The University of Hawaii basketball coaches were not ready to experience point panic.

After point guard Juan Munoz suffered an Achilles injury a week ahead of the season opener, the Rainbow Warriors were confident JoVon McClanahan could handle the lead role and Justus Jackson would accelerate his progress.

“JoVon and Justus are doing a really nice job, and I think they’re going to continue to get better,” said coach Eran Ganot, whose 3-1 ’Bows meet Sacramento State in Friday’s opening round of the Patty Mills North Shore Classic at the Cannon Activities Center in Laie. “They’re helping each other out and competing against each other. They lead united. They watch film together. They’ve taken that collective responsibility.”

In the ’Bows’ vernacular, the point guard is referred to as the “head of the snake” on offense, defense and in organizing.

McClanahan grew up in the Bay Area, played a season with Wyoming’s Sheridan College, and joined the ’Bows in July 2020. He has played in 53 UH games, starting 18, including all four this season.

McClanahan is skilled in attacking the lane on drive-and-pitch plays. While he connected on 44.5% of 3s at Sheridan, that behind-the-arc touch did not immediately transfer to UH. He hit 25.8% of his 3s in 2020-21, then missed 16 of his first 18 treys last season. Since then, he has hit 43.1% of his 3s, including 5-for-7 the past two games.

“It’s about being consistent and making sure, day in and day out, everybody can trust me as far as teammates and coaches,” McClanahan said.

Jackson, who grew up in Surprise, Ariz., joined the ’Bows last December after spending the fall 2021 semester at DME Academy in Daytona, Fla. Because of his late arrival, the coaches view this as Jackson’s freshman year. Jackson showed athleticism and quickness in hitting three of four shots and leading the break in UH’s victory over Eastern Washington in the Rainbow Classic two weeks ago. Jackson’s father, Chris, is a former NFL receiver who’s on the Chicago Bears’ coaching staff.

“He’s very fast,” McClanahan said of Justus Jackson. “Sometimes he’ll do moves I want to implement in my game. I’ve taught him some things I do. We don’t play the same, but we have some things that can help each other out.”

Jackson and McClanahan are as close as their jersey numbers — 2 and 3. When he first arrived in Honolulu, Jackson stayed with McClanahan and Mate Colina. Colina departed after last season and now plays professional Australian rules football. McClanahan and Jackson are roommates this season.

“We have a lot of similarities,” McClanahan said. “We both like laughing. We always talk basketball. Because we’re both point guards, we both want to be great and expect good things out of ourselves.”

They both are proficient cooks.

“Salmon has been our niche,” McClanahan said.