As coach Norman Dale would say in Hoosiers, "This is your team."

Jimmy Chitwood isn’t walking through the Stan Sheriff Center doors Thursday night, and neither is Isaac Fotu. But the very new-look Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, reeling from a week of traumatic events, take the floor nonetheless against Hawaii Pacific University in a 7 p.m. exhibition.

Head coach Gib Arnold and assistant Brandyn Akana were fired by the university last week Tuesday amid the cloud of an NCAA investigation. Two frontcourt players, including the all-conference forward Fotu, left the reeling team over the weekend.

That’s left UH scrambling under acting head coach Benjy Taylor to form something cohesive in the days since.

"I think we’re just getting out of that confusion state," said co-captain Quincy Smith. "Last week was a tough week for everybody. Nobody’s been through that (before). There are a lot of young guys here. But you know, I think we’re getting out of it. We’re gonna find our identity in this first game and see where we at."

It will be a feeling-out process for both the ‘Bows and their Division II neighbor of the PacWest Conference, who rebranded themselves from the Sea Warriors to the Sharks this summer.

The result and statistics of this game — originally scheduled as a regular-season contest in late November, then moved up as a preseason exhibition — will not officially count.

HPU coach Darren Vorderbruegge said he and his players are well aware of what’s befallen UH.

"You know, I think it’s unfortunate, just the way things worked out," Vorderbruegge said. "I really don’t see it having a big impact on our game. You never know how things work with a group of individuals, (if) that distracts them, or sometimes things galvanize a group. So, we’re aware of it as sports fans, but we don’t control it. We’ve got plenty to worry about with what we can control."

Taylor attempted to control the environment in Wednesday’s practice at the Sheriff. He cranked up music to intentionally interfere with verbal communication on the court, akin to what the UH football team does at practices under Norm Chow.

"We had it real loud. It’s going to be loud in here (Thursday) night, hopefully," Taylor said. "It was a little bit of a shock to them, to not be able to hear each other as well as they normally do. I thought they needed that as a learning curve type deal so … they’ll be used to reading each other and body language and making sure they’re in tune with one another while they’re out there."

The likely starting five is junior Roderick Bobbitt at point guard, senior Garrett Nevels at shooting guard, sophomore Aaron Valdes at small forward, sophomore Mike Thomas at power forward and sophomore Stefan Jovanovic at center.

Defensively, UH will likely favor man-to-man. Offensively, UH will look to circulate the ball quickly and minimize unnecessary dribbling. Nevels should be UH’s top threat after averaging 13.1 points and nailing 59 3-pointers last season at a 41.3 percent clip.

The only traditional center on the roster, the 6-foot-11 Jovanovic, said he didn’t feel the need to change his game based on who is no longer around — Fotu and forward Sammis Reyes. Jovanovic averaged 3.6 minutes and 1.8 points in 10 games as a freshman.

He doesn’t expect the game atmosphere to change either, despite what has happened.

"I think they’re going to support us, and I think we’ll have a few thousand people here," he said. "I think they’re going to be our sixth player as usual."

UH, already beset by defections, will not be at full strength among the 14 players who remain.

Smith is questionable with back soreness. Swingman Negus Webster-Chan might miss the game with lingering rib tenderness.

Sophomore forward Stefan Jankovic will miss the game, Taylor said, as he must sit out all competition in the fall semester as a redshirt player.

HPU’s top returnee from last year’s 15-13 squad (9-11 PacWest) is 6-foot senior Justin Long, a preseason All-PacWest Conference guard who put up better than 18 points per game last season. Vorderbruegge believes Long to be an all-around Division I talent.

The Sharks also have two Division I transfers in senior guard Josh Morgan (Colorado State) and junior forward Luke Hager (UNC Wilmington).

"They have some talented guys, some Division I transfers and I think their league is pretty good this year," Taylor said. "We’ll have to play well to win."