Good things are supposed to come in 3s.

And 30 minutes ahead of an afternoon basketball practice, the good times were rolling for University of Hawaii point guard Juan Munoz, who was swishing 3-pointers in his personal game of around-the-world. The goal was to hit 10 in row from a spot in order to move to another spot. After a rare miss, he reset the counter to zero.

“I expect perfection out of myself,” Munoz would say later. “That’s what I strive for.”

Of the Rainbow Warriors’ 10 returnees, point guards Munoz and Noel Coleman are counted on heavily to provide scoring, contribute to a switching defense, and leadership. Both ended the 2021-22 season on the injury list. Both were sharp during practices this weekend as the ’Bows opened fall training.

After four years at Longwood, where he was an all-league guard, Munoz was expected to steer the ’Bows’ offense last year. But a month ahead of the opener, he began experiencing discomfort in his left knee. An MRI showed a torn ACL. He had twice suffered a similar injury to his right knee at Longwood.

“It was an unfortunate thing, but I see it as a blessing in disguise,” said Munoz, who missed the entire season. “It gave me another year with these guys.”

Ganot said 6-foot Munoz, now a sixth-year senior, “attacked” his post-surgery physical therapy. Munoz attended every practice in Gym II and sat on the bench during home games last season. “He was always into it — in huddles, in watching film,” Ganot said. “He’s a gym rat who loves the game, loves talking about the game, loves watching film.”

Munoz said: “I got to know the guys, and they got to know me. … That really helped me prepare for this year.”

Ganot said some players who suffer significant injuries multiple times can “easily go the other way. He’s gotten a lot of respect for the resilience and toughness he’s shown. He stayed engaged. He didn’t feel sorry for himself.”

Ganot said Munoz is quick off ball screens, passes accurately, and is an “underrated team defender” who can cut off drives and deflect passes. “He’s a very smart, cerebral guy,” Ganot said.

Coleman was averaging a team-high 14.8 points a game on 44% shooting (including 44.1% from behind the arc) when he was struck on the face during a game last season. He was diagnosed with a broken orbital bone in his right eye. Surgery required clearing the fractured bone and replacing it with a plastic plate. Warned that even wearing a mask still put him at risk for further damage, it was decided Coleman would miss the final six games of the season.

Coleman, who played the point and off guard last season, developed a consistent outside shot while gaining strength.

Coleman, who was born and reared in Belgium, shot 35% on 3s as a University of San Diego freshman in 2019-20. The next year, as a UH sophomore, Coleman averaged 5.8 points and connected on 39.1% of 3-point attempts. Ganot said Coleman’s hard work fits the ’Bows’ developmental program.

“I’ve always loved to shoot,” Coleman said. “I always had it in me. I stepped back from it in the early years of college. It just came out last year, where I found my confidence in shooting 3s again.”

Coleman said an illness led to weighing 163 pounds when he joined UH in the summer of 2020. Last year, he weighed 185 at the start of fall training. This year, he began summer workouts at 190 pounds, and now is between 183 and 185.

“It’s fun to watch his journey,” Ganot said of Coleman.