Creative tension or personality conflicts? From here, at this point, it looks more like the former for the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team.

Some fans worry about a visible late-game disagreement between point guard Keith Shamburger and forward Christian Standhardinger over an evaporating lead. UH didn’t close out Oregon State efficiently, but held on 79-73 on Christmas to improve to 9-3.

As coach Gib Arnold, the principals involved and other teammates describe it, all the differences were aired out immediately and the Rainbow Warriors are ready to roll again tonight against Norfolk State.

"It’s part of our competitive nature and part of our culture of how we want to be," Arnold said. "We want to be aggressive and get after it sometimes, and that also goes with teammates. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s a competitive thing."

After seeing them practice Saturday, I believe them.

IN THE HOUR I watched, I counted eight times that Arnold said the phrase "I like that." There were no stoppages to make corrections, no yelling regarding effort or simple things the players should already know.

UH is, indeed, intent on "sharpening the ax," as forward Isaac Fotu aptly put it after the 2-1 showing in the Diamond Head Classic that could’ve been 3-0 — and against decent competition.

There was also zero negative jawing among the players. Apparently they got it all out of their systems on Christmas. Not that it won’t happen again, and not that they don’t want it to.

"As we keep getting better and better we’re going to keep achieving our goals and keep moving up to our next goal," Shamburger said. "We’re going to butt heads. The only thing that matters is that we love each other at the end of the day."

Standhardinger said "good teams have this kind of stuff."

"If it’s me and Keith or anyone on the whole team, nothing from those confrontations will hold us back from winning the Big West championship. Those confrontations are good. They show we care about winning and we can be better because of change."

LAST JANUARY, at a football game, I saw something rare — a center shoved his quarterback. Barrett Jones had had enough lip from AJ McCarron. It was over as quickly as it had happened, and they continued on with their 42-14 romp over Notre Dame.

I’m not saying this UH basketball team is a lock for that kind of greatness because its not afraid to argue in public. Arnold’s teams have tended to fade later in the season, whether due to travel or lack of depth. But this team is very intriguing, with a backcourt vastly improved over last year’s, and Standhardinger and Fotu are two of the best frontcourt players in the conference. Brandon Spearman, who plays way above his 6-feet-3, is the glue.

Just know that choruses of "Kumbaya" at every game are not a requirement for winning. Sometimes it’s quite the opposite when you’re part of a group with very high standards and goals.

Caring enough to debate about how to get to where it wants to go is a good sign for this team — so far.

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Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads