It all adds up to greatness

By Brian McInnis

bmcinnis@staradvertiser.com

John Penebacker. Melton Werts. Reggie Cross. And almost certainly by the end of the week, Vander Joaquim.

That sequence of names would have caused a double take two years ago, if not outright disbelief. Yet Joaquim is on the cusp of becoming the 15th player in Hawaii men’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points, and one of the very few true big men on that short list. The senior center enters this week’s home games against Pacific on Thursday and UC Davis on Saturday nine points shy of the exclusive club.

Upon his arrival in Manoa back in 2010, to say even a few expected Joaquim to get there would have been a stretch of epic proportions. Himself included.

“It’s just a great feeling. I didn’t know what’s going on. I don’t even know how I got to 1,000 points,” said the 6-foot-10 Joaquim, the third-year Rainbow Warrior from Luanda, Angola. “I’ve just been playing the past two years. Just trying to worry about wins, about the program getting better.

“I’m happy to be in this position,” he added. “Part of joining the 14 guys, it’s a pleasure. I’m just looking forward to getting the victory on Thursday. And of course, get the nine points.”

Fourth-place UH (9-7 overall, 3-2 Big West) needs these two home games to remain in the top half of the Big West standings. The next four are on the road.

The Rainbow Warriors have depended all season on their post play, anchored by the tri-captain Joaquim. He has some talented company there in junior Christian Standhardinger and freshman Isaac Fotu. But he’s still the biggest factor in team success, averaging 14.3 points on 50.6 percent shooting behind a deft touch around the rim and a reliable jumper from 5 to 10 feet away. And, once in a while, a top-arc 3-pointer.

Coaches around the Big West mention Joaquim first in describing the challenge of playing the ‘Bows. He’s scored in double figures in all but two games this season, and grabbed a team-high 8.5 rebounds a game.

But the fact that he is still here to wrap up his college career over the next two months and pursue a professional basketball career is a testament to both hard work, patience and a few fortuitous bounces.

Joaquim arrived at UH as a sophomore out of the College of Eastern Utah in the summer of 2010, following new associate head coach Walter Roese as a part of Gib Arnold’s new team.

Joaquim could barely speak English. He also could not do a team agility drill without losing his balance and falling over.

“It’s funny — if you would have told me after our first week of practice that Vander Joaquim’s going to score 1,000 points and play professional basketball … I probably would not have believed you,” Arnold said.

Today, Joaquim is fluent in English as well as his native Portuguese. Backup center Davis Rozitis arrived at UH at the same time as his now good friend and marvels at the difference.

“It was really fun to watch Vander progress over the years,” Rozitis said. “How he got better as a player, as a person. How his English improved. His English was REALLY bad.”

He’s also impressed his coach with his vocals — and his persistence, especially in coming back from a preseason right MCL injury that hampered him for many of the team’s nonconference games. Because of the knee injury, his shot blocking hasn’t been what it was last season, when he swatted nearly two shots per game. But it’s slowly coming back.

Arnold said he regularly fields calls from NBA and other pro scouts about Joaquim.

“I would see him being able to play this game for many, many years after his graduation,” Arnold said. “Whether it’s (stateside) or wherever, he will make a living at this game. He’s got great pro potential.”

His path in becoming one of the best UH big men was far from a given; there was some doubt that he would return over each of the past two summers. In the offseason of 2011, Roese, his mentor, left the UH staff.

“It was a little bit tough, because when Coach Walter left … when I first got here, I pretty much didn’t know the whole coaching staff. Everybody was new to me,” Joaquim said. “It was kind of hard to adapt to everyone. I didn’t know what was going on. Then all of a sudden he says, ‘I’m leaving,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, where are you going? I’m stuck.’ I had no other options because I used my redshirt (before junior college).

“If I moved, I would have sat out a year. That wasn’t an option for me. I wanted to play. So, that was tough.”

He came back with a purpose, improved dramatically and went on to have a great junior season, earning All-Western Athletic Conference first-team honors at center.

Between his duties with the Angolan national team and some pro possibilities in Europe, doubts persisted that he’d return again. Ultimately, he elected to come back both to improve his pro profile and to close in on a degree.

“I stuck it out, and now I’m close to 1,000 points,” Joaquim said. “I mean, I guess that’s the way it was meant to be. I’m here, I’m happy. I enjoy the people. It could have been different if I was somewhere else. I’m just happy I’m here right now.”

Lately, the sociology major has taken up local activities like kayaking and hiking to get the most out of his island experience before he moves on, to what he hopes is the NBA.

He’s on pace to finish fifth in UH career rebounding average, somewhere between 8.5 and 9.5 boards per game.

“You just gotta trust in yourself, and actually put in the mind(-set) and the work in order to become what you want to be,” Joaquim said. “That’s what I learned for myself.”