It has been the preseason from heck for the Hawaii basketball team.

“From Aug. 26, when school started, it’s been an unbelievable challenge and opportunity,” said coach Eran Ganot, whose Rainbow Warriors offer a preview with tonight’s exhibition against Chaminade at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

The NCAA’s delayed eligibility ruling forced guard Junior Madut, who is transferring from a junior college, to enroll in January instead of this fall semester. Washington State transfer Ahmed Ali withdrew from school because of a medical condition. Five players have missed practices because of injuries, including 7-foot post Owen Hulland, who is out indefinitely. And point guard Drew Buggs’ mother died two weeks ago in California.

Buggs returned to Hawaii this week, and resumed practicing on Monday night.

“We’re here to support him,” said Ganot, who traveled to California last week to extend condolences to Buggs’ family. “It’s an incredibly difficult situation. We love him. We love his family. We support his family and Drew during this time.”

In Buggs’ absence, freshmen Justin Webster, Jessiya Villa and Kameron Ng took reps at the point. Webster played wing and off guard at Hargrave Military Academy. Villa, a 2017 Kahuku High graduate, returned from a two-year church mission in Ghana in July. Ng, the state’s 2019 Player of the Year at St. Francis, had missed practices because of a foot ailment early in training camp.

The three freshmen improved in defensive recognition and weaving through presses and traps. They also learned the difficulty in coordinating an offense against Buggs.

For Ganot, the images evoked memories of when former ’Bow Brocke Stepteau, then a freshman guard, went against Quincy Smith and Roderick Bobbitt in practices four years ago. Ganot said Stepteau “competed … and that wasn’t easy. It helped him long term.” The three freshman guards, Ganot said, “if they have that similar approach, it could help them long term.”

Zigmars Raimo, a senior forward and co-captain, noted: “They’re getting a lot of playing time. It’s good for them, and it’s good for the team. You can’t get better if you don’t have reps.”

Bernardo da Silva is an intriguing newcomer. Da Silva was born in Brazil, and attended one of the U.S.’ top prep programs, Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah), for three years.

Da Silva is 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan. He is not reluctant to launch deep shots or battle Raimo and the other post players in the lane. He also has been a surprisingly deft ball-handler against the press.

“He’s not shy, he’ll let it fly,” Ganot said. “He’ll be aggressive, which is a good thing. … He’s underrated in the post. When he gets his shot, it’s hard to block because of how high his release is. We all feel pretty good about him becoming a good player. It’s a matter of how quickly the strength comes.”