For the first road trip of the season, the University of Hawaii basketball team showed its new ID.
After the three-games-in-four-nights Rainbow Classic, the Rainbow Warriors are proving to be adaptable, multi-dimensional and gritty.
“We learned we can play different ways, and we had to,” coach Eran Ganot said.
During the preseason, the ’Bows acknowledged they would be without two projected starters for the 2021-22 season. Samuta Avea, a 6-foot-6 wing and co-captain, underwent back surgery last week and began a five-month rehabilitation. Point guard Juan Munoz, a transfer from Longwood, suffered a knee injury.
“Everything is about an identity,” Ganot said. “When you lose a couple guys, the blueprint — sharing the ball, playing inside-out, having each other’s back defensively, everybody rebounding, and cheering on the bench, ‘team, team, team’ — the identity had to be redefined a little bit.”
In a second-half rally against Northern Colorado, the Warriors went with a taller lineup. Kamaka Hepa, a 6-foot-10 Texas transfer who usually plays the four or five, was used at the wing. Junior Madut, a 6-6 wing, rotated into the backcourt. “We were pretty big,” Ganot said, “and Junior becomes that much bigger as a two or, at times, a point guard.”
With players mixing and matching, Ganot said, the ’Bows could control the boards, alternate between man and zone defenses, and even unleash a 94-foot press. Entering Thursday’s game against Illinois-Chicago in the opener of the Las Vegas Classic, Ganot hinted, “There’s a clear movement toward playing a little bigger if we continue to stay healthy.”
The ’Bows have height options in the low post. Mate Colina, at 7 feet, and 6-9 Bernardo da Silva, who has a 7-foot-2 wing span, can play the five. Either can pair with Hepa or 6-7 Jerome Desrosiers, a Princeton transfer who fueled the rally in the narrow loss to Northern Colorado.
Desrosiers was an accurate marksman as a Princeton junior in 2019-20. Because of the pandemic, Ivy League teams did not play last season. Desrosiers entered the transfer portal and, after extensive interviews, signed a scholarship agreement with UH. Desrosiers gained early respect from his new teammates — he was elected as a co-captain — and lost 25 pounds. He now weighs 230.
“I think that helps me a lot with my speed,” said Desrosiser, who is an active on-ball defender. “I don’t look fast, but I think I’m faster than most people think.”
Of Desrosiers, Ganot said: “He’s a late bloomer in some regards. I think his game is still coming. I think his best days are still ahead of him. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. To have a guy come in and be a captain his first year is really difficult. To have him step up and play several positions for us is difficult. … He’s risen to the occasion. He makes plays for us. He can shoot the 3. He can defend different positions. He rebounds. He gives us physicality. And he’s a force inside.”
The ’Bows will play the San Diego-South Alabama winner in Friday’s game in Orleans Arena. After that, the ’Bows will travel to the Bay Area for next Tuesday’s road game against Santa Clara.
