The show goes on without Isaac Fleming.
It’s been a week since the Hawaii basketball sophomore guard took a leave of absence from the team for what coach Eran Ganot termed “personal matters.” In that time, the Rainbow Warriors have worked on ironing out a rotation in preparation for Thursday’s exhibition against Chaminade at the Stan Sheriff Center.
“Someone has to fill in his (Issac Fleming’s) spot. He had a great year last year. He’s a good player. We all gotta step up.”
Sheriff Drammeh
UH freshman guard
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“This is a big week,” Ganot said. “We talk about this kind of being a ‘game week.’ Now we’re in game weeks.”
The green (first) team in recent days has been Roderick Bobbitt at point guard, Quincy Smith at shooting guard, Aaron Valdes at small forward, Mike Thomas at power forward and Stefan Jankovic at center.
Fleming, who averaged 9.5 points on 47.1 percent shooting as a true freshman, was contending for a starting job at the off-guard spot before vanishing from practices and other team activities a week ago. With his ability to attack off the dribble and draw in extra defenders, he has the potential to fit well in the four-out offense that Ganot favors.
Ganot was asked after Monday’s practice about Fleming and whether the guard would be back anytime soon.
“Nothing new, just because it’s the same personal matter,” the coach replied. “We’re in communication and we’ll continue to be in communication. Our guys are doing a really good job in terms of putting in a lot of work, and working toward moving forward and getting better.”
Smith, a senior, has been a contributor off the bench the past two seasons, primarily as backup point guard. A co-captain a season ago, Smith had a no-nonsense tone on the subject of the missing guard.
“Well, I don’t really know the whole situation that’s going on with that, so I can’t really speak on it, but we just can’t give up over one person,” Smith said recently. “We still got a game (this) week. So it’s just staying mentally prepared. It’s a team sport, so we just can’t be focused on one person.”
Some of the team’s younger guards have seen their roles increase as a result. Sophomore Niko Filipovich, freshman Sheriff Drammeh, redshirt freshman Brocke Stepteau and others have shouldered a greater load.
“Since Isaac had a big role on our team, I gotta step up,” said Drammeh, a late-offseason pickup from Stockholm, Sweden. “Other guards gotta step up. Someone has to fill in his spot. He had a great year last year. He’s a good player. We all gotta step up.”
Bobbitt, meanwhile, was termed “day to day” and sidelined Monday with an unspecified ailment, meaning the younger crop got even more looks. Walk-on Dyrbe Enos, a fourth-year junior, played with the green team at times, as did Stepteau.
Ganot had high praise for Stepteau, a walk-on from Dallas.
“Brocke’s been pretty consistent,” Ganot said. “He’s actually been consistently solid in all the practices. He defends, he takes care of the ball and he takes good shots. He’s really improved as a shooter. That’s pretty valuable with what we have going on right now. Someone who can spread the floor and do things right.”
Hawaii vs. Hawaii Hilo set for Dec. 8
Hawaii and Hawaii Hilo will play a regular-season game on Dec. 8 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The 7 p.m. game, which was tentatively planned to be played in Kona, never actually appeared on UH’s online schedule until Monday.
It means UH will play two straight Division II opponents in advance of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. UH hosts Hawaii Pacific on Dec. 12.
