Qingdao, China » Hauns Brereton strides confidently into the dank merchant alley.

“Mmm … smelly streets,” Brereton says, in a tone Homer Simpson would appreciate.

Braving the less-traveled paths of this Chinese industrial port city would always qualify as interesting. It becomes immediately more so with the Hawaii junior swingman around.

If Brereton has proved one thing on the “Warriors to Asia” tour, it’s that he’s not afraid to mix it up, either in the paint or among the locals.

At 6-foot-6 (and that might be generous), Brereton will outwork taller players for rebounds, exuding a tenacity in defiance of his usually cheerful appearance. He’s been equally at home using his fluent Mandarin — picked up on a two-year LDS mission to the offshore island of Taiwan — to serve as a tour guide of sorts when he and his UH teammates take to the streets of China.

UH HAS SEEN the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen in all their modern and glorious splendor. This part of Qingdao, however, is quite a few steps removed from modern and glorious, and that’s just fine by Brereton.

He moves quickly through the alleyways, taking everything in at a glance as locals brush past on foot and bicycle. The team was given free time to explore, and Brereton intends to make full use of it.

At last, the well-traveled Memphis native comes across something new. In a corridor that could qualify as a set for an Indiana Jones movie, a vendor showcases a white plastic bucket of live scorpions. His other wares include large, black, roasted-on-a-stick versions of the arachnids and a tray full of quarter-sized squirming brown larvae.

Brereton, immediately captivated, fires off a few quick questions to the surprised vendor.

“Ni zhen de hui chi ma? (You really eat that?)” Brereton asks. The merchant nods in amusement.

“Long hen yuan de shan lai de,” he replies. The scorpions came from a far away mountain.

Brereton laughs and offers a respectful nod. “Crazy,” he says, and moves along.

AT HALFTIME OF UH’s game against the Qingdao Eagles on Friday night, UH coach Gib Arnold put Brereton’s language skills to work by having him translate the words for “3 seconds.”

In the second half, the UH coaches were screaming, “San miao!” from the bench at the Chinese referees, though that and eight fourth-quarter points from Brereton wouldn’t be enough to prevent an 81-80 loss.

The UH coaches spoke of Brereton as a potential team leader when he signed, choosing UH over a list of schools that included BYU. It hasn’t taken long, thanks largely to the timing of this trip, for him to act like one.

“Everyone tries to look for Hauns whenever they need something,” guard Pi’i Minns said. “He usually gets it done, walking the streets or whatever we need. (The locals) have a hard time understanding and we’re trying to point, but Hauns speaks fluently, so he’s a great help.”

Some of the others naturally follow his lead. Back near the scorpion shop, freshman guard Brandon Jawato soon spots Brereton and falls into step with him. But Jawato almost immediately regrets the decision as Brereton navigates them though more back streets.

When it comes time for Brereton to pick a direction at an intersection, all other things being equal, the smellier the better. Jawato mildly protests this.

“I’ve learned to like it,” Brereton says. “You never experience this smell anywhere else.”