded to include discussions on offensive and defensive principles.
In mid-July, the now thrice-weekly sessions featured instructional videos on the ’Bows’ schemes. For a defensive lesson, Montgomery showed “a video of our 10 best possessions, and how hard we played, how we worked together as a team, and how we played.”
Montgomery pointed out each player’s defensive spot when the ball is on top or on the wing, and the verbal cues to alert teammates about help and switches. “Same thing for offense, so they can hear what the verbal cues are and they can see where it is on the diagram,” Montgomery said.
The coaches also produced skill-development programs. Assistant coach Jabari Trotter sent videos of himself going through ball-handling drills. “Then they filmed some of our shooting drills so they could do it at home,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery said the instructional sessions are helpful for a team with seven newcomers. “The idea is to have the guys be able to to see it,” Montogomery said. “We know we have to re-teach it. We have seven new guys. Getting to hear it and think about it, so when they go through it, it’s not the first time they hear it.”
The ’Bows have set up quarantine accommodations for incoming trans-Pacific players. Players can qualify for modified protocols if they produce a negative COVID-19 test shortly before leaving for Hawaii or after taking a test within 48 hours of arrival. Students with pre-arrival negative tests can then quarantine for seven days at their Hawaii residences. Those who test after arriving in Hawaii will quarantine in a hotel until receiving a negative result, after which they may quarantine at their residence for another seven days. Players have asked for jump ropes and free weights to use while in quarantine.