Long before receiving Big West recognition of excellence, Hawaii basketball player Eddie Stansberry was making strides.
Every day since the end of the 2018-19 season, Stansberry would run. In his neighborhood in Northern California. On the Ching Athletic Complex track. In the Warrior Recreation Center on the Manoa campus.
“To me, cardio is one of the biggest things,” said Stansberry, a senior guard. “It got me right. I added it to my daily routine.”
The cardio workouts improved his stamina, strengthened his legs for jump shots, and helped develop him into an active — and menacing — defender. The league’s coaches took notice, voting Stansberry to the All-Big West first team.
“It’s awesome,” Stansberry said. “It’s a great feeling. … I’m glad I was able to receive the award. I’m taking it all in. It boosts my confidence. Other guys on the team won awards, and boosts their confidence. But we’re focused on Thursday.”
After going 8-8 in league play, the Rainbow Warriors are seeded fourth in this week’s single-elimination Big West tournament in Anaheim, Calif. The ’Bows play UC Davis in Thursday’s opening round.
Post player Zigmars Raimo and point guard Drew Buggs received honorable mention. Raimo and UC Irvine’s Tommy Rutherford were co-winners of the Best Hustle Player Award.
Stansberry became the first ’Bow to receive first-team recognition since Noah Allen in 2017. Stansberry was second among Big West players in scoring (15.8 points per game) while making 90 3-point shots on 36.1% marksmanship. He also accepted the challenge of often defending an opposing team’s top perimeter player. Stansberry won the Player of the Week award three times this season.
Stansberry transferred to UH in August 2018 after two seasons at City College of San Francisco. While in good shape last season, he conceded that was not good enough to play at an elite level.
“I wanted to be in great shape,” Stansberry said. “I figured if I’m not tired, that’s great. You want to be able to play the whole game. That was my mentality. My expectation wasn’t to come and play the entire game. But I felt if I got my body right, I could play the full 40 minutes and put myself in a good position.”
This season, he is averaging 37 minutes per game. Five times, he has played from tip-off to final horn without resting.
“I wanted to improve on the defensive end,” Stansberry said. “That takes a lot. You need that stamina and energy. I told myself, I had to sacrifice this (past) summer and put myself in the best shape for this
season so I can lock in on defense.”
Raimo, a 6-foot-9 senior, has played power forward and center, sometimes both in the same game. He has filled the box score — 9.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals — but also has contributed in uncredited areas. Raimo is skilled in setting and defending ball screens, battling to keep alive possessions, and inducing contact. He has drawn 134 fouls in 30 games.
“I love the (hustle) award,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “I think it’s a great award. I think we have a lot of players in programs in our league that that’s their foundation. They compete and hustle and scrap. I knew (Raimo) would be in contention. I thought he deserved it. … If there were a stat — I would assume he’d be near the top or leading the league — in taking charges. He gets on the floor. He gets steals. He’s a versatile player. He’s up there for defensive player. And this is through a four-year career he’s been doing that. To see him recognized for that is a great feeling.”
Despite playing on a tender surgically repaired knee, Buggs has been the league’s top playmaker, averaging 5.4 assists per game. It is the second year in a row he has been the Big West’s assist leader. Only a junior, he already is UH’s career leader with 437 assists.
