The journey of self-rediscovery has been slow and tenuous for the Hawaii men’s basketball team. But there is a journey, and there is a game on Thursday.
Acting head coach Benjy Taylor is attempting to reinvent the Rainbow Warriors sans Isaac Fotu, the ineligible all-conference forward who announced his intent to go pro on Monday. Taylor has precious little time to do it with Hawaii Pacific on the docket for an exhibition at the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday and the regular-season opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff just over a week later on Nov. 14.
A possible starting five is taking shape, though Taylor has declined to name them to the media. On Tuesday, these players took the court first to go against the scout team: Roderick Bobbitt at point guard, Garrett Nevels at shooting guard, Negus Webster-Chan at small forward, Mike Thomas at power forward and Stefan Jovanovic at center.
Guards Quincy Smith and Isaac Fleming were the first players to be subbed in. They and small forward Aaron Valdes (who sat out Tuesday with a swollen ankle) could comprise an eight-man rotation for the first handful of games of the season.
"We’re getting there. We’re getting there," Taylor said. "Guys are changing positions and filling in wherever they can, and you know, it’s good though. Guys are working really hard, and we’ll see on Thursday night. I’m sure we’ll be able to grow a lot. We’re looking forward to it. We’re looking forward to seeing somebody else."
The scout team is comprised of Niko Filipovich, Dyrbe Enos, Brocke Stepteau, Zach Buscher and Stefan Jankovic. The 6-foot-11 forward Jankovic, who joined UH in January as a transfer from Missouri, will miss the first 10 games of the season as a redshirt player.
The last player on the team, guard Brandon Jawato, has missed most of the preseason with concussion-like symptoms. It’s not clear when he will return.
With the departures of Fotu and forward Sammis Reyes ahead of the NCAA’s release of findings of its investigation into the program, Nevels, Smith and Valdes are the only players left who received rotation playing time last season under former coach Gib Arnold.
"Just having heart, really," Valdes said of the team’s mind-set. "Losing Fotu and Sammis was big. Mostly Fotu, because that’s our main guy. I think we still have a good team. We can still make a run at this and I’m excited."
Valdes described the team’s new style as up-and-down like it was under Arnold, but "more free" with increased ball screens and pick-and-rolls.
"Benjy’s doing a good job of helping us get through the practice and teaching us new stuff, making it more simple for us," Valdes said. "Like, just go out and have fun. And I think it’s going to be fun to watch."
The team is also regularly sending four players (all except the point guard) to the offensive glass. Arnold preferred to have two guards get back on defense.
Nevels was happy to get back to talking hoops.
"We’re just doing some new sets, I would say," Nevels said. "Our offensive rebounding is different. I mean, it’s still basketball. We’re still running plays and everything. Playing hard."
The tone of practices has shifted somewhat; Arnold was known to sometimes bark high-volume orders at his charges, while ex-coach Brandyn Akana would often call out encouragement. With them gone, things are definitely … quieter.
As the team’s only senior and one of two captains (along with Smith), Nevels feels "definitely" responsible for helping Taylor lead practices. Taylor and assistant Senque Carey are the only full coaches at present while Taylor awaits permission to hire two more.
"Less coaches, some people might try to take (plays) off or something," Nevels said. "I just try to stay on top of everybody and make sure everybody is working hard. … I think this week is a whole lot better than last week. I think we were able to focus on basketball more. We just had a chance to clear that other stuff out of our minds."
