We don’t have to go back too far to remember another little local guard contributing significantly to the University of Hawaii basketball team. Punahou product Miah Ostrowski played for the Rainbow Warriors as recently as two seasons ago.

But an outside shooter from the Hawaii prep ranks as deadly as current second-year freshman Dyrbe Enos out of Kamehameha? Maybe a decade-and-a-half, when Alika Smith from Kalaheo was doing his thing from the wing for UH.

It wasn’t too long after that when Enos began to hone his sharpshooting skills — as a tag-along to older brother Rykin at Kamehameha alumni night games at Keawe Gym. Dyrbe, a sixth-grader, wasn’t quite an alumnus yet. But he was a respectful young lad so the men told him to just hang out in the corner and if the ball happened to come his way, launch.

"He was always pretty good for his age, but probably became good enough to handle his own by eighth or ninth grade. In 10th and 11th, he developed the rest of his game too," said Pakalani Bello, a current Kamehameha varsity assistant and longtime alumni night regular.

Enos went on to star for the Warriors’ 2011 state championship team. But at 5-feet-9, few thought he had a future in Division I college hoops. Dyrbe Enos was among those few who did, and that has made all the difference.

He’s canned three 3-pointers in back-to-back games heading into tonight’s home contest against Montana after going scoreless in limited action in his first three games as a collegian.

Coach Gib Arnold said he knew he was dealing with a different kind of walk-on when Enos declared last year he would be redshirting. He wasn’t planning on being a four-and-the-door, end-of-the-bench guy. He wanted a year to improve his skills and become a legit player.

It worked.

Like the days when he was the kid among the men at the alumni games, he still doesn’t have much to say — except with his jumper.

After scoring nine points you’d think he’d be gushing, not blushing. "I just give it all I’ve got, just play," Enos said when summoned to the post-game press conference.

Arnold was a bit more effusive. "Dyrbe was really good again, and kind of got us going … He hit a big 3 there when (New Orleans was) playing well and got us some momentum."

As opponents get stronger, Enos will have to display as much confidence in his all-around game as in his shooting to continue getting PT on this UH team blessed with a deep bench, especially at guard.

It looks like he’s getting there.

"He’s still got a shooter’s mentality, and he’s justified it in the last couple games," said Brian McInnis, the Star-Advertiser’s UH basketball beat writer. "But his ball handling has improved quite a bit and he’s gradually embracing the role of a pace setter and distributor, too."

At any rate, the Rainbows’ opponents are learning what the alumni at Kamehameha learned — don’t leave the short kid in the corner open.

"A bunch of us feel very invested in how he does," Bello said. "He’s had to work for everything he’s gotten."

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Read Dave Reardon’s Quick Reads at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.