Shanghai » The Hawaii men’s basketball team has plugged one of its holes on the perimeter with the addition of junior college guard Garrett Jefferson.
UH hopes the athletic sophomore can be a defensive stopper for a few years to come. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound shooting guard didn’t overwhelm with stats as a freshman at Citrus College, but had the right mix of physical ability and character to make him a prime candidate to join the Rainbow Warriors.
Jefferson, who averaged 7.8 points and 3.7 rebounds on a deep team that went 27-6, has three years of eligibility. He made an unofficial visit to the Manoa campus with his family the day before UH left on its Warriors to Asia tour. He liked what he saw, and didn’t waste much time in making his choice — even with most of next year’s team half a world away.
"It’s a real nice campus. I like a lot about the school," Jefferson said recently. "I like the weather. Because I’m from (Lakewood) California, I don’t like real cold weather. I like the (Stan Sheriff Center), it’s one of the greatest things. Great gym. Looks like it gets a lot of people in there."
Jefferson averaged only 18.2 minutes per game, but made his presence felt in that limited time by swiping 1.4 steals a game.
He will receive a scholarship for the upcoming season.
The team is still awaiting final word if signees Gerry Blakes and Dillon Biggs will gain entry to UH. Another guard, Victor Bermudez, has been eliminated as a possibility to join the team.
Name your price
Before the Rainbows left Shanghai for Qingdao, the numerous marketplaces in and around China’s economic center offered the Rainbow Warriors a chance to test their might.
As in, "I might buy this, if it’s the right price."
Senior guard Zane Johnson hasn’t played yet on this trip due to a sprained ankle, but he was at full strength wheeling and dealing; he’d done some haggling before in New York.
"The shopping (was my favorite), getting all the Louis Vuitton and Beats headphones," Johnson said. "I just went in there and acted mean. And then once I give them my price and they say no, I walk out. They hunt me down and give it to me for my price."
Guard Pi‘i Minns gave the "best haggler" title to Johnson without a second thought.
"Zane was going everywhere, getting things real cheap. He made this one guy try on a jacket he was going to get for his girlfriend. It was real funny," Minns said.
Acrobatics show impresses
The team capped off a busy Wednesday by taking in an acrobatics display by the New Shanghai Circus. The day started with a tour through an ancient water town and a Mongolian barbecue for lunch.
"It was an amazing day (Wednesday), one that I’ll remember and these guys will remember for the rest of their life," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "It encompasses the education opportunity they’re receiving … it’s so much more than the books in the classroom. They’re experiencing a completely different culture and seeing things they’ve never seen before."
